Todd Graham: Our Defense Must Improve

The Golden Hurricane has given up 116 points in its first three games.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:57 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Sep 20, 2010 4:34 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Mobile Journalist

TULSA, Oklahoma – As far as defensive performances go Tulsa’s effort against Oklahoma State Saturday night left much to be desired. The Golden Hurricane whiffed on tackles, let receivers get behind them and struggled to keep the Cowboys off the scoreboard.

“They dominated us with big plays,” said head coach Todd Graham. “We tried just about everything to cover the vertical passes. They are a very, very explosive offense. You kind of have to pick your poison.”

Graham didn’t make excuses for his Golden Hurricane defense in his weekly press conference. He pointed out that the team is forced to play numerous freshmen because of injuries and eligibility issues, but wouldn’t use that as a crutch to excuse Tulsa’s poor play.

“There’s no excuses out of us about youth and inexperience,” said Graham. “We’ve got to play better.”

Freshman Marco Nelson had 13 total tackles and an 81-yard interception return for a score. He also was out of position on three of Oklahoma State’s deep touchdown passes.

Fellow freshman Shawn Jackson picked up eight tackles including one for loss. He also missed a few that let OSU receivers break free down the middle of the field.

“We felt like we had a great chance. We feel like we prepared good,” said Jackson. “It just didn’t turn out like we planned. It was tough.”

Through three weeks, the Tulsa defense has given up 45.3 points per game. That average dumps the Golden Hurricane down to 117th in the nation. Their inexperience is showing up on the game film, but Graham expects improvement before conference play kicks off two Saturdays from now.

“It’s all about fundamentals. It’s all about getting better,” said Graham. “Our deal is just trying to teach our system and get better fundamentally.”

Tulsa hosts Central Arkansas on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.