Will Tulsa attract bettor?s attention?

[Lumi]

Will Tulsa attract bettor?s attention?


Coach Todd Graham has the Golden Hurricane striving for larger ambitions despite tacking up a 21-7 (13-14 ATS) record the last two seasons. Tulsa has played in the Conference USA title game the last two years and come up short on both occasions. He wants the program to revert to 2005, when Tulsa won the inaugural C-USA championship.

It won?t be a simple task, since Graham has to replace a quarterback and five other offensive starters. Junior Jacob Bower has earned the inside track at quarterback, after being an understudy last season. The offensive line has to be rebuilt in order for Bower to succeed. If these elements come together quickly, Tulsa can build on 8-3 ATS September record.

Defensively, eight players return, however, according to the coach they need to play with more conviction, after conceding 30 points or more six times last season. ?Defensively, we have to get back to doing what we?ve done in the past of being successful, and that?s a relentless attitude to run to the ball and get back to a hard edge mentality defensively,? Graham said. ?What we have to improve on defense is not giving away too many one play drives.?

Sportsbook.com has Tulsa as 13.5-point road favorites with total of 64 and they are just 4-7 ATS in that role under Graham.

Tulane has won six games in two years under coach Bob Toledo and everyone associated with the program understands this has to be the year to start showing positive signs. ?We feel like we?ve really got to turn this thing around,? receiver Jeremy Williams told the Times-Picayune. ?We?re not waiting on the future. We?ve got to do it now.?

The Green Wave welcome back seven offensive starters and redshirt sophomore Joe Kemp who won the quarterback derby. Tulane will be helped by the return of RB Andre Anderson, who was fourth in the nation in rushing and all-purpose yards when he went down to injury in game seven. They will need to score points to hang with Tulsa, however are just 4-10-1 ATS catching points at home.

Tulane comes into this season with misleading defensive statistic. The Green Wave was 14th in the country in pass defense, allowing 173 yards per game. That was at least in part to surrendering 218 (5.7 yards per carry) yards per game on the ground. Senior DE Logan Kelley anchors a very experienced defensive line that must upgrade its game in 2009. Tulane is 7-23-1 ATS in last 31 conference matchups.

Tulsa plays four of first five games on the road, including first three and has failed to cover last four roadies. Tulane is 0-4 SU and ATS versus the Golden Hurricane in C-USA action, losing by 33 points per game.
This conference clash starts at 8 Eastern on ESPN, with Tulsa 7-2-1 OVER as road chalk.

Tulsa by 27

 

[Lumi]

Tulsa at Tulane

Tulsa at Tulane

Tulsa at Tulane

Our first edition of ?Friday Night Lights? for the 2009 college football season takes us to one of the finest cities in the country ? The Big Easy. That?s where Tulane will play host to Tulsa in a C-USA West showdown at the Superdome.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Tulsa as a 14-point road favorite with a total of 65. As of early this morning, most books had the Golden Hurricane at either 13 ? or 14 with the total at 64 ?. The Green Wave are plus-400 on the money line (risk $100 to win $400).

Tulsa won its first eight games in 2008 and appeared to be a potential BCS Buster in the mold of Boise St., Utah and Hawaii in recent years. However, the Golden Hurricane lost back-to-back road games to both Arkansas and Houston, and then dropped a 27-24 decision to East Carolina in the C-USA championship game.

Nevertheless, Todd Graham?s squad finished the season with an 11-3 straight-up record and an 8-6 against-the-spread mark. Best of all, Tulsa capped the year with a 45-13 clubbing of Ball St. as a two-point favorite at the GMAC Bowl. Remember, the Cardinals went into that game with a 12-1 record.


The Golden Hurricane returns eight starters on defense and five on offense. The big loss is quarterback David Johnson, who threw for 4,059 yards and 46 touchdowns in 2008. His replacement remains a mystery, as Graham has yet to name a starter.

