Tramel's ScissorTales: Tulsa’s loss to UC-Davis was part of a big day for Big Sky football

Tulsa’s 19-17 loss to Cal-Davis on Thursday night at TU’s Chapman Stadium seemed to flip the Golden Hurricane narrative 180 degrees. 

2020: Special Tulsa season, with a variety of stirring comebacks and a 6-3 finish in which the losses were 16-7 at OSU, 27-24 at Cincinnati in the American Conference championship game and 28-26 to Mississippi State in the Armed Forces Bowl. 

2021: Inauspicious start, with no stirring comeback in a 19-17 loss to a Division I-AA team, courtesy of Keylon Stokes’ late fumble into and out of the end zone, for a Cal-Davis touchback. 

The Golden Hurricane now returns to Stillwater for a game Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. But before we bury Tulsa’s season, let’s add a bit of perspective. 

Cal-Davis is a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Big Sky had a heck of a weekend. 

Later Thursday night, Eastern Washington knocked off Nevada-Las Vegas 35-33 in two overtimes. 

Late Saturday night, in the biggest upset of Week 1 and an upset that might hold that status for any week, Montana beat 20th-ranked Washington 13-7. 

That’s a heck of a week for a conference that not only plays in a division below the big boys, it’s a conference tucked away in the oft-ignored Pacific Northwest. 

“Hats off to UC-Davis,” said TU coach Philip Montgomery. “I thought they played a really good game. Stayed ahead of the chains. Executed well on both sides of the football. Gave us some different looks than what we’ve seen.

“We’ve just got a lot of work to do. Had things open, had some success here and there, but just inconsistent with all that. Our play has got to be better, we’ve got to be better.” 

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The same story was true in Stillwater, where OSU avoided the Division I-AA upset bug, but things still got hairy. The Cowboys survived Missouri State 23-16. 

One common theme: all these Division I-AA teams played an abbreviated spring season. Cal-Davis went 3-2, beating Idaho, Cal Poly and Idaho State, while losing to Weber State and Eastern Washington. 

Another Big Sky team, Montana State, took Wyoming to the edge, before the Cowboys survived 19-16 

The I-AA Missouri Valley had a strong weekend. In addition to the near-upsets by Missouri State and South Dakota, South Dakota State beat Colorado State. 

And Division I-AA East Tennessee State of the Southern Conference beat Vanderbilt. 

So Washington and Tulsa and Colorado State aren’t likely to box up the uniforms. Things happen. 

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“One game does not make our season,” Montgomery said. “We just know we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

The Golden Hurricane played without six players who were suspended for their part in a post-game brawl against Mississippi State. Among the missing were safety TieNeal Martin, linebackers Treyvon Reeves and Justin Wright, and offensive lineman Tyler Smith, all starters.

“It is what it is on that part of it,” Montgomery said. “We’ll have those guys all back next week and be ready to play. 

“Like I told those guys earlier, we’re a different team. This is a new year. We’ve got to find our identity in who we’re going to be. Can’t live off last year. Veteran or not, we’ve got to go to work. We gotta come together as a football team and get ready to excel.” 

Tulsa needs better play from quarterback Davis Brin, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 201 yards and two interceptions. Truth is, TU has struggled at QB since Dane Evans (2013-16) departed. 

"There was a lot of hype coming into it with him,” Montgomery said of Brin, “but you gotta remember, it’s his first start, first rattle out of the box. At times, he did some really nice things. Other times, we’ve got work to do. 

“I felt like most of the time it was us stopping us more than the other way around. We had things open. Either we missed ‘em, we had our eyes in the wrong spot. Had good runs in there. Needed to put it together. Again, you’ve got to sustain drives and make those things happen and stay ahead of the chains.” 

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Mailbag: Angst over OU’s close call with Tulane 

Any OU football defeat or close call ignites much hand-wringing. And the Sooners’ 40-35 survival of Tulane was no different. 

