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A better College Football Playoff path, the best bowl games and more Champ Week thoughts
2. Tulsa is just a nasty, nasty football team
Tulsa played eight games this season. Six were decided by single digits, four of its last five by six or fewer points. The Golden Hurricane offense could have stood to show up more consistently, but the defense was one of the most exciting in college football.
Despite games against Cincinnati, UCF, SMU and Oklahoma State, among others, Tulsa finished 11th in success rate allowed and ninth in marginal explosiveness allowed (my measure of the magnitude of an offense's successful plays, adjusted for field position). Here are the teams that finished in the top 15 in both measures: Cincinnati, Tulsa, West Virginia. That's it.
Even if you beat Tulsa this year -- and only two teams got the pleasure -- this was maybe one of the least enjoyable teams in the country to play. The Golden Hurricane hit hard; they swallow up whatever you try to do; and players such as linebacker Zaven Collins and end Jaxon Player would have had a spot in the rotation of any defense in the country. Head coach Philip Montgomery was hired at TU because of his offensive prowess, but as opponents have adapted to his and others' versions of the spread, his own defense, led by future power conference defensive coordinator Joseph Gillespie for the past two years, has adapted even more. His 3-3-5 is unique and frustrating, and watching Cincinnati try to move the ball against Tulsa in cold and soggy weather was miserable ... in all the right, football-related ways.
A better College Football Playoff path, the best bowl games and more Champ Week thoughts
2. Tulsa is just a nasty, nasty football team
Tulsa played eight games this season. Six were decided by single digits, four of its last five by six or fewer points. The Golden Hurricane offense could have stood to show up more consistently, but the defense was one of the most exciting in college football.
Despite games against Cincinnati, UCF, SMU and Oklahoma State, among others, Tulsa finished 11th in success rate allowed and ninth in marginal explosiveness allowed (my measure of the magnitude of an offense's successful plays, adjusted for field position). Here are the teams that finished in the top 15 in both measures: Cincinnati, Tulsa, West Virginia. That's it.
Even if you beat Tulsa this year -- and only two teams got the pleasure -- this was maybe one of the least enjoyable teams in the country to play. The Golden Hurricane hit hard; they swallow up whatever you try to do; and players such as linebacker Zaven Collins and end Jaxon Player would have had a spot in the rotation of any defense in the country. Head coach Philip Montgomery was hired at TU because of his offensive prowess, but as opponents have adapted to his and others' versions of the spread, his own defense, led by future power conference defensive coordinator Joseph Gillespie for the past two years, has adapted even more. His 3-3-5 is unique and frustrating, and watching Cincinnati try to move the ball against Tulsa in cold and soggy weather was miserable ... in all the right, football-related ways.
