Armed Forces Bowl 2011: Key Matchups for BYU vs. Tulsa

BYU's first season as an independent has to be looked at as a success.  After losing two of their first three games, the Cougars came back to win every game but one.

Now they face a Tulsa team that is coming off an absolute beatdown by Houston.

Here's a look at some important matchups and aspects of this bowl game.

Cougar Rush Offense vs. Tulsa

Will Tulsa be able to contain BYU's rushing attack.

JJ Di Luigi is the main guy to look out for.  He rushed for over 500 yards this season and averaged over five yards a carry.

Tulsa has to look out for Michael Alisa as well.

He had almost as many carries as Di Luigi, rushing for just under 500 yards and averaging about five and a half yards a carry.

Heck, even quarterback Riley Nelson averaged five yards a carry.

Whether he will be a running factor, though, remains to be seen.

Cougar Passing Attack vs. Tulsa

The passing attack of BYU is what Tulsa really has to watch out for.

Without a doubt, Cody Hoffman is the main guy, as he had just under 900 receiving yards, and caught seven touchdown passes.

Ross Apo, on the other hand, impressively had nine touchdown catches on the year.

Apo only had 34 catches but still managed 453 receiving yards.

JJ Di Luigi is dangerous as a receiver as well, as he had 25 catches and averaged over 10 yards a catch.

It would be a surprise if Tulsa is able to slow the passing attack down.

How Will Tulsa Rebound?

Last time we saw Tulsa, they were getting blown out by Houston.

Will they be motivated for this game or come out flat again?

Tulsa did go 7-1 in conference play.

In fact, other than Houston, their only losses of the year are to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State.

Those are obviously three great teams, and Tulsa shouldn't be ashamed of losing to any of them.

Tulsa even competed reasonably well in the Oklahoma State game.

The crushing loss to Houston obviously hurt, though, and it will be interesting to see how motivated the Golden Hurricane are.

G.J. Kinne vs. Cougar Defense

G.J. Kinne has put up some incredible numbers throughout his career, and that's no different this season.

He tossed 25 touchdowns and threw for just under 3,000 yards.

Both Willie Carter and Bryan Burnham had over 700 receiving yards.

That's extremely impressive, seeing as how receivers just don't put up the huge stats that they used to.

BYU's pass defense is solid, though, as they rank 28th in the country, giving up just under 200 yards a game.

Even though it probably won't get much attention, G.J. Kinne vs. the BYU pass defense is an absolutely tremendous matchup.

Tulsa Rush Attack vs. Cougar Defense

Will Tulsa be able to run the ball on BYU at all?

Tulsa had two runners rush for over 800 yards, which is extremely impressive.

Ja'Terian Douglas unbelievably averaged over eight yards a carry, and he had over 100 carries.

Trey Watts had 147 carries and averaged just under six yards a carry.

However, BYU has one of the best run defenses in the country.

It would really help the Cougars if they were able to make Tulsa one-dimensional.