Preseason Coaches Poll and early predictions using ESPN data

[Loca5174]

The Preseason Coaches Poll is out and this is how our schedule looks. Tulsa #44 with 6 votes

On Schedule

Ohio State #4 - 1,435 votes
Cincinnati #10 - 979 votes
Okie State #22 - 216 votes
Houston #47 - 5 votes <---Our only home opponent on this list
SMOO#48 - 4 votes

Not On Schedule

UCF #34 - 29 votes

Honorable mention

Coastal Carolina #24 - 150 votes
BYU #31 - 53 votes

Opponent	W/L	Percentage	Record Prediction
UC Davis	W	92.7%	1-0
@Okie State	L	84.7%	1-1
@Ohio State	L	96.5%	1-2
Arky State	W	68.7%	2-2
Houston	W	52.6%	3-2
Memphis	L	44.2%	3-3
@USF	W	50.7%	4-3
Navy	W	87.0%	5-3
@Cincy	L	84.1%	5-4
@Tulane	L	73.5	5-5
Temple	W	84.0%	6-5
@SMU	L	68.1%	6-6

 

[TU 1978]

FIFY

Opponent	W/L	Percentage	Record Prediction
UC Davis	W	92.7%	1-0
@Okie State	W	84.7%	2-0
@Ohio State	L	96.5%	2-1
Arky State	W	68.7%	3-1
Houston	W	52.6%	4-1
Memphis	W	44.2%	5-1
@USF	W	50.7%	6-1
Navy	W	87.0%	7-1
@Cincy	L	84.1%	7-2
@Tulane	W	73.5	8-2
Temple	W	84.0%	9-2
@SMU	W	68.1%	10-2

 

[HuffyCane]

The season may be a yawner. You can make a convincing argument that we are the toughest team to beat on Houston’s schedule. And if they beat Texas Tech in the opener, the fix will be in. But it may not matter because the Fun Belt is a cakewalk for Coastal until the final and they will likely go poll to poll without having played a ham sandwich. I think we are the best 7-5 in the history of the G5 and walk away thinking that we could have gone 9-3 but viewing 7-5 as a heckuva an achievement. I’ll break that down later.

 

[TU_BLA]

We run the table after the Ohio State game.

 

[TulsaRising1]

Game #2 is a huge game for the program

 

[TU_BLA]

Just looking way too far ahead here, but if TU is 12-1 with the only loss to Ohio State (and if it's close) does TU get the G5 NY6 bid?

 

[TulsaGrad07]

We only got to see Davis Brin play 1 quarter and a half last season. If he plays as good as he did against Tulane, we might upset OK State. I don't see how it's possible to beat Ohio State, in spite of how amazing that would be for the program. They're so deep... Even if we magically had a 2 touchdown lead going into the 4th quarter, they'd have 5 star fresh troops they could sub-in that would overwhelm our defense.

 

[rusty-c]

I really believe the deciding factor this season will be how well the offense can generate significant drives. If they can do that the defense is going to be stay fresh enough to create havoc. If Monty runs the same pattern of plays he has in the past were going to be in way too many tight games again this season. I can guarantee that neither OSU is looking past our match ups this year.

 

[Loca5174]

I really believe the deciding factor this season will be how well the offense can generate significant drives. If they can do that the defense is going to be stay fresh enough to create havoc. If Monty runs the same pattern of plays he has in the past were going to be in way too many tight games again this season. I can guarantee that neither OSU is looking past our match ups this year.

I am sure Ohio state is not looking at us like Okie State. Okie State knows we are returning almost the same team that should have beat them last year. I believe we should be better than last year. Ohio state is looking past us right now but we put a hurting on Okie state and Ohio state will be making a game plan

 

[TulsaRising1]

Just looking way too far ahead here, but if TU is 12-1 with the only loss to Ohio State (and if it's close) does TU get the G5 NY6 bid?

I am sure Ohio state is not looking at us like Okie State. Okie State knows we are returning almost the same team that should have beat them last year. I believe we should be better than last year. Ohio state is looking past us right now but we put a hurting on Okie state and Ohio state will be making a game plan

Let’s go !

 

[goldfan83]

Do we beat Okie Pokey so that they must resign themselves they are headed to the MAC? Is the MAC still a thing even?

