I'll admit, I was nervous for this game. Not because I didn't think Utah was capable of winning, rather nervous because I wasn't sure which Utah team would show up. Luckily, the team that won 4 of their last 5 showed up and Utah methodically dispatched a solid Tulsa team.

On the Utes first drive of the game they marched down the field rather well, getting into Tulsa territory before being forced to kick the field goal. Louie Sakoda's 45-yard kick easily sailed through the uprights and the Utes took an early 3-0 lead. A couple of defensive stops by both teams set up Tulsa's first scoring drive. They strung together multiple short passes and from second and goal Tarrion Adams found the end zone and the Golden Hurricanes went up 7-3.

Utah answered with another impressive drive, getting all the way down to the Tulsa's 22 before being thwarted once again on a touchdown possibility. Utah would kick yet another field goal and get within a point of Tulsa. The score would stay that way until the final seconds of the first half, where the Utes built a momentum changing scoring drive right before the half.

Forcing Tulsa to punt in Utah territory, Brett Ratliff took the field and quickly ushered Utah's offense into field goal range. A quick 4-yard pass from Ratliff to Brian Hernandez at the start of the drive was followed by another short 5-yard pass, this time to Bradon Godfrey. Ratliff followed that up with a solid 19 yard run and then threw his most impressive pass of the night. With the clock ticking down and Utah still about 24 yards out of field goal range, Ratliff found a streaking Maquies Wilson down the right side for a 24 yard gain. That set up a 41-yard field goal by Sakoda as time expired in the first half. With the kick Utah took the lead and would not relinquish it the rest of the game.

The most exciting drive of the night for either team came by the Utes at the start of the second half. Ratliff once again moved the Utes' offense into Tulsa territory, but instead of being forced to kick a field goal yet again, Utah ran a flea flicker as Ratliff tossed the ball to Hernandez, who lateraled the ball to Brent Casteel for the 5-yard score. That play put the Utes up 16-7 and demoralized a Tulsa defense that already had struggled at stopping Utah's offense.

Sakoda would kick another field goal to put the Utes up 19-7 and it looked like Utah was well on their way to a dominate victory. Yet it wasn't that easy. In his first major mistake of the game, Ratliff threw an interception in Utah territory, which positioned the Golden Hurricanes for their first touchdown of the second half. And that's exactly what happened, as Paul Smith rushed into the end zone on 3rd and 1. Tulsa would miss the extra point and claw back into the game at 19-13. Then Eric Weddle took over.

Utah forced Tulsa to punt with 5:00 left in the game and began a drive that would eat clock, end in a score and dash any hope of a Tulsa comeback. It started fittingly enough with a 7-yard Weddle run and a important 3-yard run on 3rd and 1. Weddle continued forcing Tulsa's defense into small lapses, gaining just enough yards to sustain the drive. It ended, just as it started, with Weddle touching the ball and waltzing into the end zone untouched. With 2:00 left and Utah up 25-13, the Utes' sixth straight bowl victory was pretty much in hand. But Weddle wasn't done just yet, as he intercepted Paul Smith's final pass as time expired. The pick, which most definitely would have resulted in 6 points for the Utes, was downed by Weddle in a pure classy move and the game came to a close. Utah wins 25-13, their fourth consecutive double digit bowl victory.

I had thought this game would be an offensive shootout, but was surprised to see Utah's defense pretty much dominate Tulsa's 22nd ranked passing offense. While Tulsa did score two touchdowns, one came on a short field after a Ratliff interception. They held Tulsa to 13 first downs, 158 yards passing and only 96 yards rushing. The most notable defensive stat of the night was the fact the Utes held Tulsa to only 2-11 on third downs. The Golden Hurricanes could only muster 254 yards on offense, compared to the Utes' 405 --165 on the ground and 240 through the air.

Ratliff had 240 yards on 23 of 34 passes and threw for one touchdown. Casteel was Utah's leading rusher with 66 yards, followed by Weddle and Ratliff with 56 and 31 respectively. With this victory, Utah runs their record to 8-5 and their bowl winning streak to 6 straight. If Boston College loses to Navy, the Utes will have the longest active streak in the country.