The candidates are junior Jacob Bower, who connected on 11-of-15 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception in limited playing time last year, and Texas transfer G.J. Kinne. Most reports are indicating that Kinne will get the starting nod and take his first collegiate snaps. He was redshirted at Texas in 2007 and sat out last year after transferring from Austin.

The Tulsa offense lost Johnson along with workhorse RB Tarrion Adams, who ran for more than 1,500 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Also, WR Brennan Marion is gone after tallying 1,112 receving yards and eight TD catches.

But a stable of backs appear poised to adequately replace Adams and let?s not forget about dynamic playmaker Damaris Johnson, who led C-USA in all-purpose yardage as a true freshman. Johnson, who had a team-high 53 receptions and 10 TD grabs in 2008, will add punt-return duties to his resume this year.

Tulane finished 2008 with a 2-10 SU record and a 5-7 ATS ledger. However, it says here that the eight-game losing streak to conclude the season was a bit misleading, at least in terms of the way we look at this year?s squad.

Keep in mind that since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tulane?s athletics budget has been decimated. With that in mind, there?s no team in America that needs to stay healthy more than the Wave, yet they had the nation?s worst rash of injuries in ?08.

This fact wasn?t lost on Graham when he faced the media earlier this week. Graham said, ?I've never seen anything quite like the injuries they faced last year. When I looked at the injury report last year, I was astounded. They lost almost 20 starters. It was unbelievable.?

Graham is referencing the next-to-last week of the regular season when Tulane came to Tulsa and took woodshed treatment. The Wave brought only 53 players on the trip and the Golden Hurricane took full advantage, cruising to a 56-7 victory as a 28 ?-point home favorite.

For a better assessment of Tulane's potential, look at how Bob Toledo?s team performed early in the season before injuries destroyed any hope of being competitive. When Tulane went to Bryant-Denny Stadium for its season opener at Alabama, all it did was out-yard the Crimson Tide, 318-172.

?Bama had to get touchdowns on a punt return and a blocked punt to get the victory, but Toledo?s troops easily hooked up their backers as 29 ?-point road underdogs. Lest we forget, that same Alabama squad was 12-0 and No. 1 in the nation before losing to Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

In Week 3 after East Carolina had already pulled upsets against Va. Tech and West Va., the Pirates had to rally late in the fourth quarter to capture a 28-24 win at Tulane as 12 ?-point road favorites.

The Wave responded to the ECU loss by winning back-to-back games, but then the injury bug hit. One week after rushing for 255 yards in a 24-21 loss at UTEP, RB Andre Anderson was lost for the season. He had eclipsed the 100-yard mark in three straight games before going down. Also, leading WR Jeremy Williams went down a week prior to Anderson?s injury.

The Wave returns seven starters on offense and six on defense, but they will be without a pair of starters along the defensive line Friday night. (So basically, they have just four returning starters this week.) Senior DT Reggie Scott, an honorable mention C-USA selection the last two seasons, is suspended and junior DT Oscar Ponce de Leon is out with an injury.

Tulane sophomore QB Joe Kemp is poised to make his first career start after a broken collarbone limited his playing time in 2008. As a freshman, Kemp completed 26-of-46 (57%) passes for 344 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Tulane is 4-5 ATS as a double-digit underdog in Toledo?s first two seasons. The Wave is 3-3 ATS as a home ?dog on Toledo?s watch. Meanwhile, Tulsa is a mediocre 4-7 ATS as a road favorite during Graham?s tenure. The Golden Hurricane is 2-4 ATS as a double-digit road ?chalk? under Graham.

ESPN will have the telecast Friday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.



--After Tuesday?s practice, Toledo told TheWaveReport.com, ?It was really good. I was pleased. I wasn't very happy with yesterday and I met with the team leadership and they just talked to the guys and told me it was going to be better today, and it was. It was more focused, more attention to detail."

--Two weeks ago, more than two dozen Tulane players missed multiple practices with flu-like symptoms. However, all of the players were cleared and back at practice by the beginning of this week.