 

[TU_BLA]

Do we beat Okie Pokey so that they must resign themselves they are headed to the MAC? Is the MAC still a thing even?

The MAC might not take OKstate as most of the academics in the MAC are better than OkState's.

 

[HuffyCane]

There’s a really good chance our defense hits the crap out of OSU but we lose a close one because they are at home with Big 12 or a mixed crew of officials. Then they make the trip to Boise the next week, show up still bruised and hurting from our beating and lose to Boise. Whereupon the media proclaims Boise to be a Top 25 team.

 

[TU_BLA]

There’s a really good chance our defense hits the crap out of OSU but we lose a close one because they are at home with Big 12 or a mixed crew of officials. Then they make the trip to Boise the next week, show up still bruised and hurting from our beating and lose to Boise. Whereupon the media proclaims Boise to be a Top 25 team.

Does OSU's QB make it out of our game without an injury...unlike last year

 

[TU Sepp]

After an aggie hit our QB when he was already 4 yards out of bounds and got a high 5 from the DB coach for taking him out of the game, I am more concerned about the health of our players against aggie cheap shots! osu and cheaps shots has been going on since at least the 60"s.

 

[TU_BLA]

After an aggie hit our QB when he was already 4 yards out of bounds and got a high 5 from the DB coach for taking him out of the game, I am more concerned about the health of our players against aggie cheap shots! osu and cheaps shots has been going on since at least the 60"s

Was that the 2009 game that started at midnight? How that wasn't flagged was ridiculous

 

[astonmartin708_rivals]

Does OSU's QB make it out of our game without an injury...unlike last year

I’d happily face him again. That third stringer was decent though.

 

[TulsaRising1]

After an aggie hit our QB when he was already 4 yards out of bounds and got a high 5 from the DB coach for taking him out of the game, I am more concerned about the health of our players against aggie cheap shots! osu and cheaps shots has been going on since at least the 60"s.

They do that again , there may be a brawl ... our players will stick up for each other , sometimes too much like Missippi State

 

[TulsaRising1]

There’s a really good chance our defense hits the crap out of OSU but we lose a close one because they are at home with Big 12 or a mixed crew of officials. Then they make the trip to Boise the next week, show up still bruised and hurting from our beating and lose to Boise. Whereupon the media proclaims Boise to be a Top 25 team.

I think a lot of this will depend on the offense, if our defense plays as expected and Brin wasn’t a one game wonder , OSU could very well be in trouble of being on a meme saying “ That moment you realize you have been rocked by a Hurricane “

 

[TU_BLA]

They do that again , there may be a brawl ... our players will stick up for each other , sometimes too much like Missippi State

I'm OK with them sticking up for their teammates if someone is taking a cheap shot at them. I want the OL to go after a defender who takes too many liberties bringing the QB down.

 

[Hurricane Drummer II]

The season may be a yawner. You can make a convincing argument that we are the toughest team to beat on Houston’s schedule. And if they beat Texas Tech in the opener, the fix will be in. But it may not matter because the Fun Belt is a cakewalk for Coastal until the final and they will likely go poll to poll without having played a ham sandwich. I think we are the best 7-5 in the history of the G5 and walk away thinking that we could have gone 9-3 but viewing 7-5 as a heckuva an achievement. I’ll break that down later.

On conference board, other fan bash Tulsa. On Tulsa mother board, Tulsa bash self.

 

[TU_BLA]

On conference board, other fan bash Tulsa. On Tulsa mother board, Tulsa bash self.

Other teams' fans are jealous because Tulsa does more with less than any other school in a P6 conference.

 

[Tulsafanzz]

Realistically, I see us going 7-5, 5-3 in conference. If everything falls our way, I could see 10-2, 7-1.

The key for me is Davis Brin. He has the ability to lift us to a high level. It will be his decision making & his good health that are most important. Can he keep making the big throws while keeping turnovers to a manageable level? I’m really looking forward to seeing him lead our offense!

The second key is replacing Zaven Collins & the 2 last minute CB transfers. I think we could have a very good defense if we can overcome the loss of those 3.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Realistically, I see us going 7-5, 5-3 in conference. If everything falls our way, I could see 10-2, 7-1.

The key for me is Davis Brin. He has the ability to lift us to a high level. It will be his decision making & his good health that are most important. Can he keep making the big throws while keeping turnovers to a manageable level? I’m really looking forward to seeing him lead our offense!

