Tulsa Spring Football Preview
Was Tulsa's season-ending victory over SMU just a tease, or a sign of things to come?
Only the 2019 season will determine whether or not that win will boost Tulsa back into being a winning football program, and TU begins that journey on Friday, March 1, when it opens spring practice.
What is certain, however, is that there were two games in 2018 that were daggers from which the Golden Hurricane couldn’t overcome. Quite simply, Tulsa never recovered from home losses to Arkansas State and South Florida.
The Arkansas State loss was, for a lack of a better term, disgusting in every way. Arkansas State certainly wasn’t a bad team, finishing 8-4 last season. But they weren’t world beaters at all, finishing 5-3 in the uninspiring Sun Belt.
You just can’t lose to a team like Arkansas State at home and expect to have a good season. Ever. That game set the tone for the season.
And the 29-20 loss was extremely disappointing considering Tulsa had just outplayed Texas in the second half of a very competitive 28-21 loss. TU was one stop away from having a chance to tie a team that finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the nation.
Tulsa (3-9, 2-6 AAC) then lost 31-17 on the road to what turned out to be a strong Temple (8-4, 7-1) team in a game where Tulsa outgained Temple 403-300 and had twice as many first downs (32-16). But five turnovers by quarterback Luke Skipper, combined with six sacks and his hurting back, made it time to turn to another option at quarterback.
Sending a redshirt freshman who has never taken a college snap into action at a good Houston (8-4, 5-3) squad was a tough assignment for Seth Boomer. Tulsa somehow managed to lead by nine early into the fourth quarter before things collapsed.
The crusher to Tulsa’s confidence came the next week when 1-4 TU faced undefeated No. 23 South Florida. Blowing a 24-10 fourth quarter lead, only to lose on the last play, was basically the end of Tulsa’s chances of having a .500 season.
USF (7-5, 3-5) wound up being highly overrated, losing all of its last five games by at least 10 points. However, the confidence boost Tulsa would have received from beating a ranked team would have been priceless.
The mindset going into the next week at Arkansas would have been completely different. And not to mention there being a big difference between a 2-4 and 1-5 record.
So, how can Tulsa avoid another losing season in 2019? What hope is there?
It always starts with personnel, especially since TU coach Philip Montgomery has proven he can win at Tulsa with a good quarterback. It always starts with the quarterback.
But you have to have more than a quarterback. And Tulsa has starters returning at 17 positions, including eight on offense and nine on defense. And what Tulsa already has on campus could pay big dividends as well.
Of course, at the start of spring practice, many Hurricane fans will focus on the quarterback position and the anticipated debut of Baylor transfer Zach Smith. Any quarterback who throws for 463 yards against Oklahoma certainly elevates the position.
What Smith did for a struggling Baylor team certainly catches Tulsa’s attention since the Golden Hurricane has not had a quarterback pass for even 300 yards in a game since Dane Evans was the quarterback in 2016.
But Smith has a challenger in Boomer, who is now battle tested. He really came on at the end of the year, especially in the season finale, where he completed 20 of 27 passes (74 percent) for 251 yards. Skipper remains in the mix, along with redshirt freshman Davis Brin.
Tulsa will get 15 spring practice sessions, ending with the annual spring game on April 6. There will be many other position battles to watch other than quarterback, including wide receiver and offensive line on offense and safety and defensive end on defense. The Hurricane will also be breaking in new defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie.
The fun begins Friday, so stay tuned to Inside Tulsa Sports throughout spring ball.