.png)
.png)
Tulsa Football to Play Six Home Games in 2008
2/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 26, 2008
Tulsa, Oklahoma - The University of Tulsa's football schedule for the 2008 season was announced today by TU's Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. The Conference USA schedule has just been announced, while Tulsa announced the non-conference slate in early January.
Tulsa will play games against four Bowl teams from a year ago, including non-conference foes New Mexico (New Mexico Bowl) and Arkansas (Cotton Bowl), as well as C-USA opponents Houston (Texas Bowl) and UCF (Liberty Bowl).
"We're excited about the 2008 season because of the position we've put ourselves in as a program," said Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham. "We like our non-conference schedule and we're excited about the opportunity of opening a renovated H.A. Chapman Stadium against New Mexico, a Bowl champion from a year ago.
"We want to play games of regional interest and we do that in our non-conference schedule with North Texas and Arkansas on the road, as well as conference games at SMU and Houston. Most of our road games are within driving distance, except UAB and Marshall, so hopefully we'll be able to travel a large contingent of fans," added Graham.
Tulsa will open the season on the road at North Texas on September 6 in Denton, Texas. The two teams have played 22 times as Tulsa leads the series 16-6. The last meeting came in 2006 as Tulsa grabbed a 28-3 home victory, while a year earlier Tulsa captured a 54-2 win in Denton.
The Hurricane will open the renovated H.A. Chapman Stadium on Sept. 20 against Mountain West Conference opponent New Mexico. The game will highlight dedication ceremonies for the renovated stadium. The last time the two teams met was in 1997 as members the Western Athletic Conference. The Tulsa-UNM series is tied at 2-2.
A week later, Tulsa plays host to Championship Subdivision (formerly NAA Div. 1-AA) opponent Central Arkansas on Sept. 27. This is the first meeting between the two teams.
"We don't necessarily like having the two byes early which forces us to play 11 games in a row for the second straight year. That's difficult for us from a physical standpoint. We'd rather not play five of the first seven at home and four of the last five on the road either, but we just have to prepare and understand with the construction that we couldn't play a home game until Sept. 20.
"We get UTEP, UCF, Tulane and Rice all at home in conference play, which I think is big. UTEP and UCF are two of the toughest places to play on the road and I like the fact that we have those games here. I think the UCF game will be one that a lot of people will look towards, and we open the C-USA season against Rice on Homecoming, which is a game that has had a big interest," said Graham.
"We're on the road at both SMU and Houston with two new head coaches, and those games should draw a lot of interest. Both of those games are not too far for our fans to trvel, so hopefully we'll have some road warriors go with us this year and help us on the road," added Graham. "UAB and Marshall are the two longest trips. Marshall is a tough place to play especially at the end of November. Both UAB and Marshall have great potential this year."
Tulsa will begin the Conference USA season with the team that the Hurricane clinched the 2007 C-USA West Division title against last year, Rice University. The Owls come to H.A. Chapman Stadium on Oct. 4 for Homecoming. Tulsa has won four of the last five meetings against Rice including a 48-43 victory last season.
The Hurricane visits SMU and first-year head coach June Jones a week later on Oct. 11. Last year, Tulsa captured a 29-23 home victory against the Mustangs as the Hurricane went 99 yards in less than two minutes to claim the victory and begin a five-game winning streak.
Tulsa will return home for two straight home games against UTEP on Oct.18, followed by an Oct. 26 game against the defending C-USA champion UCF Knights. The Hurricane lead the series against the Miners, 9-7, and has won the last three home games in the series.
UCF and Tulsa have met three times before with two of those games coming in the Conference USA Football Championship Game, as Tulsa won the crown in 2005 and UCF claimed the title last year. The Tulsa-UCF game will be played on Sunday night on ESPN.
The Hurricane will take a break from conference action on the first weekend of November as Tulsa travels across the border to play the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Ark., on Nov. 1. This will be the 71st meeting between the two teams and the first time since the 2003 campaign.
Tulsa will continue on the road for the next two weeks, playing at UAB on Nov. 8, and Houston on Nov. 15. The Hurricane won both contests last year, capturing a 38-30 win against the UAB Blazers, as well as claiming a 56-7 victory against Houston in a showdown against the C-USA West Division leaders.
Tulsa will close out the home season on Nov. 22 against the Tulane Green Wave. The Hurricane won its third straight game against Tulane last year with a 49-25 victory at the Louisiana Superdome.
The Hurricane closes out the regular season a week later on Nov. 29 at Marshall. The two teams met last year for the first time as Tulsa grabbed a 38-31 win.
2008 Tulsa Football Schedule DATE OPPONENT TIME Sept. 6 at North Texas TBA Sept. 20 NEW MEXICO 6:00 pm Sept. 27 CENTRAL ARKANSAS 6:00 pm Oct. 4 RICE* (HOMECOMING) 6:00 pm Oct. 11 at SMU* TBA Oct. 18 UTEP* 6:00 pm Oct. 26 (Sun.) UCF* (ESPN) TBA Nov. 1 at Arkansas TBA Nov. 8 at UAB* TBA Nov. 15 at Houston* TBA Nov. 22 TULANE* TBA Nov. 29 at Marshall* TBA
