Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Tulane Green Wave Betting Free Pick

A couple of schools that prefer to run the football, Head Coach Willie Fritz and the Tulane Green Wave (+3) are gearing up to pay a visit to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (-3) at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. This conference game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. ET and fans can catch the action by tuning in to ESPNU. When these two schools faced each other last year, Tulane won handily 62-28.

Betting Preview: Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Tulane Green Wave

In this Saturday American Athletic Conference game, Tulsa is getting picked as the favorite and is currently giving up 3 points. The Green Wave are also receiving +120 moneyline odds while the Golden Hurricane are -140. Oddsmakers have determined the over/under (O/U) to be 50.5 points, and if one side can create a bunch of points in the early stages, it’ll likely generate a decent in-game betting scenario.

The Green Wave are 3-4 against the spread (ATS) and are down 1.4 units so far in 2018. They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 2-5.

The Golden Hurricane have lost 4.2 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 3-4 ATS and have an O/U record of 0-6.

The Green Wave are 2-5 straight up (SU), including 1-2 SU against conference opponents. The Golden Hurricane are 1-6 SU overall and 0-3 SU in conference play.

The Green Wave lost to SMU 27-23 in a game where Jonathan Banks completed 14-of-22 passes for only 153 yards and one interception. Banks (34 rushing yards on 18 attempts, one TD) also led the running attack and was complemented by Darius Bradwell (72 yards on 13 carries, one TD). Terren Encalade (four receptions, 39 yards) and Stephon Huderson (three catches, 39 yards) handled the receiving duties in the defeat.

One week ago, Arkansas shut out this Tulsa team by a score of 23-0. The Golden Hurricane defense allowed the Razorbacks to run for 196 yards on 53 rush attempts, along with one rushing TD. Rakeem Boyd had a good outing for Arkansas, recording 99 rushing yards on 22 attempts. For Tulsa, Seth Boomer completed eight-of-25 passes for 127 yards and one interception. Shamari Brooks (91 yards on 20 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Boomer (-6 yards on 12 carries) led the running game as Keylon Stokes (three receptions, 74 yards) and Justin Hobbs (two catches, 12 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the loss.

In terms of offensive play-calling, each team sports a strikingly similar (64-36) run-pass ratio on the season. The Green Wave have rushed for 188.3 yards per game (including 206.7 per game against American Athletic Conference opponents) and have 14 scores on the ground this year. The Golden Hurricane are logging 198.1 rushing yards per game (209.0 in conference) and have 11 total rush TDs.

It seems like the Green Wave may have an edge in all aspects of the ground game. Their running backs has generated 4.3 yards per carry while their defense is allowing 3.9 yards per rush attempt to opponents. The Golden Hurricane have ran for 3.9 yards per carry and given up a YPC of 4.9 to opponents.

The Green Wave offensive scheme has averaged 181.4 yards through the air overall (154.3 per game versus conference opposition) and has eight passing scores so far. The Golden Hurricane have put up 165.7 pass yards per game (167 against AAC foes) and have six total pass TDs.

Tulane has let opponents run for an average of 155.6 yards and pass for 275.3 yards per game. The Tulsa D has given up 176.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 211.9 yards per game on the ground. The Golden Hurricane are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 5.27 to opposing QBs, while the Green Wave have allowed a 6.85 ANY/A.

Boomer has connected on 21-of-56 passes for 354 yards, one TD and two INTs. Boomer’s adjusted net yards per pass attempt sits at a very poor 3.36 for the year and 2.47 over his last two outings. In the other huddle, Banks is up to 1,072 passing yards this season. He’s connected on 71-of-134 attempts with five passing touchdowns and two interceptions. Banks has a 6.08 ANY/A for the year, though that number sits at 2.36 over the past two outings.

Tulane Green Wave vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane Betting Pick

SU Winner: Tulsa, ATS Winner: Tulsa, O/U: Over

Betting Trends

The Tulane D has sacked opposing quarterbacks 18 times this year. Tulsa has produced just seven sacks.

Tulsa has lost 10 fumbles in 2018 while the Tulane offense has lost seven.

The Green Wave offense has recorded five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Golden Hurricane have put up three such plays.

The Tulane defense has allowed five pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Tulsa has given up four such plays.

The Tulane offense has created 18 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Tulsa has created 13 such runs.

The Green Wave defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Golden Hurricane have given up 11 such runs.

The Over/Under for Tulsa’s last matchup was 54. The under cashed in the 23-0 loss to Arkansas.

In its last three matchups, Tulsa is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.

Over its last three games, Tulane is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.

Tulane has lost five of its last six games SU, with a 16-point win over Memphis on September 28th representing the only victory over that span.

The O/U for Tulane’s last game was 55. The under cashed in the team’s 27-23 defeat to SMU.

Tulane, as a team, has produced 4.4 yards per carry across its last three contests and 3.6 over its last two.

Tulsa has averaged 3.8 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 4.0 over its last two.