In desperate need of a win, Tulsa hosts No. 23 South Florida
With all the quarterback talk about Seth Boomer going on, what is just as interesting this week is Tulsa’s opponent Friday night, the enigmatic No. 23 South Florida Bulls.
South Florida (5-0, 1-0 AAC) has an explosive offense with major talent in quarterback Blake Barnett and record-setting running back Jordan Cronkrite.
But as good as the Bulls are, they aren’t dominating games at all. Their biggest victory margin was last week, a 58-42 road win against a bad UMass team. In its previous game, USF won 20-13 at home against a really weak East Carolina team (ECU lost 28-23 at home against FCS North Carolina A&T in its season opener).
Their other two major college wins were over mediocre power conference teams. The Bulls won 25-19 against Illinois (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) at Soldier Field in Chicago, and 48-38 over Georgia Tech (3-3, 1-2 ACC) at home at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. They even only beat FCS team Elon 34-14 in their opener.
Even Tulsa, in their disastrous 2-10 season of 2017 almost won at South Florida late in the season, falling 27-20. That is amazing considering USF is coming off consecutive 10-2 seasons, with the last and current seasons coached by former Texas and Louisville coach Charlie Strong.
The Bulls are good but vulnerable. And certainly they are due to lose. But can a struggling Tulsa (1-4, 0-2) pull off what would be a major upset?
The key to winning the game starts with defense. USF quarterback Blake Barnett is the type of talent Tulsa can dream of having. A 5-star recruit who signed with Alabama out of high school, Barnett even started the season opener for the Crimson Tide in 2016 as a redshirt freshman in a 52-6 win over USC.
But after completing five of six passes for 100 yards against USC, Barnett was yanked in favor of Jalen Hurts during the game. The 6-foot-5, 217-pound Barnett played in three games and transferred in September of 2016. He became eligible at Arizona State in 2017, but rarely played there. He is a graduate transfer who has two years of eligibility left.
Passing for 411 yards at Illinois this year is an accomplishment by Barnett which will capture your attention. Barnett is averaging 262.2 yards passing per game, and does have some running ability. He rushed for 86 yards on 15 carries against Georgia Tech, but in the last three games he has been held to just three yards on 26 carries.
Cronkrite is coming off of a USF and AAC record performance of 302 yards rushing against UMass. He needed only 23 carries to average 13.1 yards per carry and score three touchdowns. For the season, Cronkrite has 606 yards rushing with an 8.8 yards per carry average, and is averaging 151.5 yards per game in only four games.
Like Barnett, Cronkrite is a transfer from a SEC school, having spent his first two years at Florida, where he rushed for 302 yards and had 26 receptions in two years as a Gator. The 5-11, 207-pound junior is showing this season that he has the talent to play for anybody.
Tulsa’s improved defense this season could be poised to do well against USF, although it must do a better job of getting to the quarterback. Four sacks in five games by the defense isn’t going to strike fear into opponents.
If Tulsa limits the Bulls explosive offense, then the Golden Hurricane offense must show up. Tulsa showed signs of life in its 41-26 loss at Houston last week in Boomer’s first collegiate action.
But in the end, the offense fizzled out in the fourth quarter, showing the same turnover tendencies at quarterback as it showed under previous starter Luke Skipper. Amazingly, Tulsa led 26-17 early in the fourth quarter and looked like it might really pull off the upset in Houston.
Boomer showed poise and athletic ability in completing 13 of 31 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown at Houston. But a key interception and fumble in the fourth quarter doomed Tulsa.
Also, Boomer was incredibly fortunate that early in the game, Houston dropped a couple of easy interceptions. Such early interceptions really could have completely changed the outlook on Boomer’s performance.
Whether it is Boomer, Skipper, Chad President or someone else at quarterback, the turnovers have to stop if Tulsa is going to turn around its season. And Tulsa must have some luck with injuries.
It would be nice to have Skipper available after not suiting up due to a back/shoulder injury last week. He is better than the other backup alternatives.
Tulsa is only a 7.5 point underdog to the Bulls, but if Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor are unavailable, the running back situation could get dire. Junior running back Javon Thomas saw his first extensive career action last week, gaining 46 yards on 15 carries.
Thomas' numbers are underwhelming considering Taylor rushed for a career high 152 yards on 33 carries against Houston before leaving with an injury. If Taylor or Brooks can’t go, it would be interesting to see if true freshman T.K. Wilkerson gets his shot to show what he can do. If not, redshirt freshman Reed Martin could get playing time.
If Tulsa loses again Friday, then the 2018 season really could be a free fall like the 2017 season. That would be a shame since this team has the ability to be so much more than that.
In order to do that, however, the turnovers must stop. Immediately.
A lot to ask a freshman playing in only his second college game.