Old Titan Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Have to give the powers that be at TU props for the current renaissance in football. TU football faces many of the same relative challenges as ORU basketball: treated like a red-headed step-child by the media, sponsors, and common fan in comparison to OU and OSU (both nationally and locally), possessing little or no leverage for scheduling home contests against the big boys, handicapped by conference affiliation when it comes to competing in post-season play, and forced to recruit juco "tweeners" and high school diamonds-in-the-rough that fall between the cracks with the BCS schools. Taking all those factors into account, and considering the dour circumstances surrounding the program just a few years back, TU's recent success on the football field, coupled with their multi-million dollar stadium improvements, make for a remarkable comeback story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Agreed, OT. TU has done a very good job of resurrecting a program that Keith Burns attempted to run into the ground. The facility last night looked great and reducing the size of the stadium to a size that will create demand for the seats should help them in the long run. Congrats the the Hurricane for getting the football program and facilities to this point. Looking forward to their continued growth. Let's hope that the coaches decide to hold tight at the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 Agreed, OT. TU has done a very good job of resurrecting a program that Keith Burns attempted to run into the ground. The facility last night looked great and reducing the size of the stadium to a size that will create demand for the seats should help them in the long run. Congrats the the Hurricane for getting the football program and facilities to this point. Looking forward to their continued growth. Let's hope that the coaches decide to hold tight at the end of the season. Burns succeeded in his "attempt". I really like Todd Graham; he's kind of a throwback with his no-nonsence approach and folksy "coach speak" respect for each upcoming opponent as the greatest ever. Can't wait to hear how he builds up Central Arkansas for this Saturday - I'll bet he finds some sort of inspirational nugget, from either a local or national source, to fire up his guys! Would have to imagine he and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will be mentioned for a lot of job openings after this year. If Graham left, I suppose Gus would be the logical choice to move up. If they both left for "bigger" coaching jobs, wonder who would get the gig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 You really think it's a one season gig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Last night was really special. I spent a lot of yesterday thinking about Bill Babb (Catbird). One of the last times I talked to him, I remember making a big deal about how he would be there for that first game in the stadium. I kind of think he was. Add up the Neal Sweeny tragedy and the loss of Fulton Collins and it has been a tough year around here. Not sure how long the star coaches will stick around, but they are well compensated,often times better than what they might get at the perceived next step up. I hope we get to where we keep a coach until a real top 10-15 job like OU or Tennessee opens up. Hopefully Steve Kragthorpe stands as a warning for the pitfalls at some jobs. Then again, I think Graham knew what we had coming up when he came back. Still not sure how we did that to UNM. Is Arizona THAT bad? We wanted the UNM QB really bad; so did a lot of Big 12 schools. He finally comes to Tulsa and blows a knee. I think the week off and our team's familiarity with their defensive scheme really changed things. I thought we were the better team, but a couple of bounces and calls (the right call) made it get out of hand. Sadly, the best team we have played so far may well be UAB and they really suck aside from their QB. Agree that Graham spends a lot of time hyping up opposing teams; reminds me of Lou Holtz. He had a point with UNM (they do have some talent on defense). UCA actually has a couple of former TU players, including a quick running back that was hyped up (in fact, I wasn't 100%aware he had left the team). If it's any consolation, some UCA fans are completely confident they'll beat us, proving my point that most fans on the internet are unable to pick against their team. If y'all are looking for a good time, come check us out. Attendance will take a hit next week because OU and OSU both play at the exact same time. You can get end zone tickets for $12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 The TU football renaissance is a testament to the power of good coaching. It matters who is captaining the ship. Kragthorpe and Graham have taken a program that some said was destined to fold - and made it the envy of most non-BCS schools. Their offense is fun to watch (maybe not for opponents) and it looks like their defense is playing well too. I will try to take in some games this season. The big question is whether the Channel 6/9 Sunday sports show will even acknowledge TU football tonight since OU and OSU did not play Saturday (bye week). