 "Photo: Alex Hutchison")
MOBILE, Ala. - Head coaches Stan Parrish and Todd Graham shook hands, laughed and joked Monday as they were introduced at the press conference one day before the 2009 GMAC Bowl.
There was no trash talking. Neither provided bulletin board material. The two simply gushed about the other's success.
Parrish praised the University of Tulsa's back-to-back 10-win seasons. Graham promised to do his best just to "make a game of it" Tuesday night.
"We get the opportunity to come back to the GMAC Bowl and play this game against this opponent," Graham said. "I think it's one of the better [bowl] matchups in college football this year."
The similarities No. 22 Ball State University and Tulsa share are seemingly endless.
Both feature explosive offenses and suspect defenses. Both are recovering from loses in their conference title games in which they dominated on the stat sheet but lost on the scoreboard. Both have a senior class that resurrected their programs from dormant to dominant.
Parrish and Graham also know they share the same key to being successful Tuesday - getting defensive stops.
"He has a high-powered offense, and so do I," Parrish said. "And probably the defenses are going to win the game tomorrow night."
Tulsa, who Parrish called the best offense he will faced in his four years at Ball State, presents a challenge similar to the Cardinals' game against Central Michigan University earlier this season. The Golden Hurricane run a no-huddle offense that tries to wear a defense out late in games. They also line up in a spread formation - which is designed to cater to the passing game - but can also gain yards rushing the football.
The result was a Tulsa offense that ranks second in the country with 47.2 points per game.
Parrish said he will use two timeouts on defense, if necessary, to help slow down the Golden Hurricane's no-huddle attack.
"These guys aren't just a no huddle. They're real fast to the ball, and they'll try to run 90 plays in a game," Parrish said. "It's hard to get your demonstration team to simulate that."
The Cardinals defense ranks second in the Mid-American Conference with 26 takeaways and first with 14 interceptions.
Tulsa's 26 turnovers are the second most in Conference USA, and starting quarterback David Johnson has thrown 18 interceptions this year. The Golden Hurricane have 16 of those turnovers in their three losses.
"That's a key for us, that we don't turn the ball over," Graham said. "We've been very efficient in scoring, so we've got to make sure we take care of the ball."
Graham said his defense would have difficulty stopping Ball State quarterback Nate Davis unless his team is able to play with a lead.
If Tulsa scores first, Graham said, it will be able to focus on putting pressure on Davis in the pocket and keep him from falling into a rhythm.
"If we can just tee off, then we're pretty good at rushing the passer," Graham said. "We're one of the top five or six teams at sacking the quarterback in the country. That's going to be the key for us."
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