FanHouse Tulsa Football

Offensive gurus don't take kindly to head coaches out-and-out shelving of their precious schemes. So it comes as no surprise that when queried about the difference from last year at Arkansas to this one, new Tulsa offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn snippily states the obvious:

I think the biggest difference is that we're going to run the spread, no-huddle offense. Coach [Todd] Graham is 100 percent behind that philosophy and I am too," Malzahn said. "I think that's the biggest difference.

Here's looking at you, Houston Nutt.

Malzahn - at least publicly - has been classy about his tenure at and departure from Arkansas, but the fangs came out a little this week. Until now he's been deferential about Arkansas' reversion from his offense to a heavy ground attack, but safely ensconced in Tulsa with a friend as his boss, Malzahn has finally given some light to the philosophical disagreement between himself and coach Nutt. He later added "this is who I am as a coach."

Oddly, new Tulsa coach Todd Graham also subtly snipes at Major Applewhite, his offensive coordinator last year at Rice.

"I like going into meetings and there's no arguments over philosophy," Graham said. "We philosophically believe the same thing."

Graham was a little put off in the offseason, telling reporters:

If (Applewhite) chooses to leave our offense doesn't leave with him," Graham said. "We run Rice's offense not Major Applewhite's offense

Anyway, it's good to see both coaches working their complexes off.

Previously at FanHouse:
Mess at Arkansas Continues with Malzahn Departure and Mustain Rumors
David Lee Hired to Replace Gus Malzahn as Arkansas Offensive Coordinator
What's Going Down in Arkansas

The latest episode of As The Piggy Turns has us learning that all-everything quarterback Mitch Mustain re-enrolling at Arkansas.

This is probably not a move indicating a return to the Razorback team as Mustain has asked for and received permission to seek a transfer. Thus, holding pattern on the runway to leave the Razorback program.

He has been rumored to be looking at three schools (Tulsa, Louisville and Oklahoma), according to the Arkansas Traveler. The Wizard of Odds expands that list to UTEP and Texas Tech but notes several schools have backed off.

It appears you can scratch Louisville and Oklahoma off Mitch Mustain's list. The quarterback, who earlier this week was given his release by Arkansas, was told Thursday by Cardinals coach Steve Kragthorpe that he wasn't welcome.

"Due to widespread media speculation, the University of Louisville is not interested in recruiting Mitch Mustain," Kragthorpe said.

And a report out of Norman said Oklahoma had closed the door on Mustain becoming a Sooner.

Slim pickings, eh? The responsibility for the mess at Arkansas cannot be completely laid at the feet of Mustain but other major programs are giving him that safe distance of a man far more guilty than has been documented. Interesting.

So the Mids may have loss, but the good news is I was able to get some great pictures from the game. Most of these were taken by my Father, who has developed a pretty good feel for this photography thing over the past few weeks. Here they are in no particular order.

I love this picture, it's like smorgasbord for my eyes. Tyler Tidwell knocking down Paul Smith. Back when those two were sophomores in High School, they won the Oklahoma State Championship together.

I don't care how badly he played, this picture really illustrates how tough it is to run the Triple Option. That's All CUSA Linebacker Nick Bunting coming in from behind.

While certainly not as blatant or harmful as what happened to Oklahoma last week, the buzz around the Navy message boards is that the Mids were screwed by the CUSA officials during yesterday's game against Tulsa.

Frankly, I think it's hard to pin a loss on the the officials, especially when your defense gives up over 400 yards and your offense is unable to sustain a long drive. That being said, it seemed as though all the breaks were going against Navy, starting from Navy's very first snap of the game. Right before Navy's first snap on their first possession, a blitzing Tulsa defender appeared to run across the line shortly before the play, an action which should have resulted in an offsides penalty. Instead no flag was thrown and the Tulsa defender was able to infiltrate the backfield with ease, breaking up an option play and forcing a fumble. Fortunately Navy recovered the fumble and actually was able to pick up the first down a few plays later, but it looked as though the early no-call set the tone for a tentative Brian Hampton on the option for the rest of the game.

