Tulsa Accepts Bid to Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

The Golden Hurricane will take on the Warriors on Christmas Eve from Aloha Stadium.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:05 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa Accepts Bid to Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Originally Published: Dec 4, 2010 4:35 PM CDT

Oklahoma Sports Staff
TULSA, Oklahoma-- The University or Tulsa has accepted an invitation to play in the 2010 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to go to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and play a quality opponent in a 9-3 Hawaii team,” said Tulsa head coach Todd Graham. “Hawaii is ranked in the top-25 nationally, and for us getting the opportunity to win a Bowl game like this against a top-25 team would be awesome for our program.”

Tulsa will take on the Warriors December 24 at 7 p.m. CT at Aloha Stadium. This bowl game will marks Tulsa’s fifth bowl appearance in the last six years.

“We are excited to be hosting Coach Graham and his Golden Hurricane football squad in the 9th Annual Sheraton Hawaii Bowl,” Matlin said. “Spending the Christmas season in Hawai'i will be a well-deserved reward for the players, coaches and loyal Tulsa fans.”

Tulsa will play the home team and the nation’s 25th-ranked Hawaii Warriors of the Western Athletic Conference. Hawaii concludes its season Saturday at home in a non-conference game against UNLV.

Hawaii has the nation’s top passing offense with an average of 384.8 yards per game, while ranking 10th in total offense (487.8) and 12th in scoring offense (38.3). Hawaii has a defense that allows opponents just 348 yards of total offense and limits the opposition to 22.8 points.

“Hawaii is a very tough team. They have a tremendous program and some great players. Hawaii does a great job and have had some big time wins. The location is a very special destination for us and naturally playing such a great team in Hawaii and having an opportunity to compete for a big win is huge for our program,” said Graham.

Hawaii’s signal-caller, junior Bryant Moniz, a former walk-on, leads the nation in both passing (354.1) and total offense (358.0) and has completed 66.2 percent of his passes with 32 touchdowns. Two of his targets have each gained over 1,000 yards receiving, as senior slot receiver Greg Salas ranks No. 2 nationally in receiving yards per game (131.8). Kealoha Pilares has caught 79 passes for 1,149 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Tulsa ranks fifth in total offense (503.5), ninth in scoring (39.6), 15th in rushing offense (219.3) and 16th in passing offense (284.1).

In 12 games, Tulsa has averaged 503 yards of total offense and 39.6 points per game, ranking fifth nationally for offensive yards and ninth in the nation for scoring. The Hurricane has put up 500+ yards in seven games this year, while collecting 40+ points in six contests.

The Hurricane offense is led by junior quarterback G.J. Kinne and the multiple weapons he has at his disposal. Kinne has completed 60-percent of his passes for 3,307 yards and 28 TDs, while also leading the Hurricane in rushing with 557 yards and seven touchdowns.

Junior receiver Damaris Johnson, the nation’s leader in all-purpose yardage, has 771 receiving yards, 462 rushing yards, 795 kick return yards and 274 punt return yards. Senior H-back Charles Clay had caught 41 passes for 488 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns. Johnson and Clay leads eight receivers with 200+ receiving yards.

Defensively, Tulsa ranks among the top-5 nationally with 19 interceptions as sophomore Dexter McCoil and freshman Marco Nelson rank among the top-6 in the nation for interceptions. Junior linebacker Curnelius Arnick has a team-leading 106 tackles, while fellow linebacker Shawn Jackson, another true freshman, had a team-high 12.5 tackles for -56 yards. Senior linebacker Tanner Antle has also made big plays for the Hurricane this season with 79 tackles and 7.5 stops for -20 yards.

Tickets for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl can be purchased for $40 online at www.tulsahurricane.com or by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688).

The University of Tulsa and Conference USA have partners with the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl to create a distribution plan for any tickets that fans would like to purchase to donate to military personnel. The tickets Hurricane fans purchase to donate will be distributed within the five military branches to groups located on and around Oahu.

You can purchase tickets for the bowl game or to support the tickets for troops campaign by calling 918-631-GoTU (4688) or online at www.tulsahurricane.com Tickets for purchase or donation are only $40. Tickets for troops purchases are tax deductible and one priority point will be awarded for each pair of tickets purchased for donation. Conference USA will match all tickets purchased by Hurricane fans for the “Tickets for Troops” campaign.