Utah kept their bowl winning streak alive with an impressive 25-13 victory over Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl. With the win, Utah runs their bowl winning streak to 6 straight, which is tied with Boston College for the longest bowl winning streak in the nation.

I'll recap the game a bit tomorrow, as I'm busy tonight. Great win for Utah and a nice finish to an up and down season. GO UTES!

To get a better understanding of where Utah and Tulsa stand, I thought it would be best to compare both team's schedule. This should at least give a foundation for the argument of which team is better, or if anything adds more baseless information to which team has a better shot at winning the Armed Forces Bowl.

Tulsa's schedule

It's interesting to note Tulsa did not play once BCS team this season and their toughest out of conference games were against BYU and Navy -- which also happens to be their most impressive victory of the season. The combined record of Tulsa's opponents is 68-65, but the combined record against teams Tulsa beat is only 42-54.

Utah's schedule

The Utes played one team from a BCS conference, UCLA, a team that blew them out. Their combined opponent's record this season is 71-72. While Utah's opponents have more wins than Tulsa's, their opponents' combined record is above .500, Utah's isn't. It isn't much better if you just compare the combined record of each team Utah beat. That's an embarrassingly low of 30-53. A winning percentage of just .361%, compare that to Tulsa's wins, which is .437, and you can see they've had more impressive wins than the Utes. Of course Utah's biggest win the of the season compares well to Tulsa's, a 20-7 victory over TCU.

What does this all mean? Well the Utes pretty much rolled over every team with a bad record, in fact, all of their losses came to a team with 6 or more wins. Yet against good competition -- BYU, Boise State and UCLA -- the Utes faltered. Though I will note the Utes had a much stronger finish than Tulsa, who lost 2 of their final 3, while the Utes won 2 of their final 3. Their lone loss coming as time expired against BYU -- who defeated Tulsa 49-24.

If the Utes can get a victory against Tulsa, it'll be an impressive one to add to a season filled with minimal impressive wins. Tulsa on the other hand probably won't gain much with a victory over a 7-5 Utah team...except maybe a top-25 finish.

Know your enemy, they say and I'm going to do just that. I've already looked at Tulsa's defense and Tulsa's offense, so I also thought I would take a look at their bowl history.

Tulsa's actually been to their fair share of bowl games in the program's history, only problem with this statistic however is that most came during an era of leather helmets and true grids on the gridiron. Ok, maybe not that far back, but damn near close. In fact, this will mark only Tulsa's fourth bowl game since 1991 -- to compare, the Utes will be playing in their fifth bowl game since 2001.

Tulsa Bowl History

Early on, Tulsa played in some nice bowls. In fact, from 1943-'45, they played in what we now call "BCS" bowl games. 1953 appears to be their last big bowl game, a one point loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl.

For a fairly long time between the 1960s up until the Steve Kragthorpe era, Tulsa was pretty much nothing in college football. It's interesting how one good coach can completely change a team's fortunes. It looks as if Kragthorpe is to Tulsa as McBride was to Utah. Both programs were strong from the 1940s-60s, then both fell on hard times and it took a solid coach to come in and build them up again. The biggest difference here however is that Ron McBride was never the charismatically appealing coach Kragthorpe seems to be. Which is probably why McBride's name never came up for bigger named jobs, yet Kragthorpe's has come up for every job opening known to man. In fact, I think Kragthorpe is the next in line to lead the Iraqi government.

Tulsa's a solid team with a strong bowl tradition, albeit one built in the 1940s. I remember the Liberty Bowl from last year and they played amazing football. Tulsa is capable of lighting the Utes up and I expect a good game, though based on Tulsa's bowl history, a game they don't stand much chance of winning. Yet I can't help but think the bowl history of either team (Utah is 8-3) is a moot point when the two hit the field in a couple of weeks.

You can read the breakdown of Tulsa's offense here.

