Dec 21, 2006, 16:20 GMT
Fort Worth, TX - With a perfect 5-0 record in bowl games since 1999, the Utah Utes try to keep the good times rolling as they compete against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
Utah, which defeated Georgia Tech in the 2005 Emerald Bowl by a score of 38-10, finished with a record of 5-3 against the rest of the Mountain West Conference this season, but was only 7-5 overall with non-conference losses to UCLA in the opener and an undefeated and nationally-ranked Boise State bunch which is involved in a BCS contest this season just as Utah was a couple of years ago. The Utes finished the regular season on a down note with a narrow 33-31 setback to nationally-ranked BYU on November 25 at home.
As for the Golden Hurricane, they placed third in the West Division of Conference USA with a record of 5-3. Against non-conference opponents, the Hurricane turned in a 3-1 effort, with the lone setback being to the same BYU squad to which Utah fell victim. Tulsa struggled down the stretch in 2006 though, losing three straight league games before blowing out Tulane in the regular-season finale, 38-3, at home. This game marks the third bowl appearance in the last four seasons for the Golden Hurricane, which is making the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the first time since turning the trick in 1964-65 in the Bluebonnet Bowl.
As far as a series history between these two teams is concerned, Tulsa holds a 2-1 edge over the Utes, claiming a 21-13 victory in the most recent contest back in 1997 in Oklahoma.
The offense for the Golden Hurricane begins with junior signal-caller Paul Smith, a Second Team All-CUSA selection following a regular season in which he crafted the passing attack for Tulsa into the fifth-best in the league. Averaging 232.2 ypg through the air, the Hurricane completed almost two-thirds of their pass attempts, en route to 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Wideout Idris Moss reeled in a team-high 54 balls for 772 yards, and even though he had just a single receiving touchdowns, was still named a second team all-conference member. As good as the passing attack was for Tulsa, the squad made the greatest strides with a running game that just wouldn't quite. Led by Courtney Tennial, who carried the ball 165 times for 792 yards, the running backs averaged 167.6 ypg, but more importantly a total of 28 touchdowns. Half of those scores were credited with Tennial, and yet he still struggled for league recognition for his accomplishments. The Golden Hurricane had the second-highest scoring offense in Conference USA this season, trailing only Houston with an average of 28.9 ppg.
Four times the Tulsa defense held opponents to seven points or less in 2006, a testament to the squad's pass defense for the most part. Considering all but one of those contests was a blowout, opponents would have been forced to pass time and time against just to try and catch up, and yet the Golden Hurricane still ranked sixth in the nation in yards allowed through the air with 152.5 ypg. Bobby Blackshire led the group with his three interceptions, but overall the team accounted for just seven picks over 12 games. Perhaps foes were afraid to pass the ball because of the presence of Nick Bunting in the middle of the field. An all-conference performer each year he's played, Bunting was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year earlier this month as he placed third on the team with 65 tackles, adding 4.5 stops for loss and a pair of sacks for the squad. Not to be overlooked is Robert Latu who made 8.5 of his 34 total stops behind the line of scrimmage and also led the team with six sacks, even though Tulsa still ranked 90th in the nation in sacks per game and was 110th in TFLs with a mere 4.2 per outing.
With a number of outstanding quarterbacks performing at top levels this season in the Mountain West, Brett Ratliff was overlooked by many for his accomplishments. Thought to be a backup heading into this season, Ratliff had to take over the offense once it was obvious that Brian Johnson was not making it back from a serious knee injury. Ratliff simply completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 213 ypg and 22 touchdowns, against only eight interceptions. Although just a sophomore, Brent Casteel proved to be the best outlet for Ratliff's efforts, turning 38 receptions in 582 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns. Derrek Richards placed seventh in the conference with receptions per game with close to four and a half, which led him on to six scores as well. The Utes didn't put too much stock in running the ball once Ratliff showed he could get the job done through the air, averaging just 138.4 ypg and picking up 13 touchdowns along the way. Darryl Poston was responsible for team highs with 546 yards and five TDs on the ground, helping the Utes to produce the third-highest scoring offense in the MWC at 28.2 ppg. The big guys in the trenches, including all-conference lineman Tavo Tupola, allowed their quarterback to be sacked barely once per game, ranking them 10th in the nation in that department.
There wasn't much mystery heading into the 2006 campaign who the top defender in the MWC was, because Eric Weddle made it look easy as he repeated as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Just the second player ever to earn the award in back-to-back seasons, Weddle ranked first in the conference and 10th in the nation with his six interceptions and was also responsible for 58 tackles along the way. But more than just being a large part of the puzzle for a defense that ranked fourth in the league in total defense (327.8 ypg), Weddle also took his turn on offense when needed. The senior cornerback scored four rushing TDs on the season to go along with the two he scored on interception returns and the one from a fumble recovery. Lineman Kelly Talavou was also an all-conference First Team member in the MWC thanks to his 7.5 TFLs and three sacks, all on just 37 stops up front. Steve Tate led the team in total tackles with 92, while Martail Burnett recorded a team-best 8.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. It may not fall directly under the heading of either offense or defense, but the fact that punter/kicker Louie Sakoda averaged 43.9 yards per punt meant that he was helping the punt game rank first in the nation this season.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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