Breaking Down Tulsa's Loss to SMU

Originally Published: Oct 10, 2010 10:33 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

DALLAS, TEXAS – Grading the Golden Hurricane’s performance this week is trickier than usual. Against SMU, Tulsa played well in spurts but also hit new levels of terrible. They racked up 364 yards but also allowed the Mustangs to average 7.5 yards per play. Mustangs quarterback Kyle Padron outgained the entire Golden Hurricane team. That’s how bad it was in Dallas.

OFFENSE: C-
Tulsa got off to a quick start again just like the previous week against Memphis. G.J. Kinne put Tulsa up 7-0 with his opening drive touchdown run. The Golden Hurricane is now 2-1 when scoring first this season. The offense surged in the fourth quarter when it needed points, driving 69 yards in eight plays to cut SMU’s lead to just 3 points.

But, in between those drives, Tulsa was stagnant on offense. On at least six occasions, Kinne delivered a catchable deep ball 30+ yards down the field only to have the receiver fail to make the catch. Thomas Roberson dropped two would-be scores that killed any momentum Tulsa had brewing.

DEFENSE: D
Co-Defensive Coordinator Keith Patterson’s unit had no answers for Padron. The sophomore had all day long to throw against the Golden Hurricane. On nearly every possession, Padron had the option to run or pass because the SMU protection was so outstanding. Tulsa did sack Padron three times, but that doesn’t accurately represent the lack of pressure from the Golden Hurricane.

Had it not been for a spectacular Dexter McCoil interception in the first quarter and a timely forced fumble by Marco Nelson just before the half, SMU could have likely led by three touchdowns at halftime.

Zach Line rushed for 92 yards against Tulsa. All three of the Mustangs’ scoring drives were 72 yards or longer.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D
Head coach Todd Graham said after the game that special teams cost Tulsa the win. Kevin Fitzpatrick had two field goals blocked against the Mustangs, and that proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.

One bright spot was punter Michael Such. The senior smashed four punts for a total of 187 yards against SMU and pinned the Mustangs’ inside their own 5-yard line twice. On one of those punts, Darius Johnson mishandled the kick deep in his own territory. At least three Tulsa players had a shot at recovering the muffed punt but were unable to pounce on it. Had the special teams come up with that play at a crucial time in the second half, Tulsa could have cut the lead to four points and may have had a better shot at picking up its second road win.

The return game was okay. Punt returns averaged just seven yards per try while kickoffs were much better, at 23.5 yards per return.

OVERALL: C-
Had Tulsa been able to complete the comeback, they would have moved into a tie for second place in the league. Instead, they fall to 1-2 and looked out of sync in doing so. After scoring to pull to within 21-18, the defense was unable to prevent SMU from running out the clock. Tulsa got outgained for the second time the season. SMU bettered the Golden Hurricane by 123 yards.

After struggling through an uphill 3-game conference road challenge, the Golden Hurricane FINALLY has a chance to host a league game. Tulsa welcomes the Tulane Green Wave to Skelly Field on Saturday.