--Iowa RB Jewel Hampton is out for the year with a torn ACL. This is a huge blow to the Hawkeyes, who lost Shonn Greene a year early to the pros following his 20-TD campaign of ?08. Hampton, who rushed for 463 yards and seven TDs while averaging 5.1 YPC last year, was poised to take over the bulk of the rushing load from Greene.

--Florida LB Dustin Doe is suspended for the Charleston Southern game this Saturday.

--Oklahoma St. has lost two starters this week. TE Jamal Mosley left the team for "personal reasons" and LB Orie Lemon, who was the Cowboys' second-leading tackler in '08, was lost for the season after tearing his ACL at Monday's practice.

--Alabama WR Julio Jones and RB Mark Ingram have been cleared to play Saturday vs. Va. Tech. The status of both players had been unclear due to a fishing trip they took earlier this year in Orange Beach. Also, DE Brandon Deadrick returned to practice Thursday and has been cleared to play. Deadrick was shot in the arm during a robbery attempt Monday.

--Check out the Mean Green of North Texas, which went into Ball St. and captured a 20-10 win that paid money-line backers a plus-400 return (risk $100 to win $400).

--The 'under' went 4-1 in Thursday's five board games. I had the 'under' for South Carolina-North Carolina St. as my guaranteed winner.

--Boise State dominated Oregon in a 19-8 home win as a three-point favorite. The Broncos' defense didn't allow a first down until the third quarter. Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount punched Boise DE Byron Hout after the game and will certainly be looking at a suspension of at least one game and possibly more. Chris Petersen's team won't play another team from a BCS conference the rest of the season. In 2010, Boise's non-conference game are vs. Toledo, at Wyoming, vs. Oregon St. and at Va. Tech in Landover, MY. In 2011, the Broncos play at Toledo, vs. Tulsa, vs. Utah and vs. Wyoming. In 2012, the non-con slate looks like this: vs. Bowling Green, at Oregon St. vs. BYU and at Utah. The series with BYU is for four consecutive years.

--Steve Spurrier is 19-1 in season openers during his 20 years as a head coach at Duke, Florida and South Carolina. The Gamecocks captured an ugly 7-3 win at N.C. St. as a four-point underdog. They cashed money-line tickets for a plus-170 payout. I like South Carolina's speed on defense and redshirt freshman DE Devin Taylor was extremely impressive in his collegiate debut, forcing a fumble (to set up USC's lone TD), blocking a punt and making six tackles. The 'Cocks get Georgia between the hedges next week. They won in Athens by a 16-12 count as 3 1/2-point road underdogs in 2007. Spurrier is 2-1 straight up and 3-0 ATS in his three games coached at Sanford Stadium (one while with Florida and two with USC).

--My first thought when I saw the Bucs had fired Jeff Jagodzinski as offensive coordinator: The Boston College AD is smiling somewhere in Chestnut Hill.

 

[Lumi]

Tulane Green Wave (0-0) (0-0 H) vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane (0-0) (0-0 A)

Game Time: 8:00 p.m. EDT Friday, September 4

Stadium: Superdome Surface: Turf




RECORD ANALYSIS
STRAIGHT-UP VS. SPREAD OVER/UNDER
Tulsa Golden Hurricane HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL

Year-to-Date 6 - 1 4 - 2 10 - 3 5 - 1 2 - 4 7 - 5 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 2
Last 5 games 1 - 1 1 - 2 2 - 3 1 - 1 0 - 3 1 - 4 0 - 1 0 - 1 0 - 2
YTD vs. Conf. 4 - 1 3 - 1 7 - 2 4 - 1 1 - 3 5 - 4 0 - 1 0 - 0 0 - 1
STRAIGHT-UP VS. SPREAD OVER/UNDER
Tulane Green Wave HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL
Year-to-Date 2 - 4 0 - 6 2 - 10 2 - 4 3 - 3 5 - 7 1 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 0
Last 5 games 0 - 1 0 - 4 0 - 5 0 - 1 1 - 3 1 - 4 0 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 0
YTD vs. Conf. 1 - 3 0 - 4 1 - 7 1 - 3 1 - 3 2 - 6 1 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 0
AWAY VS. SPREAD HOME VS. SPREAD
Year-to-Date FAV DOG GRASS TURF FAV DOG GRASS TURF
Tulsa Golden Hurricane 2 - 4 0 - 0 1 - 3 1 - 1 5 - 1 0 - 0 0 - 0 5 - 1
Tulane Green Wave 0 - 0 3 - 3 2 - 2 1 - 1 1 - 4 1 - 0 0 - 0 2 - 4