The second key is replacing Zaven Collins & the 2 last minute CB transfers. I think we could have a very good defense if we can overcome the loss of those 3.

My sentiments almost verbatim.

 

[TU_BLA]

Realistically, I see us going 7-5, 5-3 in conference. If everything falls our way, I could see 10-2, 7-1.

The key for me is Davis Brin. He has the ability to lift us to a high level. It will be his decision making & his good health that are most important. Can he keep making the big throws while keeping turnovers to a manageable level? I’m really looking forward to seeing him lead our offense!

The second key is replacing Zaven Collins & the 2 last minute CB transfers. I think we could have a very good defense if we can overcome the loss of those 3.

I agree on Brin but so much of it depends on how much Monty lets him play. How many times do we throw on 1st down to keep the defense off balance? How predictable is the play calling. Can Santana and Johnson produce like they did last year to free up Stokes on some routes? Do we get Grayson Boomer involved out of the TE position in the passing game? Can we convert 3rd and short?

The defense will be 100% fine because of the DL. Zaven was great last year...our 2 CBs were dawgs last year. And 95% of their success had to do with the DL and the fact that 5 OL had a struggle blocking Player, Stevenson, and Goodlow. BTW, right behind them are Everitt Rogers, Cullen Wick, and Deven Lamp...and then some kid named Ostroski. And there's some quality depth behind these 7. Our LBs as a whole may be faster than last year after losing Zaven. Burnett is back. Wright is a freaking 1st team all AAC already. At the CB position, I think Gillespie mentioned in the CB glance that the room may actually be more talented this year but they lack the experience of the guys leaving. Many of us have mentioned in the past that Monty doesn't always play the best players giving preference to older, more experienced players. I think we have 4 CBs who can really play and won't miss a beat back there.

This TU defense may go down as the best in Tulsa Golden Hurricane football history. The key will be the OkState game...if we win that, we could go 11-1 regular season. There is not an offense in the AAC that can befuddle us...we got past that in the Navy game last year. No one else was particularly efficient against us....Cincinnati included (we need to stop handing teams points off of turnovers and on special teams). We haven't talked special teams much but that is the group we should be talking about. I'm hoping Tipton has taken the KO duties at the very least as he seems to hit them a little longer. We need to do better in coverage for both punts and kicks...as good as our defense is, they can only do so much when you give teams the ball on the plus side of the 50 (and our D did better than average last year in those situations).

 

[Okietch51]

Other teams' fans are jealous because Tulsa does more with less than any other school in a P6 conference.

Are we like the Oakland A's moneyball team?

 

[Okietch51]

I agree on Brin but so much of it depends on how much Monty lets him play. How many times do we throw on 1st down to keep the defense off balance? How predictable is the play calling. Can Santana and Johnson produce like they did last year to free up Stokes on some routes? Do we get Grayson Boomer involved out of the TE position in the passing game? Can we convert 3rd and short?

The defense will be 100% fine because of the DL. Zaven was great last year...our 2 CBs were dawgs last year. And 95% of their success had to do with the DL and the fact that 5 OL had a struggle blocking Player, Stevenson, and Goodlow. BTW, right behind them are Everitt Rogers, Cullen Wick, and Deven Lamp...and then some kid named Ostroski. And there's some quality depth behind these 7. Our LBs as a whole may be faster than last year after losing Zaven. Burnett is back. Wright is a freaking 1st team all AAC already. At the CB position, I think Gillespie mentioned in the CB glance that the room may actually be more talented this year but they lack the experience of the guys leaving. Many of us have mentioned in the past that Monty doesn't always play the best players giving preference to older, more experienced players. I think we have 4 CBs who can really play and won't miss a beat back there.

This TU defense may go down as the best in Tulsa Golden Hurricane football history. The key will be the OkState game...if we win that, we could go 11-1 regular season. There is not an offense in the AAC that can befuddle us...we got past that in the Navy game last year. No one else was particularly efficient against us....Cincinnati included (we need to stop handing teams points off of turnovers and on special teams). We haven't talked special teams much but that is the group we should be talking about. I'm hoping Tipton has taken the KO duties at the very least as he seems to hit them a little longer. We need to do better in coverage for both punts and kicks...as good as our defense is, they can only do so much when you give teams the ball on the plus side of the 50 (and our D did better than average last year in those situations).

