Tulsa at Arkansas

Foes say Tulsa better than record

Tulsa quarterback Seth Boomer (12) during an NCAA college football game between South Florida and Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla., Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tulsa quarterback Seth Boomer (12) during an NCAA college football game between South Florida and Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla., Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Tulsa has lost 18 consecutive games to the University of Arkansas and hasn't beaten a Football Bowl Subdivision team this season, but the Razorbacks should be on upset alert when the Golden Hurricane visit for homecoming Saturday.

Tulsa (1-5, 0-3 American Athletic Conference) came within a few seconds of knocking off No. 21 South Florida (6-0) on Friday in a 25-24 loss. The previous week Houston (5-1) needed a fourth-quarter comeback to win 41-26.

Tulsa (1-5, 0-3 AAC)

DATE;OPPONENT;RESULT/TIME

Sept. 1;Central Arkansas;W, 38-27

Sept. 8;at Texas;L, 28-21

Sept. 15;Arkansas State, L, 29-20

Sept. 20;at Temple*;L, 34-17

Oct. 4;at Houston*;L, 41-26

Oct. 12;South Florida*;L, 25-24

Saturday;at Arkansas;11 a.m.

Oct. 27;Tulane*;6 p.m.

Nov. 3;Connecticut*;TBA

Nov. 10;at Memphis*:TBA

Nov. 17;at Navy*:2:30 p.m.

Nov. 24;SMU*:TBA

*American Athletic Conference game

"The No. 1 thing you can't do is look at Tulsa's record, because they're a better team than what their record shows," said South Florida Coach Charlie Strong, who is from Batesville and played at the University of Central Arkansas. "They're physical and play really aggressive. They have enough playmakers where they can move the ball on offense, and they can stop people on defense."

The Bulls avoided an upset at Tulsa when Coby Weiss hit a 22-yard field goal with two seconds left to cap a 7-play, 52-yard drive.

Four plays before the game-winning kick, South Florida faced first and 20 from its 48, but a roughing the passer penalty and a 32-yard completion from Blake Barnett to Tyre McCants helped the Bulls rally from a 24-10 deficit with less than nine minutes left.

"We definitely had our chances," Tulsa Coach Philip Montgomery said. "I thought our team played well enough to win. We just had to finish it out."

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Golden Hurricane since beating the University of Central Arkansas 38-27 to open the season.

Tulsa played Texas -- now ranked No. 7 -- tough in a 28-21 loss on the road. The Golden Hurricane also lost to Arkansas State University 29-20 and Temple 34-17.

"It's just been one of those seasons for them," Strong said. "They've been in a lot of really close games. They just haven't been able to pull them out."

Tulsa led Houston 26-17 with 13 minutes left.

"Their record is very misleading," Houston Coach Major Applewhite said. "They're a very well-coached football team, and they play with great effort. They do a lot of things to present problems on offense and defense and schematically."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Seth Boomer has started the past two games with sophomore Luke Skipper sidelined by an undisclosed injury. He has completed 19 of 52 passes for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception, and rushed 17 times for 42 yards.

"Boomer's growing and getting better every day," Montgomery said. "Obviously, we'd like to speed up the learning curve of it all. But he's a guy that's got great leadership ability.

"He's anxious to get back on the practice field and continue to keep growing. He made some big plays for us, and he missed some big things, too. You go through those peaks and valleys with young quarterbacks."

Sophomore running backs Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor each missed a game due to injuries, but they've combined to rush for 886 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Brooks rushed 28 times for 100 yards against South Florida and has 120 carries for 475 yards. Taylor, who rushed 33 times for 154 yards against Houston, has 92 carries for 411 yards.

"They're both guys that understand what we're doing offensively," Montgomery said. "They run with the type of passion that you want them to possess. They feed off of each other extremely well."

The Golden Hurricane's top receivers are junior Keenan Anderson (18 catches for 256 yards) and senior Justin Hobbs (19 for 256). The offensive line has three senior starters.

Junior middle linebacker Cooper Edmiston leads the defense with 54 tackles, 3 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. Senior strong safety McKinley Whitfield has 36 tackles.

"I think our defense has done a great job all year long," Montgomery said. "We've faced some very tough offenses."

Montgomery, a former Baylor offensive coordinator, led Tulsa to records of 6-7 in 2015 and 10-3 in 2016 with bids to the Independence and Miami Beach bowls, but the Golden Hurricane are 3-15 since the start of 2017.

Seven of those losses are by seven or fewer points.

"It's hard to win," Applewhite said. "There's a fine line. This game will humble you quickly."

Strong said he's impressed by the fight in the Golden Hurricane despite the mounting losses.

"A lot of teams when they get in that position, they give in, but I don't think this team will," Strong said. "I think this team will continue to battle and play hard and give it everything they've got."

Tulsa has lost to 10 consecutive FBS opponents since beating Houston 45-17 last season.

"The guys are being very resilient," Montgomery said. "We stay tied together, knowing that we're close.

"We've got to take that next step and get over the hump."

Sports on 10/17/2018

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