Tulsa looking to shed nation's longest losing streak

<br>TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ When Duke and Houston mustered surprise victories last week, Tulsa inherited a tag no one wants: owner of the nation's longest losing streak. <br><br>Tulsa hasn't won since

Friday, September 6th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ When Duke and Houston mustered surprise victories last week, Tulsa inherited a tag no one wants: owner of the nation's longest losing streak.

Tulsa hasn't won since last season's opener, a 51-0 victory over Division 1-AA Indiana State on Aug. 30. Since then the Golden Hurricane have dropped 11 straight, including a 37-0 loss to No. 2 Oklahoma in the opener.

Coach Keith Burns downplays the streak but he's looking at Saturday's opponent, Arkansas State (0-2), as an opportunity to halt the losing.

``Too much is always made out of it,'' Burns said. ``It's a different group of guys, a different set of scenarios, so for us we're 0-1 and we need to get a win bad.''

Burns is no stranger to losing streaks. He inherited what was then the nation's longest in 1989, when he joined the coaching staff at Rice. The Owls promptly defeated SMU in their opener.

``If we play up to our potential and we don't have a self-inflicted wound, we have a great chance to win,'' said Burns, who is 6-18 in two-plus seasons at Tulsa. ``That's how we look at every game.''

Arkansas State, which has given up 63 and 33 points in its games this season, also needs a victory. The Indians have won just two of their past 13 games. They've got the advantage and added motivation of playing before a home crowd for the first time this season.

``I know they're eager to get their home opener actually in Jonesboro and have a team come in that right now _ we're carrying some baggage,'' Burns said. ``They feel they have a chance to get their first win of the season, and that's how we feel.''

Tulsa should feel emboldened after playing the Sooners tough for three quarters, trailing only 3-0 at halftime and 17-0 going into the final period. Tailback Eric Richardson had two big runs, and the defense took three turnovers from Oklahoma.

``There were flashes of so many good things that you have a tendency to say, `Well, if we did it against them, maybe we can do it against another group,' `` Burns said.

The Indians, however, were never in the game against No. 12 Virginia Tech, and then gave San Jose State five turnovers and two defensive scores.

Burns is suggesting he'll attack the Arkansas State defense more than he could Oklahoma, which has one of the nation's most heralded defenses.

``We weren't as wide open as we have the potential to be'' with an athletic group of receivers, an efficient runner in Richardson and a mobile quarterback in Tyler Gooch, Burns said.

He expects Arkansas State, under first-year coach Steve Roberts, to stretch the field with deep balls, something Oklahoma tried only a few times.

Burns also expects Roberts to use the Golden Hurricane's porous run defense, which allowed the Sooners' 378 yards, to resuscitate the Indians' sluggish ground game. They're averaging 66 yards per game with an average of just 2 yards a carry.

Meanwhile, Burns is trying to keep his players' minds off the streak and focused on getting the job done.

``It's another game. We need to win because we're all aware that we now have the nations' longest losing streak, we're all aware of the things that have happened in the past,'' he said. ``But the bottom line is, you play this game to win.''