I hope Monty can use the talents we have to keep winning and then he may be at a turning point in his career. I spoke with Johnson's folks in 2019 and said I was glad he came to play for us. I spoke with Big Cat's folks in 2016/2017 before THE WALK and was happy he signed with us. I remember his mom was worried about him losing too much weight. He is much larger now. Go Cane!

 

[TU_BLA]

Are we like the Oakland A's moneyball team?

No. Monty and Gillespie have sort of done the Bill Self thing. They find kids with skillsets that they have a plan to utilize that is outside the box. Zaven is a perfect example. 6'4" 230 lb safety and QB in high school. Not particularly fast for those positions and he certainly didn't have the arm talent to play QB in college AND he played A or 2A football in HS so most P5 schools wouldn't even bother to look at him. Gillespie has a plan to use him as the weakside LB and he makes history for TU. Jaxon Player...no one thought this kid could play FBS football because he's 6' if he stretched his neck a little. He won't get the attention he deserves this year for DPOY but he is certainly one of the best DL in the country. Some of the things they've done with OL and getting guys in at safety. We have a pretty talented roster of kids who can play. We have a lot of project kids meaning they have to work and develop to get to this level.

The biggest fault many of us have had with Monty is he values "experience" over talent too much and he may not play the more gifted or better player in favor of someone who has been on the roster longer (i.e. Josh Stewart...he can flat out go get the football when it's thrown to him but he never seems to be given a consistent opportunity).

 

[nevadanatural]

Who he puts on the field is only a secondary issue for me. My main problem with Monty is his continuing problems mastering the basics of in-game coaching such as getting plays in on time and end game clock management. TU has lost more games during his tenure due to coaching errors (or coaching timidity) than due to personnel issues.

 

[TU_BLA]

BTW, Cayden McFarland agrees with me. He mentioned Jon-Michael Terry and he's not sure how Terry sees the field on a regular basis because of the speed and size we have on defense. He says this is the biggest fastest TU team he has ever seen (he was at practice today). His assessment of Brin was what most of us have expressed and thinks he has a grasp of the offense and a good feel for it. He said the defense didn't give him much time (see previous comments about the DL). He says Davis and Fuller will cover just fine and that Davis has A+ speed and just seems to glide alongside the receivers in coverage and makes a good break on the ball. See the Twitter thread:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some observations based on watching <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsaFootball?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@TulsaFootball</a> practice today:<br><br>1. Without question, the deepest, most athletic TU team I’ve ever seen - especially on D.<br>W/all the super seniors and transfers, I doubt that comes as a big surprise, but the overall speed/size jumps out at you.</p>&mdash; Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) <a href="">August 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[HuffyCane]

It’s hard to believe but often times the plays go in late by design. No excuse on the delays out of time outs though.

 

[Okietch51]

No. Monty and Gillespie have sort of done the Bill Self thing. They find kids with skillsets that they have a plan to utilize that is outside the box. Zaven is a perfect example. 6'4" 230 lb safety and QB in high school. Not particularly fast for those positions and he certainly didn't have the arm talent to play QB in college AND he played A or 2A football in HS so most P5 schools wouldn't even bother to look at him. Gillespie has a plan to use him as the weakside LB and he makes history for TU. Jaxon Player...no one thought this kid could play FBS football because he's 6' if he stretched his neck a little. He won't get the attention he deserves this year for DPOY but he is certainly one of the best DL in the country. Some of the things they've done with OL and getting guys in at safety. We have a pretty talented roster of kids who can play. We have a lot of project kids meaning they have to work and develop to get to this level.

The biggest fault many of us have had with Monty is he values "experience" over talent too much and he may not play the more gifted or better player in favor of someone who has been on the roster longer (i.e. Josh Stewart...he can flat out go get the football when it's thrown to him but he never seems to be given a consistent opportunity).

How does Monty handle players that don't show up in practice(Allen Iverson) but are gamers? In HS our track team had to run wind sprints(10) and I could beat our 440 guy after the 1st two, but coach knew he had to use him in our meets if he wanted our team had a chance to win.

 

[astonmartin708_rivals]

It’s hard to believe but often times the plays go in late by design. No excuse on the delays out of time outs though.

Gives defenses less time to read and react to offensive cues, and the offense more time to react to defensive shifts.