GMAC Bowl: Tulsa vs. Bowling Green

Teams: Tulsa vs. Bowling Green
Date: Jan. 6, 2008 at 8 p.m. Eastern
Location: Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.

Todd Graham spent three years as the defensive coordinator at Tulsa, so he can’t be pleased that his first Golden Hurricane team ranks among the worst in the nation in most of the key statistical categories. Fortunately for Graham, who came to Tulsa after one year as the head coach at Rice, his team currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in total offense, averaging an astounding 542.1 yards per game. The trigger man for the Tulsa attack is smooth senior Paul Smith, who leads C-USA and ranks seventh in the nation in passing efficiency. Junior tailback Tarrion Adams gives the offense some balance; he had five 100-yard games en route to a 1,113-yard season.

Bowling Green enjoyed a nice bounce-back season under fifth-year coach Gregg Brandon. Urban Meyer’s assistant head coach from 2001-02, Brandon led his first three Falcon teams to a winning record before slumping to 4–8 last fall. But this year, with sophomore quarterback Tyler Sheehan and a host of quality running backs leading the way, Bowling Green once again was a factor in the MAC title chase. The Falcons finished in a three-way tie with Miami (Ohio) and Buffalo atop the MAC East standings but lost out to Miami in a tie-breaker.

These teams are pretty similar. They both can score and both struggle on defense. Both tied for their respective division titles. Both had four losses, with several coming against quality competition. The worst loss suffered by these two teams was Bowling Green’s 38–27 setback at home Ohio; the best win (by far) was Tulsa’s 55–47 victory over Mountain West champ BYU. You almost have to just pick which league — Conference USA or the MAC — you believe is stronger. The pick here is C-USA and Tulsa.

Breakdown: Tulsa
Campus Location: Tulsa, Okla.
Distance to Mobile: 722 miles
All-Time Bowl Game Record: 5–9
2007 Season: 9–4, 6–2 Conference USA

NCAA Rankings (yards/points per game totals):
Rush Offense: 41 (168)
Pass Offense: 3 (375)
Scoring Offense: 10 (39.4)
Rush Defense: 97 (196)
Pass Defense: 108 (273)
Scoring Defense: 105 (35)
Turnover Margin: 106 (-0.77)

Additional Notes:
Quarterback Paul Smith is the only player in the country to throw for at least 300 yards in each game. … Tulsa’s offensive coordinator is Gus Malzahn, who spent one season with Houston Nutt at Arkansas after serving as the head coach at Arkansas state power Springdale High. … The Tulsa defense gave up 40 points or more six times this season. … Two of the Golden Hurricane’s four losses came at UCF, the C-USA champ.

Breakdown: Bowling Green
Campus Location: Bowling Green, Ohio
Distance to Mobile: 900 miles
All-Time Bowl Game Record: 4–3
2007 Season: 8–4, 6–2 Mid-American Conference

NCAA Rankings (yards/points per game totals):
Rush Offense: 87 (130)
Pass Offense: 18 (287)
Scoring Offense: 35 (32)
Rush Defense: 106 (205)
Pass Defense: 29 (208)
Scoring Defense: 79 (30)
Turnover Margin: 32 (0.33)

Additional Notes:
Bowling Green had six straight losing seasons before Urban Meyer arrived in 2001. Meyer went 17–6 in two seasons, and Gregg Brandon is 38–23 with one game remaining in his fifth season. … BG went 1–2 against BCS conference foes, winning in overtime at Minnesota in the opener and losing at Michigan State and Boston College. … The Falcons scored 31 points or more in each of their last four games. … Tyler Sheehan was the only quarterback in the nation to catch two touchdown passes this season.

Prediction: Tulsa by 8

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