The season win total for Tulsa football is set at under or over 4.5 for the 2019 season with the under getting a little more play as of early July.
After winning 10 games in 2016, Tulsa has fallen off in a major way, winning five games the last two seasons, putting head coach Philip Montgomery on the hot seat.
Some of those struggles are due to injuries and inconsistent quarterback play, which may not be an issue this season, or at the least, less of one. Still, a bowl game is unlikely.
Offensive Line Loses Three Starters
In addition to sophomore Seth Boomer quarterback putting a full offseason under his belt, the Golden Hurricane welcome Baylor transfer Zach Smith to compete for snaps. Given how Boomer looked last year, there’s a decent chance Smith wins the job, but either way, the situation is better.
Receiver is fairly deep with Keylon Stokes (575 yards) and Keenen Johnson (438 yards) returning to go with bigger roles for sophomore Sam Crawford and freshman Imiee Cooksey.
The question is what happens with the line that lost three starters from a mediocre group. They allowed 39 sacks last year and improvement isn’t guaranteed.
Running backs Shamari Brooks (967 yards) and Corey Taylor (846 yards, 11 TDs) return, but a weaker line could hurt their numbers.
Defense Weak Against the Run
The defense actually improved last year allowing 29.6 points per game, though also gave up a brutal 233.1 rushing yards. Former LBs coach Joseph Gillespie takes over for the retired Bill Young and not much is expected to change.
They return more experience than a year ago so improvement is a good bet in the 3-3-5 scheme. Improving that run defense is the first task and should be possible with upperclassmen across the front, most notably end Trevis Gipson, but also a stocked linebacking corps.
Seniors Diamon Cannon and Cooper Edmiston bring the leadership, but sophomore Zaven Collins is a future stud at outside linebacker. The secondary might be the biggest question, though the return of safety Manny Bunch helps a somewhat inexperienced unit.
Montgomery on the Hot Seat
Montgomery could be in trouble if Tulsa fail to make a bowl game again and the schedule doesn’t help matters. In addition to drawing UCF and Cincinnati in cross-division play, the Golden Hurricane play MSU and OK State in the nonconference.
That’s likely four losses and there are still home games against Memphis and Houston late in the season. They’ll likely have to win every close game to reach a bowl, which is a tall ask for a team that has five wins the last two seasons.
If those six games end up losses, they’ll still have to win numerous road trips and while that competition isn’t as difficult, it’s still a hard thing to bet on. Smith helps at quarterback, but given the schedule, four wins are probably more likely than six.
2019 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Schedule
Aug. 30 at Michigan State (opened +21.5)
Sept. 7 at San Jose State
Sept. 14 vs. Oklahoma State
Sept. 21 vs. Wyoming
Oct. 5 at SMU
Oct. 12 vs. Navy
Oct. 19 at Cincinnati
Oct. 26 vs. Memphis
Nov. 2 at Tulane
Nov. 8 vs. UCF (opened +8.5)
Nov. 23 vs. Houston
Nov. 30 at East Carolina