Oklahoma football: Sooners can’t let the Tulsa Golden Hurricane stick around

This may come off as an obvious statement, but the Oklahoma Sooners cannot let Tulsa hang around Saturday. Much like Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma needs to wear down the Golden Hurricane and make sure backup quarterback Cody Thomas sees his first reps by the fourth quarter.

It’s easier said than done, but Oklahoma is a top five football team looking to compete for a National Championship. Tulsa should be a road bump at best. Right?

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Tulsa is coming off an emotional season-opening victory over Tulane. The Golden Hurricane took the Green Wave to double overtime and took its first lead of the game when Dane Evans found Connor Floyd for an eight-yard score in the second OT.

With just a one game sample size, it seems pertinent the Oklahoma Sooners don’t allow Tulsa to prove their resiliency again.

Tulane’s Sherman Badie sprinted 90 yards for a touchdown, which gave the Green Wave a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter of their Thursday night match-up with Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane outscored Tulane 31-17 the rest of the way, and put up video game numbers in their week one win.

Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans did throw two picks, but he totaled 438 yards through the air on 31 completions. Evans finished the night with four passing touchdowns, three of which went to sophomore receiver Keevan Lucas who boasted 233 receiving yards in the victory.

It could be a nice test for Oklahoma’s defense, but Tulsa’s offense did take some time to get going. Plus, Sherman Bodie’s 215 rushing yards isn’t a good look for Tulsa’s run defense. Oklahoma’s new three-headed monster at running back could be in for a fun game.

Tulsa’s Thursday night date with Tulane did give them the weekend to pay close attention to their week two opponent. And depending on your philosophy, an 11 am kickoff could play in the home team’s favor.

The Sooners are a young squad, and the early Saturday wake-up call could help the Golden Hurricane expose the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

This isn’t Bob Stoops’ first rodeo by any means, but a week two 11 am kickoff is certainly not favorable. A slow start, once again, allows Tulsa to possibly stick around in this game longer than they should.

Stoops has never lost to Tulsa in his time in Norman, and I wouldn’t expect him to start this season. However, this “road game” will hopefully provide Sooner fans with more good signs following a satisfying season-opening win.

Oklahoma and Tulsa will kick off on 11 am on either ABC or ESPN2, depending on where you live. Be on the lookout for more Tulsa pre-game coverage throughout the week.

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