College Football Free Betting Matchup – Tulane Green Wave at Houston Cougars

The Tulane Green Wave (+11) are making a trip west to take on their AAC nemesis Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. ESPN will televise the action and this Thursday matchup is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Betting Preview: Houston Cougars vs. Tulane Green Wave

The Green Wave enter into this Thursday AAC game as a big dog here and are currently getting 11 points. The Green Wave are also receiving +315 moneyline odds while the Cougars are -425. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 67.5 points. It appears that there might be multiple good live betting possibilities in this game.

This game’s line opened at -11, while the over/under has not changed after it was initially set at 67.5.

The Green Wave have gained 2.5 units so far and are 5-5 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an Over-Under mark of 2-8.

The Cougars are down 4.9 units this season. The team is 5-5 ATS and seven of its games have gone over the total.

The Green Wave have gone 5-5 straight up (SU), including 4-2 SU against conference opponents. The Cougars are 7-3 SU overall and are also 4-2 SU in conference play.

Tulane enters this matchup on a zero-game winless streak while Houston has won zero in a row. The Green Wave are coming off a 24-18 victory over East Carolina last week. The passing game could’ve been more effective as Justin McMillan completed only 12-of-28 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Darius Bradwell (77 yards on 19 rushes) and Corey Dauphine (47 yards on 17 carries) led the running attack while Darnell Mooney (six receptions, 217 yards, two TDs) and Jabril Clewis (two catches, 46 yards) manned the receiving duties in the win.

Houston just fell 59-49 to Temple. D’Eriq King completed 28-of-46 passes for 322 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. King (125 yards on 19 rush attempts, one TD) and Patrick Carr (44 yards on 15 carries, one TD) handled the running game as Bryson Smith (seven receptions, 117 yards, three TDs) and Marquez Stevenson (seven catches, 31 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the loss.

Tulane has run the ball on 66.8 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 68.8 percent across possessions in conference play. Houston has a rush percentage of 52.4 percent, and has carried the ball 55.1 percent of the time against AAC opponents. The Green Wave have produced 215.8 rush yards/game (including 243.3 per game against American Athletic Conference opponents) and have 22 scores on the ground this year. The Cougars are logging 229.6 rushing yards per game (214.0 in conference) and have 25 total rush TDs.

It appears that the Cougars could hold an edge when it comes to applying pressure. Their offensive line has allowed just 12 sacks while the D-line has registered 20 sacks. The Green Wave O-line has given up 31 sacks and their defense has got to opposing signal-callerss on just 30 occasions.

The Green Wave offense has tallied 179.5 yards per game through the air overall (164.7 per game versus conference opposition) and has 11 passing TDs so far. The Cougars have put up 316.5 pass yards per game (291 against AAC competition) and have 38 total pass scores.

Defensively, Tulane seems to have the upper hand in both facets. The team has allowed opponents to run for an average of 142.4 yards and pass for 278.9 yards per game. The Houston defense has allowed 314.1 yards per game to opposing passers and 175.2 yards per game on the ground. The Green Wave are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 6.15 to opponents, while the Cougars have given up a 6.87 ANY/A.

King has completed 197-of-308 passes for 2,725 yards, 33 TDs and six INTs. King’s adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at 9.71 for the year and 7.27 over his last two outings. In the other locker room, McMillan has amassed 660 passing yards this year. He’s connected on 36-of-76 attempts with six passing touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception. McMillan’s got an 8.94 ANY/A for the year, though that number sits at 11.43 over the past two outings.

When these two teams met last year, Tulane won by a field goal 20-17.

Tulane Green Wave at Houston Cougars NCAA Pick

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

Team Betting Notes

The Tulane defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 30 times this year. Houston has recorded just 20 sacks.

Houston has lost eight fumbles in 2018 while Tulane has lost 10.

The Green Wave offense has tallied eight pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Cougars have put up 15 such plays.

The Tulane defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Houston has given up 11 such plays.

The Tulane offense has created 27 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Houston has created 23 such runs.

The Green Wave defense has allowed nine rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Cougars have given up 10 such runs.

The O/U for Houston’s last matchup was 68.5. The over cashed in the team’s 59-49 defeat to Temple.

In its last three games, Houston is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.

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

The Over/Under for Tulane’s last game was set at 53.5. The under cashed in the team’s 24-18 victory over East Carolina.

Tulane, as a team, has averaged 5.4 yards per rush attempt over its last three games and 5.2 over its last two.

Houston has averaged 4.7 yards per carry over its last three outings and 4.3 over its last two.