While Tulsa has an impressive offense, their defense is equally impressive this season. In 12 games this season they've given up on average 19.5 points per game. While not an eye-popping statistic, it does rank 2nd in the Conference USA. They also only give up 287.8 yards per game, which is the best in the conference. If Utah is going to penetrate this defense, they will definitely need to bring their A-game. That means Ratliff will have to put together a performance identical to what he did against BYU a few weeks ago.

Here's a defensive break down of Tulsa.

Tulsa's pass defense ranks 1st in the Conference USA and it's something Ratliff will have to overcome. If the Utes are going to be successful on offense, they will need a balanced offense that runs and passes the ball effectively. If Ratliff struggles and Utah can't get anything out of its running game, they'll most likely falter on offense and Tulsa should take advantage and pull out a victory. However if the Utes can chip away at their run defense, then go to the air and connect, Utah should be capable of putting points up on Tulsa's defense.

A better look at Tulsa's pass defense.

What jumps out at me here is Tulsa's ability to keep quarterbacks at around 50% passing. That's best in the conference and if Ratliff is held to that number, it's a good bet he'll have a bad night. Another statistic that really concerns me is how few first downs Tulsa allows. They're the only team in the C-USA that have not give up 100 or more first downs this season. To contrast, the Utes have had 114 first downs this season, which is third in the Mountain West Conference.

Here's a look at Tulsa's run defense.

Tulsa has a solid run defense, yet it looks like teams opt more for the pass against Tulsa than they do the ground game. When teams do run on Tulsa, they average 4.2 yards per carry, which isn't terrible. That ranks T-5th (with 3 other teams) in the C-USA. If the Utes can average 4.2 yards per carry and keep ramming the ball down Tulsa's throat, they should be in good shape on offense.

This defense could cause the Utes problems, but it isn't the best they've seen this season. I believe TCU and Colorado State both have better defenses, and the Utes pretty much rolled them on offense. Yet I'm still nervous about Ratliff's performance. If he struggles, like he did against Boise State and Wyoming, the Utes will go down and go down hard. Yet he hasn't had a poor game since that Wyoming one and that was nearly two months ago. This should be a good game and I expect it to be fairly high scoring, but if Utah is going to win, they'll need a balanced offensive attack. Can a runner step up and lead Utah to its 6th straight bowl win?

Here's hoping Utah goes 8-5, which would be a respectable record.

Tulsa has been known for an offensive machine the past two seasons and their point total pretty much shows this. During 12 games the Golden Hurricanes have averaged 29 points per game, second only to Houston in the Conference USA. Tulsa's passing game will prove to be a great challenge for a Utah defense that has struggled in the secondary. The Golden Hurricanes average 232 passing yards per game, which ranks 4th in the C-USA. Utah's defense gives up on average 220 passing yards per game, below the Tulsa average.

Here's an offensive break down of the Hurricanes.

Now a look at Tulsa's passing offense.

Tulsa doesn't pass the ball nearly as much as BYU, who attempted 34 passes per game this season, but they still are a threat through the air. Tulsa's offense is more tailored around short screen passes, which could pose a problem for the Utes, who haven't defended that type of pass very well this season.

Tulsa is a very efficient at running the ball, too.

Tulsa's offense is rather balanced, with the offensive production both coming through the air and on the ground. That type of diverse offense will definitely help Tulsa, especially if their running game can set up the pass. Utah has done a solid job at stopping the running game of their opponents, however they've failed to do that when it came to the passing game and this is something Tulsa will most likely exploit.

The Golden Hurricanes have a solid offense and probably one of the best the Utes have seen this season. If Utah's defense plays like they did against BYU, they most likely will keep Tulsa's offense in check and should do a good enough job of keeping them below their point total. However if Tulsa lights up Utah's secondary, it could be a long night on the Utes' defensive end.

The Golden Hurricanes (do they even have hurricanes in Tulsa?) had a fairly easy schedule this year, so it's not a surprise that they finished with 8 wins. What is a surprise is that they struggled for a big bulk of their conference schedule. After opening the season 7-1, Tulsa then limped to a 1-3 finish, nearly the opposite of Utah's finish.

It's fairly interesting to note that Tulsa did not play one BCS team this season. While the Utes only played one, it proved to be a difficult task as they got hammered on the road against UCLA.

