After being humiliated 70-30 by Houston last weekend, Tulsa is an angry football team. Look for the Golden Hurricane to take it out on the Tulane Green Wave.
Laying over four touchdowns may seem like a lot but not in this case. Tulsa comes into this game off two straight setbacks, the last coming on Saturday in Houston to the tune of a 70-30 loss. The Golden Hurricane want nothing more than to take its frustrations out on an opponent and what better one than Tulane.
After starting the season 8-0, Tulsa has not looked like the same team since, but they still lead the nation in total offense and don’t be surprised to see them not let up at all here.
Tulane started the year very promising with a 2-2 record through the first four games that included a narrow loss to East Carolina and a loss at Alabama where the Wave actually outgained the Tide. Since then, it has been six straight losses that all started with a 31-point thumping by Army and it has never recovered. The Green Wave have been outgained in each of their last five games as the once stout defense has fallen apart and injuries have taken their toll on the offensive side.
First it was wide receiver Jeremy Williams, who was having a breakout season through five games before being lost with a leg injury and then running back Andre Anderson, who was 4th in the nation with 860 rushing yards through five games before being lost for the season with a shoulder injury. Since then the offense has averaged only 16.3 ppg and has plummeted to 108th in scoring offense. Tulsa has no defense as witnessed last weekend but Tulane simply does not have the players to take advantage.
Two weeks ago, Tulane had the top-ranked defense in C-USA but has since dropped to third after allowing 1,119 yards over the last two games. Now they must face their biggest challenge of the season. The Golden Hurricane are averaging 583.8 ypg and even a poor effort last week against Houston resulted in 501 total yards. They have gone over 600 yards five times and over 700 yards once and it would not be surprising for them to make it twice after this matchup.
Tulane is coming off a bad loss to UAB and that happened to be at home, which was also its last home game of the season. There is still one game after this but it is safe to say Tulane has tossed it in for the season. Tulsa, while the BCS dreams are dashed, is still hunting for the C-USA Championship despite the loss last week. The Golden Hurricane will need some help from UTEP or Rice to defeat the Cougars but the motivation is still there. Expect a complete annihilation on Saturday in the home finale for Tulsa.
Free Pick: Tulsa -28½ (-110)