ThIS spring was important because Tulsa won't have much time to work through a few things early next season.

When TU starts the season in the fall, the Golden Hurricane better be ready to play.

Tulsa will be playing its fourth game of the season, on the last weekend of September, before it gets a home game against a lightweight.

Thus, the Hurricane, finishing spring practice with Saturday's Spring Game at Chapman Stadium, needed to answer a few questions.

"This is the most talented team we've had," said TU coach Todd Graham.

That's the good news because there will be just a brief preseason camp before Tulsa jumps into an early schedule full of challenges.

It opens with three road games, including a conference game at Tulane to open the season on Sept. 4, and then a trip to New Mexico. It goes to Oklahoma to face the Heisman winner on Sept. 19.

All of that makes for quite a challenge as the Hurricane adjusts to life with a new quarterback and new offensive coordinator. There are questions along the offensive line.

"The biggest thing I've seen is up front on the line," said Graham. "We've got guys that are going to have to step up."

The defense, a sore spot all of last season, will need to be better if Tulsa hopes to once again contend in Conference USA.

"Our defense is performing," said Graham. "I have been very, very pleased because the team with the best defense usually wins our league.

"I've been really pleased with our mindset and toughness on defense."

Much of the talk this spring has been about quarterback. The Hurricane has been blessed with two high-quality quarterbacks in the past five years.

It is no coincidence that Tulsa has soared in recent years, playing in five bowls in six years (the last four years in a row).

Much of that can be attributed to stability at quarterback.

Now, there is a wild scramble at quarterback. No one took control this spring.

"Oh no, we'll go into preseason practice," said Graham. "All three will continue to compete for the job.

"We're very talented at that position."

Shavodrick Beaver, Jacob Bower and G.J. Kinne all had their moments in the spring game. They also had some forgettable plays.

Beaver seemed to have an edge in the game, running for a 66-yard TD and throwing for two TDs. The offense scored four times with Beaver at quarterback.

"The young one (Beaver) really shined," said Graham. "He had the best scrimmage of the three."

But, all three quarterbacks have had moments during spring drills. As a result, that battle should go up until late in preseason drills.

"We have a good problem at that position," said Graham.

The Golden Hurricane has some playmakers, especially Charles Clay, Damaris Johnson and Trae Johnson, who should give this offense a chance to be very good again.

Whether it can be as good as last year, when the Hurricane led the nation with 569.9 yards per game, is doubtful. But there's little question the Hurricane may once again be among the national leaders in offense.

But getting back to an 11-3 record, as TU had last year, will be difficult. The schedule is more difficult and the offense is less experienced.

Still, there is reason for optimism.

Tulsa has played in three of the four Conference USA Championship football games, including the last two years.

"We didn't finish in the championship games," said Graham. "That's something we're working on."

Certainly, if Tulsa can avoid an early-season collapse, it should be a contender again. Houston, Southern Miss and East Carolina will make the league better.

C-USA is getting better, and Tulsa will have to keep pace if it hopes to remain among the teams to beat.