Here's a look at Tulsa's schedule and some comments I've made about the game.

Stephen F. Austin - W: Tulsa should have won this game, so nothing to really say here.

@ BYU - L: I'm not surprised that Tulsa lost, but they were totally dominated by the Cougars. BYU won 49-24 and controlled the entire flow of the game. This is the only common opponent between the two and it's obvious the Utes gave the Cougars a better game.

North Texas - W: An expected win for Tulsa, but not a truly dominate one. North Texas went 3-9 this season and Tulsa only scored 28 points against them. To contrast, North Texas gave up 35 points to Middle Tennessee State.

@ Navy - W: This is clearly Tulsa's most impressive win. Even though I watched the game, I don't remember much about it except that the game went into OT and Navy lost the game on a missed PAT.

Southern Mississippi - W: Another solid win for the Golden Hurricanes, as So. Miss won the C-USA East and will be playing for the C-USA Championship.

@ East Carolina - W: East Carolina isn't a great team, but a solid road victory over a Pirates team that does have a winning record and a win over North Carolina State.

@ Memphis - W: Memphis sucks this year, so this was expected.

UTEP - W: See Memphis.

@ Houston - L: Tough loss, in a game where Tulsa was pretty much dominated. Houston isn't a bad team and most likely will win the C-USA, but this loss really sent Tulsa into a tailspin at the end of the year.

Rice - L: Rice has improved, but I don't see how Tulsa could have lost this game at home. This was their second straight loss.

@ SMU - L: Ouch. Ok, SMU does have a 6-6 record, but losing to them when many picked Tulsa to win the conference is pretty inexcusable.

Tulane - W: A victory to end the 3-game losing streak against a really bad Tulane team.

Looking at the schedule, I am impressed with Tulsa's wins over So. Miss and Navy, but equally not impressed with their losses to BYU, Rice and SMU. I think Tulsa is a solid non-BCS team, but one Utah should beat handily. Of course the Utes have lost games they should have won handily this year (New Mexico!), so I guess it wouldn't be a shock if they lost this one, too.

In reality, I think Tulsa and Utah's seasons mirror each other. They both basically finished with the same record, struggled through apart of their conference season and finished with the same conference record. I think the MWC is more talented than the C-USA, but not by much. I'm looking forward to this game, only because I think it's winnable. A few weeks ago I felt if the Utes were to get to a bowl game they'd get rolled, now I'm confident they could beat a lot of these bowl eligible teams. It's just a shame neither Tulsa and Utah can beat up on a BCS team.

The Tulsa World is reporting that Tulsa has accepted a bid to play the Utes in the Armed Forces Bowl this December 23rd. Tulsa, a former WAC foe for the Utes, now plays in the Conference USA and has won 2 of the 3 meetings against Utah.

This will mark Utah's fourth straight bowl game, a school record. It'll also be the Utes 6th bowl game in 8 years. Tulsa, winners of last year's Liberty Bowl, will be making only their third trip to a bowl game since 1991.

I'll have more on the bowl game and Tulsa in the coming weeks.

Offical Armed Forces Bowl Site.

Today the University of Utah has accepted an invitation to play in the Armed Forces Bowl, marking the 4th straight bowl appearance for Utah. Though Utah's opponent has yet to be named, chances are the Utes will play Rice, a former conference foe from their old WAC days. You can pre-order your tickets here.

Hm, it looks like the Utes are slated to play Tulsa in the Fort Worth Bowl. Not what I would call a great bowl game, or even a great opponent. No disrespect to Tulsa, but I'd rather Utah play a BCS opponent than some Conference USA team and I'm guessing your fans feel the same way too.

Oddly enough, Tulsa already played BYU earlier this year and got smacked around like Whitney Houston at Christmas time. "Bobby, no! Please don't hit me again...AHHHH!"

Oh well, I guess I should be thankful for playing in any bowl game, since a little over a month ago any bowl game looked improbable for the Utes.

Utah's won 5 straight bowl games, do I smell 6 in a row? If they play like they did Saturday, I'm not sure there are many non-BCS teams that can beat them.