Vitals: Tulsa vs. Tulane

Originally Published: Oct 15, 2010 6:27 PM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-3, 1-2) vs. Tulane (2-3, 0-1)
6:05 p.m. CST
H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Statistical leaders:

Where to find it?

On TV: None
On Radio: KRMG 740 AM/FM 102.3 (Bruce Howard, Rick Couri, Chris Kaiser)


What you need to know?

Although Tulsa has already played three conference games, Saturday’s matchup will be its first conference game at home. This is the seventh meeting between Tulsa and Tulane, with the Golden Hurricane holding the overall edge in the series, 5-1. Tulane’s only victory against Tulsa came in 1968 when it won 25-15. Since Tulsa’s move to Conference USA, it has played the Green Wave each year since 2005 and won all of those contests.

While Tulsa finally gets to play a conference game in front of its home crowd, Tulane will have to wait a while longer. It heads on the road to UTEP next week and doesn’t have its first home game until Oct. 30.

Tulane coach Bob Toledo has seen better days as a coach than in his four years at the helm of the Green Wave. He has compiled an 11-30 record in that span. Before a stint as an assistant coach at New Mexico, he spent 1996-2002 at UCLA, where he racked up a 49-32 record.

Who to watch?

Tulsa’s defense has struggled immensely, and Tulane’s offense has been among the worst in the country, so something has to give on Saturday. The Golden Hurricane ranks 88th nationally in scoring defense and 102nd in total defense. Meanwhile, the Green Wave is 111th in total offense. Whichever side can gain the upper hand in the perhaps less-than-stellar battle will give their team a big advantage.

The Green Wave doesn’t have many individual players among the nation’s statistical leaders, but one standout on the defensive side is linebacker Trent Mackey. He is averaging 13 tackles per contest, good for second nationally. He racked up 17 tackles in Tulane’s game against Army last week.

Tulsa’s Damaris Johnson is set to become Conference USA’s all-time leader in kickoff return yardage as soon as Saturday’s game against Tulane. He currently sits in second with 2,848 yards behind SMU’s Jessie Henderson, and needs 97 yards to take the top spot on the list. Henderson spent four years at SMU, racking up 2,945 yards on 122 returns. Johnson should easily surpass the mark in his junior year this season.