12/18/10
NationalChamps.net has scoured the ranks to come up with our annual Dark Horse candidate that always gets rewarded the No. 25 spot in our Early Bird Preview. Led by quarterback G.J. Kinne and the versatile wideout Damaris Johnson, Tulsa is elite again. The Golden Hurricane currently are ranked 28th in the AP poll and they return 19 starters, including ten players from an offense that ranks in the top 15 nationally in both running and throwing. The first concern that arises in a situation such as this is what the defense is accomplishing. Tulsa's defense has given up gobs of yards this season, and was even cause of criticism early in the season when they started out losing two of their first three contests. But after winning eight out of the last nine games to close the season the defense started to make plays, especially the defensive backs. They have seven players that earned starting roles at some point coming back into the fray. One of those is freshman sensation Marco Nelson who has recorded six interceptions in his first season. Both Nelson and Dexter McCoil rank among the nation's top 10 in interceptions. Quarterback C.J. Kinne really distributes the ball well. He is also the team’s top rusher. Leading receiver Damaris Johnson is also a special teams guru. He is the NCAA's all-time leader in kickoff return yards and still has another year left. He is also set to become the NCAA all-time leader in all-purpose yards. Crazy good, that best describes not only the talents of Johnson, but also the potential of this entire offense under fifth year head coach Todd Graham. Winning the game at Notre Dame this year should be a sign of greater things to come. The schedule with Oklahoma, Boise State and Oklahoma State precludes them from making any BCS type of noise, but they can play with these teams. If they can get better defensively where experience is quite plentiful, watch out for this highflying pigskin circus.