The Tulsa Golden Hurricane and Old Dominion Monarchs clash Monday afternoon in the college football Myrtle Beach Bowl from Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. Old Dominion went 6-6 this year. The Monarchs are coming off a win over Charlotte in their last game. As for Tulsa, they had a 6-6 run as well and beat SMU in their last outing. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Old Dominion started out at just 1-5 this year, losing to Wake Forest, Liberty, Buffalo, UTEP, Marshall and Western Kentucky in that stretch. Since then it’s been wins over LA Tech, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee and Charlotte.
Back on November 27 versus Charlotte, the Monarchs took a 28-14 lead into halftime. ODU scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on the way to a big 56-34 win. QB Hayden Wolff put up 328 yards with three scores, and Blake Wilson rushed for 106 and two TDs.
Over on the Tulsa side, they hit a 1-4 start over their first five, losing to UC Davis, OK State, Ohio State and Houston. After a 2-2 run in the next quartet, the Hurricane beat Tulane, Temple and SMU to close out the regular season.
In the November 27 matchup versus SMU, Tulsa scored 14 points in the third quarter for a 28-17 lead and hung on for the 34-31 result. QB Davis Brin managed 244 yards with two picks and a score, while Josh Johnson caught six balls for 117 yards and a TD.
ODU is 5-0 ATS in their last five overall and 4-0 ATS in their last four after an ATS win. The Monarchs are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games and 4-0 ATS in the last four after an ATS win.
Meanwhile, the Hurricane are 4-0 ATS in their last four overall and 6-2 ATS in their last eight bowl games. Tulsa is 11-4 ATS in the last 15 on grass and 2-6 ATS in the last eight versus Conference USA.
PICK: I’m going with Old Dominion here. The Monarchs got off to a bad start this year but over the last five games things have begun to click. Old Dominion has hit 23 or more points in each of the last five games, and 30 or more in three of those. It’s been quite the turnaround.
As for Tulsa, things got interesting in the fourth quarter of the SMU game. The Hurricanes were able to withstand a good Mustangs squad in the end, though. Tulsa has been pretty competitive over their last seven games or so, and this looks like it’ll be an interesting matchup. I think the line is thick enough for ODU to get in there, though.