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PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB Tyler Gooch (starter Josh Blankenship is out)
RB Eric Richardson
WR Donald Shoals
PK Chris Earnest
LB Michael Dulaney
DE Drew McLaughlin


Tulsa (1-8 overall, 0-6 against Western Athletic Conference opponents) is not a good team. After thumping Indiana State, 51-0, in its season opener, the Golden Hurricane has reeled off eight consecutive losses, the last three (to San Jose State, Oklahoma and Rice) by a combined score of 180-59 … TU has been outscored this year 344-170, and its best offensive player (QB Josh Blankenship) is injured and listed as third team on the depth chart this week. Playing in Blankenship's place is true freshman QB Tyler Gooch (who was recruited by SMU). Gooch leads the team in total offense with 1,186 yards -- 361 on the ground and 825 through the air -- and has thrown five interceptions and five touchdown passes … The top receiver is Donald Shoals, a 5-10, 175-pounder who is considered among the WAC's top targets. This year, Shoals has a team-high 61 receptions (almost double his nearest competitor, running back Eric Richardson, who has 32) for 729 yards … Richardson leads the ground game with 362 yards, just one yard more than Gooch has from his quarterback spot, and Richardson leads the team with five rushing touchdowns. Kevin McKenzie is third on the team in rushing with 138 yards, and former Garland star Ken Bohanon -- once thought to be the Golden Hurricane's star ball-carrier of the future -- has just 83 … PK Chris Earnest leads the team in scoring with 34 points, but even he hasn't been a real model of consistency, hitting 6-of-10 field goals this year (he does have some strength in his leg, connecting on 2-of-5 over 40 yards) and converting 16-of-18 extra-point attempts … The defense is led by LB Michael Dulaney (a transfer from Oklahoma), who has a team-high 83 tackles, including nine tackles for losses. Defensive end Drew McLaughlin is second in tackles with 64 and has three quarterback sacks. Noseguard Sam Rayburn's four quarterback sacks lead the Golden Hurricane defense … Five different players have a single interception, although only one (defensive tackle Justin Dixon) managed any return yardage … TU defense is giving up 471.3 yards of total offense per game, including 221 rushing. Poor defense has allowed opponents to score often and quickly, causing a deceptive edge in average time of possession (30:18 to 29:42) for the Golden Hurricane. Special teams also are pourous, as Tulsa has surrendered an average of 33.7 yards per kickoff return. Tulsa falters in second and third quarters, having been outscored this year, 104-39 in the second quarter and 115-24 in the third.

Minor Corrections

Tulsa is not a good team.
Wrong, Tulsa sucks like a Hoover.

its best offensive player (QB Josh Blankenship) is injured and listed as third team on the depth chart this week.
Wrong, Josh was not injured, he just lost his job.

The top receiver is Donald Shoals, a 5-10, 175-pounder who is considered among the WAC's top targets.
Correct, although Donald didn't play last week due to injury. Should play Saturday, but not at 100%.

I look for an intertaining game. I predicted SMU 24 TU 14 last week. Before the season started I had this penciled in as a victory. I predicted TU 27 SMU 14 on this board in June. How quickly our hopes can be dashed.
Good luck Ponies.

Go TU!

TUpei -
Thanks for the insight on Blankenship, Shoals, etc. My report about Blankenship being injured came directly from the TU athletic department, although perhaps they claimed injury because they didn't want to say he'd been benched.

As for hopes being dashed .... we know a thing or two about that in Dallas, as well. In Cavan's first year here, we were 6-4 going into the last game of the year, and were flirting with a bowl bid. Prior to the last game of the season, I ate my pre-game meal at the same table as a representative from the Independence Bowl, who said that if we won, he was prepared to offer a bid to SMU (to be sacrificially fed to LSU, but that's beside the point.) So we went out and lost to an 0-10 TCU team. Ouch.

Keep the faith in your program. I've learned not to make any predictions when it comes to games like this!

Here's the DMN's version. Not as good as PonyFans.com's, but here it is anyway.

"SMU (2-6, 2-4) at Tulsa (1-8, 0-6)
1:30 Saturday, Skelly Stadium, Tulsa, Okla.
TV/Radio: FSN, KTCK-AM 1310
Line: SMU by 8-1/2

Key matchup: SMU DE Kevin Aldridge vs. Tulsa QB Tyler Gooch. Gooch, a freshman, has started the last three games since taking over for junior Josh Blankenship. He's more athletic than Blankenship. Gooch ran for 140 yards and a score and passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns against Rice. It will be up to Aldridge and the defensive line to try to contain him. If Gooch escapes and gets downfield, that could spell a long day for the SMU defense.

Update: Tulsa comes in as the worst team in the WAC, needing a win in the worst way. ... SMU will try to take advantage of the weakest opponent remaining on the schedule to pick up another win. ... Tulsa WR Donald Shoals is expected to play this week after missing the Rice game with an ankle injury. He has four 100-yard receiving games this season. ... SMU has won all five games against Tulsa since the two teams joined the WAC in 1996. ... Of Tulsa's 4,012 all-purpose yards, 15 freshmen and sophomores have gained 67 percent (2,646) of those yards. ... SMU RB ShanDerrick Charles (96.3 yards per game) is the nation's No. 3 freshman rusher. He has eight rushes of 20 yards or more this season. Last year, SMU had seven such rushes."

Rick Alonzo