Houston @ Tulsa preview
Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 13, 2010 ) Tulsa 28, Houston 25
THE STORY: No. 7 Houston looks to complete its quest for a perfect regular season and a possible BCS bowl bid with perhaps its toughest road trip of the year at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane are also undefeated in Conference USA play, so this will determine the winner of the West Division and decide who gets to host the Conference USA Championship Game on Dec. 3. This matchup pits the league’s two best quarterbacks in Houston’s Case Keenum and Tulsa’s G.J. Kinne. Kinne trails only Keenum — the NCAA’s career record-holder in every major passing category — in passing yards per game, pass efficiency and total offense.
TV: Noon ET, FSN Line: Houston -3
ABOUT HOUSTON (11-0, 7-0 Conference USA): Lost amid the hoopla of Keenum leading the Cougars’ record-breaking offense has been the play of the defense the last three games. Houston has held its previous three opponents to 37 combined points, including a 37-7 victory over SMU last weekend. The Cougars limited the Mustangs’ high-octane offense to only 263 total yards, 24 of which were on the ground. Senior linebacker Sammy Brown was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week after recording 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
ABOUT TULSA (8-3, 7-0 Conference USA): Houston has received the national headlines out of C-USA, but the Golden Hurricane have been awfully impressive as well. If not for an ultra-aggressive non-conference schedule that included losses to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State, Tulsa could very well be 11-0 heading into this matchup, too. Kinne was named the Conference USA Player of the Week after his team’s 57-28 win at UTEP, completing 76 percent of his passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns. It was Kinne’s 14th 300-yard passing game of his career.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Houston is looking for its school-record 12th win of the season.
2. Tulsa has won seven straight, and six have come by at least 17 points.
3. The Cougars lead the nation in both total offense (618 yards per game) and scoring offense (53 points per game).
PREDICTION: Tulsa 45, Houston 42. In a season full of BCS-shaking upsets, the Golden Hurricane will provide the latest in a high-scoring shootout between two evenly matched teams.