Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
We come to our fourth consecutive, and final, Conference USA team in the 2010 previews. The first sign that all was not well at Tulsa in 2009 would have been the Oklahoma game, where the Golden Hurricane got wiped off the field to the tune of 45-0, by an Oklahoma squad that wasn’t that good. They bounced back after a 1-AA win and beat Rice, then gave Boise State one of their best games of the year, falling 28-21. That game tipped off a shocking six game losing streak, broken only by beating Memphis in overtime to end the season.
2010 would be a great year to bounce back, because Tulsa’s going to get another chance in the national spotlight. And they should be primed to do just that, with nine starters back on offense, including QB GJ Kinne. If not for that Keenum fella down in Houston, Tulsa might be back as the favorite in the West. They do have to replace six defensive starters, but this is Conference USA, and defense is but an afterthought.
Schedule
Coaching
Todd Graham’s unusual coaching career enters it’s fourth year at Tulsa, fifth overall. He was an assistant under Steve Kragthorpe, then took the head coaching job at Rice in 2006. Kragthorpe left for Louisville (bad decision) for 2007, and Graham left Rice after one season to take over at Tulsa. Rice does not care for Graham or Tulsa much these days. Despite a down year in 2009, Graham already has two 10+ win seasons at Tulsa and would have to struggle mightily for a couple more years before his seat warmed up much.
Rankings
Conference USA does not issue a preseason ranking, and Tulsa didn’t make the cut in any national polls.
Outlook
While I don’t think Tulsa is quite back to being a C-USA powerhouse, I do think they’ll be in the thick of the West division race. They’ll need help, because Houston is a more talented team, but Houston is also more than capable of self-destructing a couple times too. Ultimately though, I think this is a six or seven win year for Tulsa, with 8 or 9 a possibility.
Tulsa Connections
Official Twitter Feed – hooray for football only feeds! I follow nearly every non-BCS school in the country (every account listed in these previews, and that’s just the beginning), but my interest in the new golf coach at your school is very, very low.
InsideTulsaSports.com – Rivals message board
Tulsa World – local coverage of the Golden Hurricane