Tulsa takes Tulsa is doing its best not to look past Hawaii.
long trip to face
‘explosive’ UH
The Golden Hurricane are trying
Football notebook
to end a 16-game losing streakBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comUsually it's a winning team that must worry about thinking ahead to the next game. But the Golden Hurricane are a special case: Tulsa hasn't won in 16 football games, and the 0-6 Hurricane's best chance to break the NCAA's longest ongoing slide this season might be next week's homecoming game against Texas-El Paso.
Be that as it may, Hawaii coach June Jones is blind to being a 32-point favorite and expects a battle. Tulsa beat UH here 24-14 two years ago.
"They're looking a little bit like they did in 2000, more than what they did last year," Jones said. "They're going to let it all hang out, they've got nothing to lose."
Nothing, except a day of preparation. As if things aren't going bad enough for the Hurricane, they must make college football's toughest road trip to play a team that scored 42 points in one quarter last week.
"No doubt about it," Tulsa coach Keith Burns said. "You lose a day any way you cut it. I have a friend who works for a big company and makes that trip on business. He's not allowed to make a decision until 48 hours after he gets back."
Burns has put himself in a position to make more in-game decisions than a typical head coach. Before the season he took over coaching the defense, and the secondary in particular. Although Tulsa is at or near the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference in most defensive categories, Saturday's game should still be an interesting personal duel between the offense-minded Jones and defense strategist Burns.
"(Defensive coaches) focus a little harder and they think they know more than other guys, so we take a little pride in that," Jones said.
Last summer at the WAC media meetings, Burns smiled and his eyes widened at the idea of the challenge of stopping the run-and-shoot. Although the teams have gone in opposite directions, that hasn't changed.
"We're playing an outstanding football team with a wide-open explosive offense," Burns said Monday, more in eager anticipation than fear. "Week in and week out they play explosively on offense."
The Warriors are third in the nation in passing and sixth in scoring after beating Nevada 59-34 last Saturday. Hawaii set school records with 674 total yards and 42 points in one quarter.
UH senior running back Thero Mitchell and several other Warriors were around for some of Hawaii's 19-game losing streak that spanned from 1997 to 1999.
But Mitchell, one of the friendliest Warriors off the field, said Saturday night won't be the time for empathy.
"No, not really. You can't expect them to have any for you if it was the opposite. For us, it's just another game on the way to a high level of success," Mitchell said. "They're going to bring their best game, they're trying to end the losing streak. We'll wait until after the game; maybe next week if they lose a game we'll feel sorry for them."
Part of Tulsa's problem is experience. There are only five seniors on its offensive and defensive two-deep charts, and only one offensive starter, center Anthony Taylor, is a senior.
By comparison Hawaii has 12 seniors on its two-deep.
Burns said he counted the contributing seniors on all the WAC teams last year and spotted a trend.
"If you look at those top echelon teams, that was one common denominator among all of them," he said. "They were veteran football teams."
When: Saturday, 6:05 p.m. Hawaii vs. Tulsa
Where: Aloha Stadium
Tickets: $21 sideline, $16 end zone, $12 students/seniors, UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, except for student tickets at Stan Sheriff Center. Also at Ticket Plus outlets or by calling (808) 526-4400.
TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe.
Radio: 1420-AM
UH Athletics
