The Oklahoma Sooners might as well be called the Oklahoma Atomic Bombs to fans of Tulsa football. The Golden Hurricane have lost by an average of 38 points in the eight match-ups since its last victory over the Sooners in 1996 (OU finished that season 3-8).
I was right on target predicting OU would hang 52 on the Golden Hurricane, but was terribly too confident in Tulsa’s offense against the Sooner D.
Against OU, the Tulsa offense portrayed a high school team in comparison to how the unit performed against Tulane in Week 1 — compiling 592 yards and 38 points versus 328 yards and one touchdown against the Sooners.
The defense was more consistent (negative connotation here), giving up another 500-plus yards and buckets of points to the OU offense.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X16C84yCMzk?list=UUCM89Zk2s49DxKXFQBv-tkg]Even after last week’s blasting, the Tulsa faithful shouldn’t worry, at least not yet. OU is by far the best team Tulsa will face in 2014, and the team Tulsa is matched-up against this Saturday lost its first two games by a combined 89 points.
Going strictly off box score comparisons, Tulsa should dispose of Florida Atlantic with little distress and notch its second win. But, focusing solely on the box score or game notes can be deceiving.
The Owls were literally high schoolers playing a team of professionals in games against Nebraska and Alabama. They were over matched from the time the 2014 schedule came out, so its difficult to exam how bad or how good FAU truly is after playing two teams vying for titles in Power-5 conferences.
FAU players and coaches know their 2014 slate is — figuratively — cleaned after playing two games they were destined to lose. Now the Owls return home against a foe it perceives as an equal adversary.
“We finally get to come home, and play teams that we match up with and have similar budgets,” FAU center Braden Lyons told the Sun Sentinel. “I don’t think anybody is downtrodden by the last two weeks.”
Lyons’ optimism is definitely warranted. If we treat the Owls games against the Cornhuskers and Tide like they’re the New York Yankees scrimmaging a college team during spring training, then gathering notes from last season’s FAU squad is the next best barometer for gauging where this team is at.
The Owls finished 6-6 in 2013, narrowly losing to Conference USA champion Rice by four and runner-up Marshall by one (both won 10 games). 2013 C-USA Newcomer of the year, quarterback Jaquez Johnson and star cornerback D’Joun Smith both return to play Tulsa after sitting out against Alabama to rehab shoulder injuries. Smith recorded seven INTs as a key contributor to FAU’s top defense in C-USA, with pass defense finishing 2013 ranked No. 2 Nationally.
Since Tulsa’s bread and butter is throwing the football, and its overall talent pales in comparison to both Nebraska and Alabama, the Golden Hurricane could find itself struggling early against a confident FAU secondary.
Kelly Hines, Golden Hurricane beat writer for Tulsa World, believes Tulsa should be concerned about playing FAU, a team, in her opinion, with weapons on both sides of the ball.
“I think the teams are in similar situations still reeling from a big loss against a top-five opponent and trying not to let that continue to defeat them heading into an important game for both,” Hines told AAC Football Fever via email. “This is almost a must-win for TU because last season had a spiraling effect, and avoiding a loss in Boca Raton is the only way to guarantee that won’t happen at this point in the year.”
Tulsa can’t afford a lack-luster performance from Dane Evans if it wants to win against the Owls and avoid another season that spirals early. As good as Evans was against Tulane (let’s be fair and not mention Oklahoma), he still tossed two interceptions. In Boca Raton, FL, Evans will be absent the home crowd that helped he and the Golden Hurricane defeat Tulane in a close battle. Throwing two INTs this time may end with another L in the loss column.
The Tulsa running game must do better than the 3.5 yards per carry the team is averaging after its first two games. Hines said backup running back Tavarreon Dickerson has more speed and unpredictability than starter James Flanders, but he’s banged up and not at full health. If Dickerson is healthy just enough to add an extra wrinkle to the running game, Tulsa should improve on its 3.5 yards per carry average against the Owls.
The game Saturday at FAU is one Tulsa fans believe their team can win, and convincingly based on the Owls ugly start to the season. But move the Tulane win to another part of the schedule, and Tulsa looks like an ugly team with nothing positive to gather from a 52-7 drubbing by a Power 5 team.
Bill Blankenship is .500 on the road in his three seasons as Tulsa’s head coach. A concerning stat for Tulsa fans who will see their team play Saturday night in the muggy, south Florida heat.
Beating FAU by a few scores would be the perfect medicine for a team disappointed with its previous performance. Nevertheless, advancing to 2-1, regardless the margin of victory, would place Tulsa one win away from tying its three-win total from 2013.
A major feat for a team trying to make a return to the post season and compete in its new conference.
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