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 LOL. I really wish there was a call-in portion of Sports Blitz. I'd like to ask Deano if Bob let him leave to come to Tulsa to cover the biggest story in sports in the state that night. They ended up giving TU the lead and ranking it as the #1 story, but they soon went back to the Orange and Red journalistic integrity show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm taking my kids to Saturday night's game - gonna sit down in the north end of either side and just watch that big 'ol TV. I must admit I'm suffering from a severe case of Jumbotron envy right now. I have very fond memories of watching football games at Skelly/Chapman Stadium: high school games when my Memorial Chargers were state contenders, TU taking on the likes of OU, OSU, Miami (FL), Texas A&M, etc., and more recently a couple of the Jenks-Union classics. Now if they could just blow-up Golden Pawn and build a parking garage with a skybridge for the Reynolds Center and Chapman Stadium... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm taking my kids to Saturday night's game - gonna sit down in the north end of either side and just watch that big 'ol TV. I must admit I'm suffering from a severe case of Jumbotron envy right now. I have to admit that the one thing that I was disappointed about at Saturday's game was the Jumbotron. Don't get me wrong...it is a great addition; however, the video seemed stretched in a wide-screen mode which made everyone look fat and squatty (much like myself) and there was never any stats during the game except for "downs/yards/ ball on" information. Also, all of the camera angles were coming from the end zones with nothing along the sidelines. Hopefully this is correctable and was just an operator getting used to the new toys that he has to play with. The whole complex did look great and the Jumbotron was certainly a nice addition - even in its current state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Guys, I hope you know that you are sounding dangerously close to giving Gold a bunch of +1's . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 WD says that the issue with the screen was that someone messed up the feed before the game Saturday. It should be in HD this week. I agree that it looked like watching a low quality high school game on Cox Channel 3. I kept waiting for JV Haney's voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 Had a great time at the TU-Central Arkansas game Saturday night, the stadium looked great and the new scoreboard is like watching a drive-in movie in high def. But now, time for the jeers: TU's meaningless touchdown from a yard out with seconds to go (instead of taking a knee) smacked of running it up. Spare me excuses about letting the 3rd-stringers play and/or putting the loose-lipped UCA coach in his place. Stuff like that has a way of coming back on you; not so much as karma as it is the coaching fraternity policing it's own. It's just like having the basketball with seconds to go and a 20-point lead: as tempting as it is to launch a 3 or drive for one last dunk, just dribble the clock out, hand the ball to the ref, and act like you've been there before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 There's a reason UCA's coach is in D1aa and Graham is at TU. I'm not 100% cool with it, but the arguments in favor included the need to get votes and some pretty bush league comments UCA's coach made about Malzahn. We won't play them again. Honestly, I don't think it's that big of a deal. If you want to talk karma . . . get on the TU fans wearing 14-0 shirts. That's awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 There's a reason UCA's coach is in D1aa and Graham is at TU. I'm not 100% cool with it, but the arguments in favor included the need to get votes and some pretty bush league comments UCA's coach made about Malzahn. We won't play them again. Honestly, I don't think it's that big of a deal. If you want to talk karma . . . get on the TU fans wearing 14-0 shirts. That's awful. Gold* speaking of TU t-shirts...i looked online for a red TU t-shirt w/the block "TULSA" across the front (like the uniforms for the home operner). any idea if they are available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Really? A TU avatar??? I support TU football, and I'll be at the game tomorrow.... BUT A TU AVATAR ON THE ORU MESSAGE BOARD??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Incredible.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManiacAlum Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I was wondering when someone was gonna say something about that! And I'm not really thrilled that we take the time to discuss TU football (or anything) over here. But thats just me. Call me a jerk. Whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I was wondering when someone was gonna say something about that! And I'm not really thrilled that we take the time to discuss TU football (or anything) over here. But thats just me. Call me a jerk. Whatever. Careful, ManiacAlum. Last time I even intimated something in this direction I got zinged with a couple of -'s. Here's hoping you have a better experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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