By JOHN E. HOOVER Sports Columnist on Nov 24, 2012, at 4:31 PM Updated on 11/24 at 4:31 PM
GAME POINT
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NORMAN — Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship talked for some 30 minutes at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
But really, there was only one question that mattered.
How does the Golden Hurricane, having already accomplished its primary and oft-stated goal of winning Conference USA’s Western Division, focus in on Saturday’s all-but-meaningless game at SMU? How do TU players even practice all week and then play a football game against the struggling Mustangs when they have a C-USA championship rematch at home against Central Florida only 14 days after playing the Knights at Chapman Stadium?
Blankenship did the best he could to answer my query.
Nobody’s gone unbeaten in C-USA play since the league split into divisions. The Golden Hurricane have struggled before at SMU. Ponies running back Zach Line is nearing Eric Dickerson’s school rushing record. The Mustangs need to win to get bowl eligible. SMU pride is on the line.
“I guess it’s a good problem when you can clinch a week early,” Blankenship said. “But it is a challenge. We want to guard against a letdown.”
Really, Blankenship could conjure no believable answer.
Obviously, he had an equally difficult time getting players to buy in to what he was saying, too. Tulsa laid a golden egg at Ford Stadium in Dallas, falling behind huge early before rallying late to lose 35-27.
Full disclosure, I’m covering the Oklahoma State at Oklahoma game today (it's 24-24 at halftime as I write this) and listened to the first three quarters of the Tulsa-SMU game on the drive to Norman. So I can’t say I saw what happened. The ending sounded dramatic. But TU radio guys Bruce Howard and Rick Couri always do an excellent job describing the scene. I trust their call. TU was flat.
Tulsa didn’t lose to SMU on Saturday. The Golden Hurricane lost to SMU on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when superior teams really suffer an upset loss, when they’re not paying attention in meetings, dozing off in film, bored in practice or rolling their eyes when their coach tries to inspire them.
But don’t worry Tulsa fans. The SMU game means nothing. And so what if TU players — from offense to defense to special teams — played like it?
Maybe now they’ll get Blankenship’s message. Maybe, with a conference championship on the line next week in Tulsa, they’ll buy into what he’s saying.
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