NCAA FB

Many factors led to TU's six-game skid

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Updated Nov 26, 2009 11:30 AM ET
     
 
Todd Graham said he can't identify a single moment when the University of Tulsa's football season went sour. Instead, he sees a mosaic of factors leading to the current six-game losing streak. "It's been a rough year. We haven't gotten it done," Graham said during Monday's final weekly media briefing. "It's been very frustrating at times, especially in the last weeks, where we've lost a lot of close games." With any luck, the Golden Hurricane would be better than the 4-7 record it takes into Friday's season-ending game against Memphis in Chapman Stadium. With any luck, the Hurricane might still be fighting for the Conference USA title instead of sitting home for the holidays without a postseason invitation for the first time since 2004. Tulsa was within seconds of upsetting Houston and lost at Texas-El Paso after leading by 11 points with under seven minutes to play. The Hurricane trailed by a touchdown or less in the fourth quarter of home losses to SMU and East Carolina and played nationally ranked Boise State to a seven-point loss. "We were close. You can take three or four plays and we could win some more ball games. But 'could've, would've (and) should've' don't count," Graham said. "We didn't get it done. We fell short." While bad luck, untimely injuries and lack of experience in key spots have contributed, Graham knows the Hurricane must get better defensively if it wants to reboot a program that won three C-USA division titles the previous four years. A unit that was supposedly the heart of the team has allowed nearly 500 yards per game in the last six outings. "Early in the year, we were on top of the league defensively. What's killed us is giving up big play after big play after big play," Graham said. At Southern Miss last weekend, the Hurricane allowed a 60-yard scoring pass on its first defensive play and later strikes of 95 and 34 yards. TU lost 44-34, despite enjoying its most productive offensive night of the season. "I walked off the field and I thought they (had) completed 50 passes," Graham said. "They completed 12 passes, but there were three that killed us, three one-play shots. You can't give up a 95-yard pass." One might argue that TU's defense hasn't been the same since senior free safety Charles Davis, the most experienced defensive back, was lost to a knee injury at Oklahoma. "We've had some misalignments (without him)," Graham said. The good news is that Davis might petition for an extra year of eligibility and return in 2010. Pass protection suffered when standout right tackle Tyler Holmes missed six games. The Hurricane allowed more sacks (28) in the first seven games than it allowed in 14 games last year. The result was added pressure on sophomore quarterback G.J. Kinne. While passing for 2,464 yards and 19 touchdowns, Kinne has had ball-security issues of late. He's coughed up four turnovers returned for scores in the past two games. Graham thinks next year will be better when talented defensive recruits arrive and the offensive line will be more experienced. "We have a great recruiting class. We have to do better and train them. We have to make adjustments to win close games next year," he said. Mike Brown 581-8390 mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Tagged: Memphis, Florida Atlantic, Tulsa, Ball State, Virginia, Purdue

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