Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Conference USA
Tulsa has been on some kind of run the last few seasons. The Golden Hurricane are going through a bit of a golden era in Conference USA. Well at least an era of winning. They are building off of two straight winning seasons by reaching the championship game again this year. After losing to Houston last season, they are got over the hump against UCF this year. The Golden Hurricane were unblemished in conference until the last week of the regular season against SMU. They just beat UCF two weeks ago. They are a team balanced enough to do well in their bowl game.
2012 Record: 10-3, 7-1
Coach: Bill Blankenship
Coach Bowl Record: 0-1
Big Wins: 10/6 at Marshall (45-38), 11/20 Rice (28-24)
Bad Losses: 9/1 at Iowa State (23-38), 11/3 at Arkansas (15-19)
Strengths:
Tulsa leads the conference in a lot of different categories. They are strong on both sides of the ball. That creates problems for all of their opponents. They are 25th in the country in total offense at 427 yards per game. Led by Cody Green, the offense is a fine tuned machine. He leads an offense that scores about 31 points per game. Their biggest weapons are their running backs, Trey Watts and Ja’Terian Douglas. Both have over 850 yards rushing. More impressive, both average over six yards per carry. For one backfield to have two running backs averaging over six yards per carry is rare. The Golden Hurricanes rank 12th in the country at 236 yards per game. They are not half bad on defense either. They lead the league in rushing defense and total defense. Conference USA is a highly proficient league, and the Golden Hurricane hold teams to 355 yards per game. Opponents only score 24 points per game. They also lead the conference in sacks and sacks allowed. Their lines on both sides are stout and often do not get dominated at the point of attack. They also are third in the nation in kickoff returns at nearly 28 yards per game.
Weaknesses:
It could be considered nitpicking to try and find a weakness on a 9-3 team that leads their conference in defensive production. If you had to point to something that Tulsa does not do well, it would be the ability to pass. At 226 yards per game, they do not rank very high in Conference USA or nationally. Cody Green has been alright this season, but has not lit up any stat sheets. He had 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He does not tend to play very well against stiffer competition. He had two of those interceptions in a loss to Iowa State. He threw three picks in a one point win against Fresno State. Green could have some trouble with whomever they match up with in their bowl game. On defense, they would probably like to improve their pass defense a little bit. They allow 235 yards per game which is not a bad number, but it is one of the weaker sections of the defense.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Trey Watts, RB, 959 yards
Passing: Cody Green, QB, 2,499 yards
Receiving: Keyarris Garrett, WR, 826 yards
Tackles: DeAundre Brown, LB, 125
Sacks: Jared St. John, DE, 11.5
Interceptions: Dexter McCoil, S, 4
2012 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 236.08 (12th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 226.17 (65, 7)
Total Offense: 462.25 (25, 3)
Scoring Offense: 35.17 (31, 3)
Rushing Defense: 120.00 (17, 1)
Pass Defense: 235.92 (61, 3)
Total Defense: 355.92 (33, 1)
Scoring Defense: 23.92 (40, 2)
Turnover Margin: 0.17 (53, 4)
Sacks: 3.75 (3, 1)
Sacks Allowed: 0.67 (4, 1)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2011 Armed Forces Bowl BYU (21-24)
2010 Hawaii Bowl Hawaii (62-35)
2008 GMAC Bowl Ball State (45-13)
2007 GMAC Bowl Bowling Green (63-7)
2006 Armed Forces Bowl Utah (13-25)
*all team stats through 11/24
