This was the year I thought the University of Tulsa football team had a good shot at beating neighboring rival Arkansas. Boy, was I wrong.

As bad as the Razorbacks are, they were still able to shut out a Tulsa team that has been struggling all season, 23-0, at Fayetteville on Saturday. The two teams came into the game with only one win apiece, and it seemed in recent weeks, the Golden Hurricane offense had begun to improve. Thus, I figured, this could be the year that TU actually gets a win at Fayetteville. Boy, was I wrong.

Before I knock Tulsa (1-6, 0-3 AAC) too hard, we must remember that Arkansas (2-6, 0-4 SEC) is still an SEC team that plays some of the best teams in the country on its conference schedule. Also, it is a bit easier to recruit to a state school that is in the SEC, than it is to get scholar-athletes to play for a struggling team in the American Athletic Conference. So, with that being said, Arkansas has better talent to begin with.

However, the Razorbacks have had a rough go of it this season, losing to Colorado State 34-27, North Texas 44-17, Auburn 34-3, Texas A&M 24-17, Alabama 65-31, and Mississippi 37-33. Their only other win came against Eastern Illinois, 55-20, in week one.

Tulsa has proved this season the importance of a good starting quarterback and a good place kicker. Gone are the days of T.J. Rubley, Gus Frerotte, Paul Smith, and Dane Evans.

The Golden Hurricane have used three different quarterbacks in their seven games; Luke Skipper, Keenan Johnson, and Seth Boomer, and still haven’t solved the problems at that position. They have combined for 96 completions on 195 attempts (49.2 percent), with six touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

On Saturday, Tulsa had the ball inside the Razorbacks’ 25-yard line twice in the first quarter, but each drive stalled and ended with a missed field goal to keep the game scoreless. Nate Walker is now 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) on field goal attempts, with his longest being 40 yards. He’s missed two within 30 yards.

Coming into this season, I thought Tulsa had a legitimate chance of winning four or five games. Boy, was I wrong. Tulsa will play American Athletic Conference opponent Tulane (2-4, 1-1) on Saturday, at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Although, this is a winnable game, TU still has to face UConn, Memphis, Navy and SMU. Four wins now seems out of the question.