Breaking Down Tulsa Win Over Memphis

Originally Published: Oct 3, 2010 8:31 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Mobile Journalist

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In the end, the Golden Hurricane did what it was supposed to do: beat up on an inferior conference opponent. Memphis came into Saturday’s battle with the worst scoring offense in Conference USA. Tulsa entered with an offense that hadn’t really been stopped for much of the season. The end result was predictable.

OFFENSE: B+
You say, "48 points and just a B+?"

Well, yes.

Tulsa didn’t play perfect football on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the second quarter.

Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne floated passes and his receivers dropped the passes that were on target. In one series, Kinne underthrew Damaris Johnson over the middle, threw behind Ricky Johnson to the sideline and Ricky dropped a perfectly thrown ball that would have given Tulsa a first down on 3rd and 10. Kinne threw for just 18 yards in the second quarter.

There were plenty of positives, though, starting with the running game. Eleven different players carried the ball, and as a team, Tulsa gained 233 yards on the ground. The most impressive thing about that figure is that nobody rushed for more than 46 yards individually (Ja’Terian Douglas). That kind of balance will win you a lot of league games.

Kinne was sacked just once against the Tigers and didn’t throw an interception for the first time since an October 21st road loss against UTEP last season. Six different players scored touchdowns for the Golden Hurricane and TU had ten plays of 15+ yards. Compare that to just four plays for negative yards and it’s hard to give them anything less than a B+.

DEFENSE: A-
For the second week in a row, Tulsa made things difficult for the opposing offense. Last week they hassled Central Arkansas for six tackles for loss. This week against Memphis, they forced four turnovers.

Marco Nelson intercepted a pass for the third time in four games. His play-making ability has justified Todd Graham’s decision to insert the freshman into the starting lineup.

Derrick Jackson and Tyrunn Walker both recovered Tigers fumbles in the second quarter. The defense continued to pound Memphis all night long, prompting linebacker Tanner Antle to breathe a half-joking sigh of relief in his postgame interview.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-
The special teams struggled for the first time this season. A lot of that had to do with the unforgiving weather at the Liberty Bowl, but some of the mistakes were avoidable as well.

Kevin Fitzpatrick missed two field goals in the first half against the Tigers after hitting 7-of-8 entering the game. He missed from 46 and 26 yards. Fitzpatrick also booted a kickoff out of bounds. The wind was gusting up to 30 miles per hour, but Graham said he still wasn’t happy with the kicking game.

Shawn Jackson recovered a muffed punt in the second quarter and Tulsa was decent in the punting game, allowing just over 15 yards per return and pinning the Tigers deep in their own territory.

OVERALL: B
Players earned the right to joke around after the game by winning on the road for the first time this season. But, in between all the postgame laughter and smiles was the honest realization that the team didn’t play its best football.

There were ups and downs. Tulsa had a chance to score at least 35 points in the first half and only came away with 20. Graham was pretty disappointed with that. After giving up a second quarter touchdown, Tulsa scored 34 unanswered points. Graham was pretty pleased with that.

The defense is making it hard for opponents to game plan for this team. In Memphis, Tulsa didn’t look anything like the team that allowed 58 points per game in its first two road tests. That unit will have to play well again in Dallas next weekend against an SMU team that is nasty at home.