Taken alone, this really wouldn't be a huge deal, but the amount of mistakes seemed to pile up as the game went on. There was of course a flag on a Reggie Campbell chop block, which was no different then any normal block someone of his height (5'6) would use on a larger defender. Campbell was the only blocker on the defender and approached him from head on- a perfectly legal block which navy executes on an every-down basis! The 15 yards from the penalty pretty much killed Navy's opening drive. Campbell was called later in the game for a "illegal motion" penalty which took the Mids from a 3rd and short situation to a 3rd and long situation. Further review of Campbell's actions show he took a slight step backwards- which, if you weren't aware, is not an illegal move.

Then of course there was the whole issue of the play clock running out on a 29 yard Jarod Tracy field goal in the 4th quarter. The clock obviously expired, yet the kick was true and there was no call for a delay of game penalty which would have set Tracy back five yards. Isn't one of the officials suppose to be watching the play clock? I realize Tracy would likely have still hit the kick, but on a windy day, who knows?

There were also two other calls I thought could have gone either way, although both ended up going to Tulsa. First there was a phantom holding call on Navy's 3rd down attempt on their last regulation drive. The image above represents a meager attempt to provide an "Exhibit A" for what I believe was an injustice of a call. Inconclusive at best, I know. Yet it doesn't appear to be a blatant hold, and with the two teams going down to the wire with only minutes left, did it really need to be called? In addition, on Tulsa's overtime possession the Golden Hurricane ran a pick on Rover Jeff Deliz (watch said infraction hyah) that was not called.

Obviously Navy didn't help their case by making this game close enough to win even with poor officiating, but for anyone who was at the stadium on Saturday it was apparent that the Mids got a bad deal. Hopefully the crew for next week's game will actually be watching the play on the field.

This past week I made a statement something to the effect of "just as you can have one bad game, so can you have just one good game." Of course this was in reference to Navy's 37-9 thrashing of Stanford two weeks ago, in which Brian Hampton rebounded to lead the Midshipmen on seven scoring drives. Things were looking up, fans were making predictions, and it looked as though the Navy offense would come into yesterday's game against Tulsa with enough confidence to get the job done.

Boy were we wrong. Now it's gut check time for the Navy offense, which was anemic and unable to move the ball down the field Saturday against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The Mids managed just 283 yards on the ground against Tulsa, a mute point for a team which routinely runs for well over 300 yards. Brian Hampton's play was by far the most frustrating aspect of the game to watch however. An early interception seemed to rattle his confidence, and images of batted pitch attempts are still preventing him from making the pitch off the option. For the third time in four games he played within a "phone booth" mentality, and struggled making the correct reads from center. On at least three or four occasion Hampton pulled the ball back from Ballard in the QB-FB mesh, keeping the ball and getting stoned at the line while Ballard would run 8-10 yards upfield before being touched! He under-threw a wide-open Jason Tomlinson in the third quarter and just looked plain uncomfortable in the pocket.

Brian is a great athlete and a very strong runner. He's got a gun for an arm and, when under control, can throw the ball with incredibly accuracy. Yet he's just not managing the game well right now. He's making inconsistent reads and has been tentative in running the option and looks afraid to hurl the ball down-field. While it would be a serious mistake to pin the loss on his actions alone (for instance, the offensive line played poorly and Tulsa defense played well), his struggles this year has left some fans questioning if the Mids can win with the Senior at the helm. With the next four games coming against teams with .500 records or better, (including two ranked teams in Notre Dame and Rutgers), it sure isn't going to get any easier for Hampton.

Despite having two talented backups, Navy doesn't realistically have a better option. Kaipo and Jarrod Bryant are great athletes, but it's one thing to shine against the second or third string Navy defense and another thing to win against BCS conference defenses. Paul Johnson and the coaching staff are going to have to continue to be patient with Hampton, although one has to wonder how much patience the fifth year coach has. If Hampton has one thing going for him, it may be that the expectation level could fall dramatically. Navy fans are no longer predicting a nine or ten win season and are no longer expecting to upend teams like UConn and Rutgers. Sometimes guy's like Hampton just need to fall flat on their face before letting it all loose.

