When talking about 'must wins', Tulsa’s game at San Jose State is the definition. Because quite simply, this is a game that Tulsa really, really needs to win.

A win gives Tulsa confidence and a realistic shot at going at least 2-2 in non-conference play. Because going 1-3 or worse in non-conference play has proven to be an incredibly tough thing historically for the Golden Hurricane to overcome.

So what are the reasons that Tulsa should beat San Jose State? Several.

First of all, Tulsa’s defensive showing in its 28-7 loss at Michigan State was outstanding, especially considering the offensive struggles the Golden Hurricane had in the game.

The Golden Hurricane defense gave up only one touchdown on defense, and that was on the opening drive of the game. A total of nine of the 28 points were given up by the offense on a fumble recovery in the end zone and a safety.

Time after time, Tulsa’s offense put its defense in terrible field position, with the defense holding the Spartans time and time again. Really, the defense was absolutely amazing.

“I thought our defense played extremely well,” Montgomery said of a rush defense that allowed only 108 yards at 2.7 yards per carry, and of a pass defense that allowed only 195 yards. “Did great against the run, very aggressive against the pass part of it.”

Secondly, despite Tulsa’s offensive problems, there are realistic reasons to think it will play much better against San Jose State.

Start with the fact that Michigan State’s defense is filled with future NFL players and is perennially outstanding. It should again be one of the top defenses in college football this season.

Despite that, quarterback Zach Smith withstood the abuse and was strong. Although he was sacked six times for minus 39 yards, and did lose a fumble and was intercepted once, Smith completed 16 of 27 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.

Smith’s performance in the final drive at the end of the first half was refreshing. With little time left on the clock, Smith completed passes of 37 yards to Keenen Johnson and a 28-yard touchdown pass to Sam Crawford.

Besides both of those throws being good, both Johnson and Crawford showed incredible toughness to overcome pass interference to make their catches.

And for all of the talk about a record-setting minus 73 yards rushing, that is a bogus stat. If college football used the correct way of counting rushing stats that the NFL uses, where quarterback sacks are included in team passing yardage, Tulsa’s rushing total would have been 17 rushes for six yards. Smith rushed four times for seven yards.

Yes, that is not good. At all. The young offensive line must do a better job of opening holes. Period. However, when counting the stats, 40 of the yards in losses came on two bad snaps.

“We’ve got some young guys up front who learned a lot. They’ve got to come in this week establishing the line of scrimmage and give us opportunities,” Montgomery said. “Got to be able to find a way to run the ball effectively.”

As for the bad snaps by new starting center Dylan Couch? Yes, that is unacceptable. However, for Couch, if he gets another chance, there is reason to think he can correct that. Couch was replaced by Gerard Wheeler after those errant snaps.

Couch needs only to research former Dallas Cowboys center John Fitzgerald for inspiration. Fitzgerald’s continued botched snaps out of the shotgun in the 1975 playoff game at Minnesota on the final drive of the game led to him getting replaced on that drive.

The same drive where Tulsa great Drew Pearson, who should be in the NFL Hall of Fame, caught the original 'Hail Mary' pass from Roger Staubach. Note that Kyle Davis, not Fitzgerald, was the center on that play.

Fitzgerald not only went on to start the next week, but started five more seasons and in three Super Bowls, including the victory in Super Bowl XII.

Another reason for optimism is Tulsa’s opponent. No, San Jose State should not be taken lightly. Especially considering it is a road game, and winning on the road is almost never easy.

But, lets face it. San Jose’s resume is awful. The Spartans are coming off a 1-11 season, for starters. Also, beating FCS team Northern Colorado 35-18 at home is less than inspiring. Northern Colorado finished 2-9 last season.

Quarterback Nick Love appears to be decent for San Jose State, completing 21 of 31 for 224 yards last week against a bad small college team. No running back or receiver posted any numbers of note.

The Golden Hurricane needs to build off of its positives. On defense, players like defensive end Trevis Gipson, linebackers Zaven Collins and Cooper Edmiston, and safety Brandon Johnson.

Quite simply, Gipson, Collins, Edmiston and company look like a wrecking crew. And Johnson recovered nicely after two penalties on the opening drive, leading TU with 9 tackles. The juco transfer was all over the field against MSU.

On offense, Smith is likely to get a lot more time to pass, and running backs Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor should get holes to run through. Receivers like Keylon Stokes, Keenen Johnson, Sam Crawford and Iowa State transfer Josh Johnson should have success.

The bottom line is that it is time for Tulsa to regain its winning ways. It starts at San Jose State.