Zero-and-6.
That is Tulsa’s record since rocking the season’s opening Thursday night in a thrilling double-overtime 38-31 win over AAC rival Tulane, where the Golden Hurricane roared back from a 21-7 deficit and generated 592 yards of total offense.
In its six-game losing streak, Tulsa’s offense has fallen well below the bar set against Tulane, averaging 400 yards and 22 points per game. Its defense, well, at least it’s been consistent since Week 1 — in an almost 500 yards and 40.7 points allowed per game kind of way.
Players must perform to their potential for a team to have success, but when is it appropriate to place the blame on the head coach?
Tulsa’s win total has greatly diminished since going 11-3 in 2012 and winning the Conference USA title (4-15). After kicking his career off with a 19-8 record in two seasons, Golden Hurricane head coach Bill Blankenship has slipped to a 23-23 record and will likely lead Tulsa to back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since recording nine straight seasons below .500 from 1993-2002.
Is Blankenship a lame-duck coach just waiting for the final whistle to be ousted? Why has Tulsa gotten worse under his watch? Does this team still have some fight left in it? I caught up with Tulsa World’s Kelly Hines who covers the Golden Hurricane to pick her brain about the coaching situation and the remaining season.
With winless SMU presumed as the only team remaining on Tulsa’s schedule it will be favored against, a 2-10 season appears likely. Is Blankenship a dead man walking at this point?
Kelly Hines: Even if Tulsa goes 2-10, I don’t think it’s a given that there will be a coaching change after the season. There are financial aspects to consider, including Blankenship’s low salary (ranked 90th out of 128 FBS head coaches) and the fact that Tulsa would have to spend big bucks to bring in a new coach and to buy out Blankenship’s contract. Plus Blankenship is a former player and very well-liked by the university higher-ups, so that plays a role as well. I would say it’s a 50-50 chance for him to return in 2015.
What glaring negative stat in the Blankenship era sticks out to you?
KH: It’s hard to pinpoint one stat in the Blankenship era because his first two years are so different from the past two years. Here’s an example: When Tulsa went 11-3 in 2012, it had a sack margin of plus-44. Through seven games this season, Tulsa’s sack margin is minus-eight. In Blankenship’s first two years, his teams were pretty good in almost every area. Now, the team is average or worse in almost every area.
Is there a particular unit or phase of the game that’s consistently declined since Blankenship took over?
KH: Not really. The third-down conversion percentage dipped from 2011 to 2012 to 2013 but is actually up to 38 percent this season, equal to 2012. The biggest difference between pre-Blankenship and now is probably in terms of play-calling, which Blankenship insists on handling despite having an offensive coordinator. I think his teams have been fairly vanilla in terms of offensive flair.
Tulsa’s close calls against Temple and South Florida show they haven’t thrown in the towel just yet. Is there a game left on the schedule where you feel the Golden Hurricane could pull off the upset?
KH: I think Tulsa played extremely well in the first half against USF, and at any point that could translate into a win. I don’t think Tulsa could beat UCF or East Carolina, but Memphis and Houston have been very up and down. If Tulsa jumps out to another early lead, I think it will be more aggressive in trying to maintain it.
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