The Good: The Navy defense once again played a hard-fought contest in which they held the opposition in check for most of the game. Despite playing with two starters out in the secondary, the Mids got good contributions from backups Jeff Deliz and Jeromy Miles, who impressed me with their ability to tackle in space. Despite obviously struggling on offense, Ballard ran the ball hard as usual, finishing with 87 yards on 16 carries. Rob Caldwell finished with 13 tackles, all of which he wrapped up on. Textbook stuff, but not much else. This week's mock-drama of "24" was the best one yet.

The Bad: Four total carries by the slotbacks, who are supposedly the fastest Navy player's on offense. Hampton threw the ball just o.k., but missed two open receivers for deep passes and threw one of those balls to the wrong team. The option was slow developing and covered most of the time, while the play-calling was unimaginative and stubborn. Not to whine or anything, but can we get a double reverse option flea-flicker just for yucks once and awhile?

Oh Jeez that was Horrible: Next time I see an actually phone booth (if they still exist, I haven't seen one in awhile) I swear I'm going to go Rob Caldwell on that thing. Once again Brian Hampton and the offense played within a ten yard box in the middle of the field, doing amazingly little to get the ball to the outside. Brian still looks afraid to pitch the ball, although give the Tulsa defense credit for crashing in on the pitch reads and taking those away most of the time. The three man rush got us nowhere today, at most forcing only one or two premature Paul Smith throws. Why don't we just drop 11 next week and cut our losses? Actually, I'm being serious, well, only sorta. The defense needs to find a way to cover the short WR screens. They finally threw one to someone fast enough (Bugg) to really cause some trouble for a slow Navy defense. Of course that wouldn't be an issue if the offense could move the ball and score. The flyover was wimpy too.

Pending Further Blame: The CUSA Officials. Can someone explain to me what this "two minute warning" junk was all about? We were watching a college game yesterday, weren't we? And how about Reggie Campbell's phantom clip or the flagrant offsides no-call at the beginning of the game? Hey, McFly!

For the Tulsa Fans: Watch your overtime win. Good luck with the rest of the season.

O.k, maybe that was a little too dramatic, especially considering Notre Dame would have taken it's usual freebie against the Mids in October, but we were so close. Let me rewind it for those of you who may have missed it. Navy, which led 17-14 into the fourth quarter, lost in overtime today when backup kicker Matt Harmon's PAT was blocked.

To confine this game into those last few minutes would be a mistake however, and the reality is that the Mids let this one slip away right after their first possession of the second half. Navy's offense looked flat all day, conjuring up shades of the UMass game when a tentative Brian Hampton was just unable to get the job done. While moving the ball for 356 total yards, Hampton and the offense were unable to establish the option on the outside of the field, allowing an aggressive Tulsa defense to box them within the hash-marks. Furthermore, penalties at key moments in the game- including a holding call on a 4th quarter drive that broke into Tulsa territory- helped kill multiple Navy possessions. The execution wasn't there, the play calling was conservative, and once again it looked as though the Navy offense was playing not to lose, instead of playing to win. I know Paul Johnson is maintaining that there's nothing wrong with the offense, but after today's performance it certainly looks as though execution isn't the only problem. The option reads were poor, and at times the play-calling made me scratch my head. I mean what gives, I never scratch my head for Johnson's play-calling!?!

Defensibly, the Mids held most of the game, and received good contributions from the linebackers, including Player-of-the-Game Rob Caldwell. Yet the defense was unable to force a turnover, and allowed the Tulsa offense to score at important points in the game. While the defense made a great defensive stand to stop the Golden Hurricane on 4th and Goal at the one yard line, they nevertheless failed to get pressure on Tulsa QB Paul Smith, who was an effective 24-26 for 285 yards.

Right now I'm somewhat in shock. I really thought the Mids would find a way to win this game. The untimely stalling of the offense was very frustrating to watch, and you just got the feeling from watching this game that Navy should have won. Some "interesting" calls by the referees didn't seem to make a lot of sense, and I'll have to take some time reviewing what happened before I cry any injustice. For the meantime, I extend my congratulations to the Tulsa football program and give them all the credit in the world.