Jon: “I’m hearing a ton of talk of all of the blown leads that Lincoln Riley teams have given up during his head coaching tenure. I think what needs to also be added are the games where they barely showed up. The Kyler Murray Cottton Bowl vs UT, the 2019 game at K-State, the 2019 game at Baylor. You could maybe add in the playoff game vs. Alabama where they actually outscored Bama from 34-24 in quarters 2-4, but I don’t think there’s anyone that didn’t think Bama was the superior team. Point being, it’s really hard to find a complete four-quarter performance from his teams.” 

Tramel: I’m not sure I understand. It's only hard to find complete performances from Riley teams if you don't look at a schedule. Every Big 12 title game. Every Bedlam game. Ohio State, in Columbus. Riley is 4-1 vs. Texas. That's the best record of any OU coach ever against the Longhorns. OU-Texas games are like NFL games. They are incredibly hard to win.  

Sure, OU played poorly Saturday in every quarter but the second. Sure, OU has struck out in playoff games. Sure, OU loses a regular-season game about once a year. 

But the idea that Riley teams don’t produce complete performances is the ultimate in recency bias. 

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FCA & Chuck Bowman are calling all coaches 

Chuck Bowman is coming out of retirement. The 31-year executive director of the Fellowship Christian Athletes retired in 2003. But he’s returning to the FCA for a special purpose.  

Reaching out to coaches.  

The 85-year-old Bowman has organized a monthly, FCA-sponsored free luncheon for coaches, active and retired. The next luncheon will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Johnnie’s Charcoal Grill on 33rd Street in Edmond, with Langston assistant coach Calvin Miller the featured speaker.  

Previous speakers have included Scott Hill, Jerry Pettibone and Ted Owens.  

“I am on the job again and loving it,” said Bowman. “Our purpose is to encourage and love on these coaches.” 

Bowman, from Ponca City, played football at OU under Bud Wilkinson, then started a coaching career that included five years at Northeastern A&M Junior College, 1967-71, where his teams won two national championships. 

“Being a retired coach myself, I know it can get lonely, and guys can fall through the cracks thinking no one cares anymore,” Bowman said. 

“FCA needs to let both men and women coaches know they are of great value and keys to building character in athletes.”  

Bowman said he and his FCA successor, John O’Dell, “both know FCA will not work as it should without the heart of a coach being involved. I learned that as a coach and believe it stronger today. Athletes need role models, and it has to start with a coach.” 

Bowman is trying to reach every coach, retired or not, with an invitation. FCA picks up the tab, and as anyone who’s been to Johnnie’s knows, the food is good. 

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Classic Flick Pick: “The Quiet Man” 

“The Quiet Man” combines two of my favorite vocations. Old movies and travel. 

John Wayne stars in a non-Western role, which always is fun. “The Quiet Man,” from 1952, was set and filmed in Ireland, much of it in County Mayo. The legendary John Ford directed, and Maureen O’Hara is a worthy partner with Wayne, but the real star was videographer Winston Hoch, whose depiction of the lush Irish countryside is a show-stealer. 

Anyone who’s been to Ireland or whoever wants to go (I’m in the latter club) will be mesmerized by the technicolor filming. 

The movie is a comedy/drama/romance, with Wayne as an American who was born in Ireland and returns in the 1920s to purchase the family farm. He falls in love with O’Hara, and their spirited romance, complete with family interference, is the crux of the movie. 

The film is marred by a climactic fistfight; any movie fistfight that lasts longer than 15 seconds is silly, Western or not. 

But Ford won an Oscar for best director, Hoch and Archie Stout won Oscars for cinemaphotography, and among the movie’s five other Academy Award nominations were Hollywood veteran Victor McLaglen, for his portrayal of O’Hara’s patriarchal brother. 

Follow the story if you wish. But you won’t be able to take your eyes off the Irish landscape. 

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.