Welcome to the Ultimate College Football Preview for 2023. Every team in FBS Football will be covered in this daily blog release. All of your favorite teams from the ACC, AAC, Big 12, Big 10, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, PAC 12, SEC, Sun Belt & even every Independent. Think of these daily college football previews as a cheat sheet going into next year.
2022 Recap:
This college football preview I am going to be nothing but honest. Tulsa was a bad team last year that showed it could be a good team. I mean this team lost to Wyoming but somehow beat Houston on the road. Like how the fuck did that happen? How do you let Navy score 56 points on you? But then play Ole Miss very close at the Grove and almost pull an upset. When I see scores and stats like this it tells me this is a young team with talent and no experience.
Head Coach:
New Head Coach Kevin Wilson takes over for Phil Montgomery this year after another losing season under Montgomery. Wilson comes into Tulsa after being the Offensive Coordinator at Ohio since 2017. He was the head coach at Indiana from 2011 to 2017 and boasted a 26-47 record there, not great but it is Indiana. Wilson has been a successful Offensive Coordinator at 4 other schools since 1988. Wilson runs an up tempo run and shoot offense that could help Tulsa and moved them out of the old Veer style they were running. Wilson’s quick paced offense could help an undersized line and less athletic skill players make bigger plays because of the scheme. I think this might be a perfect fit for Tulsa who is looking for someone to change the culture and the offense of the Hurricanes.
Key Players:
The two most important parts of a college football preview are the players back and the schedule. Here are some play makers coming back for Tulsa. Jordan Ford is the leading rusher coming back for the Hurricanes. He had 288 yards rushing, 20 catches and 2 touchdowns last season. As the third back last year used sparingly. They don’t have any WRs coming back from last year that contributed more than a catch here or there. Tulas will need to find their guys to replace huge numbers from Keylon Stokes who had 1,224 yards on 76 catches and 8 touchdowns. They have young WR who will have to gel with a brand new QB and new RB. The offense is very young and will look to Coach Wilson for guidance in a new system. That new QB is former 3 star recruit out of Decatur Texas. Looking at his high school tape he does throw a very catchable deep ball and has nice touch. Not an elite arm on sideline throws so timing will be critical for the first year starter. On defense they have to replace 200 tackles and 4 sacks with Justin Wright and Bryson Powers moving on. Graduate Student Kendarin Ray comes back as the leading tackler last year with 86 tackles, 3 TFL’s and 1 int. They have a ton of graduate and transfers starting on the defense as of now. They lack depth LB and Safety going into fall camp they will need to work on those positions.
2023 Prediction:
I think when I do the college football preview for Tulsa next year it will be a lot different. I love the hiring of Coach Wilson and the scheme change. As for my prediction for this year. I think if they go 2-2 in the non-conference that is a huge win I think 1-3 is more likely. They have Washington and Oklahoma both two very good teams and the Northern Illinois game is hard as well. If they can go 3-5 or 4-4 in conference with all the roster holes and wholesale changes it is a win year one for Coach Wilson. With that being said 7-5 is an amazing year, 6-6 a good year and most likely ending up with 5-7. Next year watch out though.