Between a 10-2 season in 1991 and last year’s 8-5 campaign, Tulsa lost 58 of 78 football games. The Golden Hurricane could have been downgraded to a tropical storm — or perhaps a brisk wind — when Tulsa won a total of two games in 2002 and 2003.
Things have changed around Skelly Stadium since coach Steve Kragthorpe, the former Texas A&M offensive coordinator and Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach, arrived after the 2002 season.
Tulsa went 8-5 overall last season, and its 6-2 league record was good enough for a second-place finish in the WAC. Kragthorpe, the son of former Oregon State coach Dave Kragthorpe, was named WAC coach of the year, and the Hurricane ended an 11-year bowl drought.
In short, the Tulsa team that opens the season at 6 tonight at Memorial Stadium has come a long way since the Hurricane suffered a 43-33 loss to Kansas University on Sept. 28, 2002, at Tulsa, Okla.
“There’s no comparison whatsoever,” KU coach Mark Mangino said.
Tulsa still has room to improve. The Golden Hurricane hasn’t won a nonconference road game since 1996. It will have two chances against Big 12 Conference teams, playing at KU and Oklahoma State in consecutive weeks.
“They’ve experienced some success, and they know that success can be very fleeting and can be taken away very quickly,” Kragthorpe said of his rebuilding team. “You have to be ready to play every week, particularly with all 12 of the teams that we play this season. It’s a challenging schedule that’s presented to us, but I know our guys feel like there is opportunity in those challenges.”
Defense was a weakness for Tulsa last year when the Hurricane allowed averages of 378.7 yards and 27.7 points per game. Tulsa kept it close in WAC losses to Boise State (27-20) and Nevada (28-21), but the Hurricane was blown out by major-conference teams in losses to Minnesota (49-10), Arkansas (45-13) and Georgia Tech (52-10).
Kragthorpe’s rebuilding defense features eight freshmen on the two-deep chart, including starting nose guard Walter Boyd and backup Brandon Jones. Those rookies will be matched up tonight with KU center Joe Vaughn, last year’s Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
“I don’t know if they’re winners by default or if they’re actually the best players,” Kragthorpe said of the freshman linemen. “But they’re our best players right now, and they’re guys that we think can be contributing factors to our football team. They are guys who are going to have to grow up pretty quickly, particularly when we have to go into a hostile environment and play KU on the road at Memorial Stadium. … Kansas has a very talented center. So both of those guys will have a chance to line up against a guy who is probably one of the top two centers in the Big 12 this year, which is saying a lot because the Big 12 is an excellent league. So we will have a challenge on our hands. There is no doubt about it.”
There’s no doubt KU’s revamped defense will face a challenge of its own in trying to stop Tulsa’s offense. The Hurricane averaged 387.8 yards and 30.7 points a year ago when quarterback James Kilian threw for 2,217 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 605 yards and seven TDs.
“He’s a real athletic guy,” KU linebacker Nick Reid said. “If there’s nobody there for him to throw to, he can just take off.”
Kilian’s top targets are tight ends Caleb Blankenship and Garrett Mills, who combined to catch 86 passes for 843 yards last season. Junior running back Uril Parrish also returns. Parrish rushed for 537 yards in nine games before suffering a season-ending injury last year.
“They’ve had some struggles in the past, but Steve Kragthorpe has them on the right path,” Mangino said. “He has them believing. I think what he’s done so far speaks for itself. Because he did it so quickly, you have to think he has those kids believing in themselves, and I think that’s half the battle.”
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