It may be Black Friday, but November 25th is more significant for two universities and their fans shopping for national recognition.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the Houston Cougars (ranked #7) will
square off for the Conference USA West Division title. It may be the
best football game in the nation and tickets are still available.
The Cougars are undefeated, but the Golden Hurricane (ranked #27) challenged the best teams in the nation early in non-conference play and is undefeated in conference play since. Tulsa is not a major media market so ESPN may not have noticed the quality of the team, but Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Boise State noticed.
Tickets for the game are still available and can be purchased online at www.TulsaHurricane.com, by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688) or stopping by the TU Reynolds Center Ticket Office, Mon-Tues, 8:30-5 pm, and Wednesday, 9-3 pm.
Fans can receive discounted tickets at facebook.com/tulsahurricane.
The game kicks off at 11:00 am on Friday from Tulsa’s H.A. Chapman Stadium. The winner of this match-up will host the Conference USA Championship Game a week later on December 3rd. It is the only Division I football game in the state this weekend as Oklahoma State and Oklahoma both have open weeks.
Tulsa faces its’ fourth top-10 opponent this season, as the Hurricane already played non-conference top-10 foes Oklahoma, Boise State and Oklahoma State.
Houston comes into the contest ranked 7th in the USA Today Coaches poll and 8th in the Associated Press poll team with an unblemished 11-0 record, 7-0 league mark and the NCAA’s No. 1 offense, scoring 53.1 points and gaining 618.3 total yards. Tulsa also has a 7-0 C-USA record and has moved up to 27th in the extended Associated Press poll with its overall 8-3 season mark.
Tulsa’s defense has been impressive in Conference USA competition this year, allowing 16.0 points, and 347.9 total yards in seven league games, but will have its’ hand full against the Cougars offense, guided by the NCAA’s all-time passing leader Case Keenum.
The Tulsa offense is led by quarterback G.J. Kinne and has averaged 35.7 points per game, while gaining 465 yards of total offense. The Hurricane running game, led by the sophomore tailback duo of Trey Watts and Ja’Terian Douglas, leads Conference USA in rushing with 208.5 yards per game.
Houston leads the overall series 19-17. The last meeting in Tulsa ended in a 46-45 victory for the 13th-ranked Cougars Houston on a last second field goal, while the Hurricane avenged that loss a year ago with a 28-25 road win.