College Football 9/4/09
Tulane Green Wave (C-USA)-Tulsa Golden Hurricane (C-USA)
By Mark • Friday, September 4th, 2009 8 PM EST
Tulsa (0-0) at Tulane (0-0)
Line-Tulsa -13.5
This match up has been a one sided affair in the last four years as Tulsa has had their way with Tulane over this span, going 4-0 and scoring at will including last season's 56-7 beat down. Tulsa has been almost automatic in the points department sporting the top ranked offense in the land. Not surprisingly the points were plentiful at 47 points per, but the comparison should end there between this squad and the 2008 version. Why? Simply because the Golden Hurricane lost their three top offensive stars to graduation. QB David Johnson (4,059), RB Tarrion Adams (1,525) and WR Brennan Marion (1,112) are all gone along with three members of the offensive line. An awful lot of production and perhaps more importantly experience has disappeared. According to HC Todd Graham, Tulsa has the most talent they've had since he's been there and it's balanced on both sides of the ball. That would be encouraging especially for a defense that was torched for 28 points a game.
Tulane can only wish they had the same problems as their conference rival, but the Green Wave have some positives with quarterback Kevin Moore and running back Andre Anderson returning. The duo combined for over 3,000 yards but that didn't necessarily translate into points as Tulane could scrape together just 17 per contest in 2008. Even more disconcerting was a defense that ranked near the bottom nationally, allowing 35 points per game. No rocket science here. When your team is outscored at a 2:1 ratio the outcome is predictable. Tulane's ‘D' allowed opposing running backs to charge through them at nearly 220 yards a game so I suppose the bright spot would be that the Green Wave made opponents grind it out.
The Golden Hurricane lost 6 starters on offense as mentioned but return 8 players on a not so formidable ‘D'. Tulane has 7 starters coming back for an offense that didn't find the end zone consistently and 6 defenders returning on a defense that allowed opponents to cross the goal line frequently. The Green Wave were poor against the number going just 5-7 against it and were just as bad at home with a 2-4 mark. Tulsa was 8-5 ATS but struggled on the road going just 2-4 against the spread so something has to give. My gut says that something will be Tulane's defense and with a new QB behind center for the Golden Hurricane, I would turn around and play hand off with my running backs all day.
Marks Pick: Tulsa -13.5
Be Sure to sign up for our FREE WEEKLY FOOTBALL PICKING CONTEST WITH CASH PRIZES
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
.gif&AffUrlID=768)
