Tulsa Golden Hurricane Betting – 2011 Tulsa Golden Hurricane College Football Preview
The 2010 campaign was one to remember in Tulsa. Despite losing three of their first six games, the Golden Hurricane won seven straight to close the season, including a landmark win in South Bend over Notre Dame and an emphatic triumph in the Hawaii Bowl. Tulsa finished with 10 wins and a top 25 Associated Press ranking. The win over Notre Dame was the biggest win in program history since Tulsa’s 1945 Orange Bowl triumph over Georgia Tech. The Orange Bowl was bigger, but it’s clear that the accomplishment attained against the Fighting Irish carried a lot of mileage for the Golden Hurricane.
The key to Tulsa’s breakthrough was the win at Notre Dame. In past seasons, a wrenching loss in a big game robbed Tulsa of its confidence and self-belief. The team failed to show up in the games following those crushing losses. MLB baseball betting analysts who follow the nearby Kansas City Royals could relate to the way in which Tulsa hit an emotional wall over the course of its season.
Dealing with the psychological challenges of a season is the annual point of focus for this program. In 2010, Tulsa solved this often-vexing problem. After struggling for the first two months of the season, Tulsa came alive thanks to its victory at Notre Dame. Reinvigorated and roused, the Golden Hurricane flourished in November and almost won the Conference USA West Division title. The team’s max-out performance in the Hawaii Bowl – in what was a legitimate road game against the University of Hawaii – only reinforced the importance of the Notre Dame game, the season maker and attitude changer for this team. The community of sports betting students took note of this.
This year should be challenging for Tulsa – not because it lacks talent, but because the coaching staff was shaken up in the month of January, after the season had ended. Former head coach Todd Graham is now in Pittsburgh. He took that job when the Panthers’ first hire, Michael Haywood, gave up his job because of a domestic assault incident. New Tulsa head coach Bill Blankenship, the associate head coach under Graham in 2010, will be tested at a high level. However, he won’t lack firepower during his first season at the helm. The Golden Hurricane should be thankful that the team will get one more season from quarterback G.J. Kinne and wide receiver Damaris Johnson. Kinne was the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year in 2010. Johnson is already the NCAA’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards, and will merely add to his total in 2011. The Golden Hurricane bring back 10 starters on offense. The defense returns eight starters and just needs to make a few timely plays in order to have a positive impact on the team’s overall results.
The schedule is going to be challenging for Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane faces in-state rival Oklahoma in week one. Two weeks later Tulsa takes on its other Oklahoma rival, Oklahoma State. The following week, the Golden Hurricane travel to Boise State to meet the highly-credentialed Broncos. A sports bet shouldn’t expect a non-conference win against those three high-profile teams, but Tulsa should do very well in Conference USA.