EDGE: Tulsa

It's been no secret that Navy's success over the past three years has been tied to Paul Johnson's triple option offense. And while the Navy defense hasn't exactly been lights out over the past few seasons, a talented and experienced group of defenders has slowly begun dispelling that point. The Midshipmen have been getting timely defense in their first three games, often stepping up and shutting down the opposition when the offense has been unable to get anything going. The "bend but don't break" style of Coach Buddy Green has worked up to this point, despite allowing large amounts of passing yards in the wins against East Carolina and Stanford. Navy's run defense meanwhile has had some success this year, thanks to excellent play by linebackers Rob Caldwell, Clint Sovie, Tyler Tidwell, and David Mahoney. Mahoney has really set the tone for the defense this season, flying all over the field and delivering a punishing blow to the opposition. The Mids don't need to do anything special against Tulsa, but must prevent the big play. This will be more difficult then usual with a banged up secondary (FS DuJuan Price will not play), but after limiting Stanford last week, certainly looks possible After some early season problems, it's not unlikely that the Golden Hurricane will turn the ball over at some point, and if the Navy defense can tighten up in the redzone, should allow the offense to get the job done.

Tulsa's offense is lead by Quarterback Paul Smith, who was actually a high school teammate of Navy linebacker Tyler Tidwell in High School. Smith was the MVP of the Liberty Bowl last year, and threw for 2847 yards with a 20-6 touchdown-interception ratio as a sophomore last season. The key will be for Tulsa's offense to get off to a quick start. Smith threw two interceptions against North Texas last week, and for the Golden Hurricane to have any chance in this game the offense will have to put Navy in a hole early. The Golden Hurricane have a distinct advantage against an injury riddled Navy secondary, especially with the speed on wide receivers Ryan Bugg and Idris Moss. Up front, Tulsa's big offensive line (4 out of 5 players over 300 lbs) should be able to protect Smith and get a good push up font against an undersized Navy line. Tulsa's running backs, including former VHT and Oklahoma transfer Courtney Tennial, are fast and elusive, and could give the Navy defense problems all day. Balance and consistency are a must for Tulsa, which should be able to move the ball without great difficulty against the Mids. Even so, they'll need to capitalize on nearly every possession if they wish to keep up with Navy's offense.

When 2-1 Tulsa rolls into Annapolis for Saturday's game against the 3-0 Navy Midshipmen, you can bet you'll see a match-up of two of the best non-BCS teams in the nation. Tulsa, lead by Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe, is coming off a 9-4 season, including a Conference-USA championship and victory over Fresno State in the Liberty Bowl. The Golden Hurricane have defeated I-AA foe Stephen F. Austin and Sun Belt member North Texas to start of the year, although dropped a contest to BYU two weeks ago. The Golden Hurricane offense is lead by Quarterback Paul Smith, who has passed for 677 yards (65.9%) with six touchdowns and one interception this season. A staunch defense is led by a talented and veteran linebacker crops, while eight players in the secondary return from last year's team. Tulsa's defense yielded just 89 total yards against North Texas last week.

The Midshipmen are meanwhile 3-0 after last week's 37-9 win at Stanford, and look to expand an impressive home winning streak. After compiling 446 yards against the Cardinal last week, the Navy offense is finally looking as good as advertised. A experienced Midshipmen defense has bailed out the Navy offense when necessarily, and looked impressive in holding Stanford to only nine points.

This really should be a great matchup, and when all is said and done, should tell us something about where the winner stands in relation to the best of the non-BCS. While TCU and Boise St. are obviously the front-runners in the category, you can't list your Top 10 without the Midship or the Golden Hurricane. Bragging rights aren't only at stake in this one though, as each of these teams looks to show doubters around the country that they can defeat a winning program. The Tulsa loss to BYU and the Navy performance against UMass have left some wondering whether or not these programs are the real deal, and the only way to silence the critics will be to put a "W" in the column against a potential Bowl team.