2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Golden Hurricane
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have a nice history in college football. Tulsa hasn’t necessarily gotten a lot of attention because of their competition, but this is a program that just constantly puts up impressive seasons. They went 11-3 last year and won Conference USA.
Conference USA 2012-2013 College Football Previews: Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Head Coach: Bill Blankenship
2012 Record: 11-3
Tulsa Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: +2,000 (Part of Field)
Tulsa Gambling Odds to win Conference USA West Division: +135
Tulsa Gambling Odds to win Conference USA: +215
Tulsa will join the Big East in 2014, so this is their last year to make their mark on Conference USA.
Tulsa has some very lofty goals for the 2013 season, and they should. This is a team that returns a ton of talent from a team that went 11-3, and they weren’t dominated by anyone on their schedule. They narrowly missed going unbeaten in the conference.
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What can they do for an encore in 2014?
Team Strengths:
The entire running game is a massive area of strength. Trey Watts and J’Terian Douglas give this team the best running back duo in the conference by a landslide. Honestly, there aren’t many duos in the nation better than those two. Cody Green is a pretty good runner at the quarterback spot as well. There simply won’t be many teams in this conference who can stop Tulsa from running the football. Watts has an NFL future ahead of him, and he and Douglas are both capable of going the distance anytime they touch the football.
Tulsa’s top three receivers from a year ago are all back for 2013. Cody Green will be able to air it out to Jordan Thomas, Thomas Roberson, and Keyarris Garrett this year. All three of these guys are high quality receivers who can put up some big numbers.
Shawn Jackson gives Tulsa a great linebacker to build the defense around. While he will have a lot of youngsters playing around him, Jackson should excel in 2013. Look for him to be one of the best defensive players in this conference.
Team Weaknesses:
Tulsa returns just three starters on the defensive side of the ball. While the offense should be terrific, this defense could hold back the Golden Hurricane. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
There are plenty of teams in Conference USA who can pile up the points, and Tulsa will have to prove they can at least slow them down. The defensive line will be the single biggest area of weakness for this unit. Can this front seven slow down the opponents running games? It will be a big concern.
Tulsa’s entire offense looks set except for the offensive line. The Golden Hurricane must groom some new faces in this key unit, and that will be key to the team’s long-term success. If the Golden Hurricane can’t get a good push from the offensive front, the running game won’t be as successful as it truly should be.
2013-2014 Tulsa Football Prediction: 10-3
Tulsa has plenty of question marks heading into the season, but they still have some absolute stars on the offensive side. I expect the Golden Hurricane to score a ton of points this season. They’ll give up quite a few as well, but I think they’ll be able to outscore most of their opponents. The non-conference schedule is really tough, which should actually help this team be well-prepared inside the conference.
2013 Golden Hurricane Schedule
8/29/13 7:00 PM ET @BGREN
9/7/13 7:00 PM ET COLST
9/14/13 12:00 PM ET @OKLA
9/26/13 7:30 PM ET IOWST
10/5/13 3:30 PM ET RICE
10/12/13 TBD @UTEP
10/26/13 3:30 PM ET @TULNE
11/2/13 TBD TXSA
11/9/13 TBD @ECAR
11/14/13 7:30 PM ET MARSH
11/23/13 7:00 PM ET @LTECH
11/30/13 TBD NOTEX
