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The coaching was fantastic getting the offense to be consistent with an explosive element, while the defense did just enough to beat the bad teams. Granted, the Golden Hurricane beat teams like Texas State, Arkansas State, SMU, Rice and UTEP, but it also beat bowl-winner Hawaii and hung tight with Boise State. Most importantly, the team believed it could win tearing off a five-game winning streak to close out the regular season. Yeah, the doors got blown off by Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl, but just getting to the post-season was enough.
Now the pieces are there for another good WAC run with 18 returning starters and more overall depth than the program has had in years. The talent isn't there to win the WAC, but there's no reason this can't be another winning season if the first half of the schedule doesn't turn the season sour. If nothing else, now there are expectations, which is all you can ask for after what the program has gone through.
The Schedule: This isn't a horrible schedule, but its very possible the Golden Hurricane could start off 1-6. The problem after the rough beginning might be the three road games before finally getting a breath with San Jose State and UTEP coming to Tulsa. It's a must that there aren't any home slip-ups, and that includes the Boise State game.
Best Offensive Player: Junior TE Garrett Mills. QB James Kilian is the team's most important player, but Mills is the one who'll be in the All-America mix as one of the best receiving tight ends in the WAC. He's really more of a big wide receivers at 6-2 and 224 pounds making 53 catches for 456 yards and ten touchdowns. He's the ultimate safety valve.
Best Defensive Player: Junior S Kedrick Alexander. There are several decent defensive players that could end up being the star before the season ends. Alexander led the team in tackles last year with 121 stops making two sacks and three interceptions. He's a good sized player who's always all over the field. However, he was charged with breaking into another athlete's dorm room and stealing a laptop computer, a video game and a credit card and is currently suspended..
Key player to a successful season: In all the hoopla of the great season, it was sort of swept under the rug that the run defense was still horrible. This isn't a physical defensive front six, so it'll be up to 329-pound sophomore John Mila to turn into a player the rest of the defense can anchor around. He's by far the biggest defensive lineman, and he could turn out to be the best.
The season will be a success if ... Tulsa finishes with a winning season. It's not going to be easy with a brutal early schedule, but there's no going back now after last season.
Key game: Oct. 30 vs. Rice. With road games at SMU and Louisiana Tech coming up and Nevada, Boise State and Hawaii in the rear view mirror, this is a must win to kick off a big second half of the season.
2003 Fun Stats:
- Tulsa 1st quarter scoring: 57 - Tulsa 4th quarter scoring 148
- Rushing touchdowns: Opponents 32 - Tulsa 29
- Fourth downs: Tulsa 14-17 (82%) - Opponents 16-29 (55%)
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