The Oklahoma Sooners begin the chase for their eighth national championship in school history when they take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday, Sept. 3 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla.
Led by senior quarterback G.J. Kinne, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane has had one of the nation’s most prolific offenses in recent years. The Golden Hurricane, a 10-win team a year ago, ranked fifth in total offense, averaging 505 yards a game.
However, the Golden Hurricane will take the field for the first time under new head football coach Bill Blankenship.
“Beating Notre Dame a year ago shows and speaks to what they have been doing the last several years and the way they are playing,” OU head football coach Bob Stoops said. “I have always been a huge fan of Bill Blankenship. I believe he will do a great job and I have great respect for some of his guys and the way they coach. We recognize it as a big game."
Kinne, who transferred to Tulsa from the University of Texas prior to the 2008 season, has started every game for the Golden Hurricane the past two seasons. Kinne threw for 3,650 yards and 31 touchdowns in 13 games last season. He also ran for 561 yards and seven touchdowns.
Stopping Kinne will be a challenge for the Sooners’ defense, which will be without senior linebacker Travis Lewis, the team’s leading tackler each of the last three seasons. However, the Sooners’ defense will be with junior defensive end Ronnell Lewis, whom the NCAA ruled eligible to play this weekend.
Tulsa, on the other hand, will be without its top wide receiving threat in senior Damaris Johnson. Johnson, who holds the NCAA’s all-time record for all-purpose yards with 7,796 yards and for career kickoff return yardage with 3,417 yards, was suspended indefinitely after police questioned him following his girlfriend’s arrest on an embezzlement charge.
The Golden Hurricane, though, has plenty of options in their spread offense.
“They’ve got a lot of great players,” Stoops said. “You’re not averaging over 500 yards a game and 40-something points a game throughout the whole year without a lot of weapons. They’ll have other players ready to go and they always have.”
The game kicks off at 7 p.m.
Series History:
Games Played: 24
Series Record: OU leads 16-7-1
Last Meeting: 45-0, OU on 9/19/2009
First Meeting: 26-7, OU on 11/30/1914
PREDICTION: OU 42, TU 17
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