TEAM LOGS/SCHEDULE:
( * = overtime)

Tulsa Golden Hurricane
LINE OVER/UNDER
DATE DAY OPP SCORE SU OPEN CLOSE ATS &
MARGIN OPEN CLOSE O/U &
MARGIN G/T
08/30/08 Sat @ALBRM 45 - 22 W -15 -13.5 W 9.5 0 0 O +-67.0 T
09/06/08 Sat @NTX 56 - 26 W -20 -21.5 W 8.5 0 0 O +-82.0 G
09/20/08 Sat NM 56 - 14 W -14.5 -10 W 32 0 0 O +-70.0 T
09/27/08 Sat CENARK 62 - 34 W 0 0 W 28 0 0 O +-96.0 T
10/04/08 Sat RICE 63 - 28 W -16 -16 W 19 0 0 O +-91.0 T
10/11/08 Sat @SMU 37 - 31 W -23 -23.5 L -17.5 0 0 O +-68.0 G
10/18/08 Sat TXEP 77 - 35 W -17.5 -20 W 22 0 0 O +-112.0 T
10/26/08 Sun CFL 49 - 19 W -21 -23.5 W 6.5 71 68 U 0.0 T
11/01/08 Sat @AR 23 - 30 L -3.5 -7 L -14 75 76 U -23.0 G
11/15/08 Sat @HOU 30 - 70 L -6 -3.5 L -43.5 0 0 O +-100.0 G
11/22/08 Sat TLN 56 - 7 W -27.5 -28.5 W 20.5 0 0 O +-63.0 T
11/29/08 Sat @MRSHL 38 - 35 W -14 -16 L -13 0 0 O +-73.0 T
12/06/08 Sat ECA 24 - 27 L -11 -12.5 L -15.5 65 65 U -14.0 T


Tulane Green Wave
LINE OVER/UNDER
DATE DAY OPP SCORE SU OPEN CLOSE ATS &
MARGIN OPEN CLOSE O/U &
MARGIN G/T
09/06/08 Sat @AL 6 - 20 L +27 +30 W 16 0 0 O +-26.0 G
09/13/08 Sat ECA 24 - 28 L +14 +12 W 8 0 0 O +-52.0 T
09/20/08 Sat NELA 24 - 10 W -4.5 -5 W 9 0 0 O +-34.0 T
09/25/08 Thu SMU 34 - 27 W -14 -18 L -11 52 51 O +-10.0 T
10/04/08 Sat ARMY 13 - 44 L -16 -18.5 L -49.5 0 0 O +-57.0 T
10/11/08 Sat @TXEP 21 - 24 L +4.5 +5.5 W 2.5 0 0 O +-45.0 T
10/25/08 Sat RICE 17 - 42 L -1.5 -2.5 L -27.5 0 0 O +-59.0 T
11/01/08 Sat @LSU 10 - 35 L +30 +29.5 W 4.5 0 0 O +-45.0 G
11/08/08 Sat @HOU 14 - 42 L +16 +17.5 L -10.5 0 0 O +-56.0 G
11/15/08 Sat ALBRM 24 - 41 L -4 -4 L -21 0 0 O +-65.0 T
11/22/08 Sat @TLS 7 - 56 L +27.5 +28.5 L -20.5 0 0 O +-63.0 T
11/29/08 Sat @MEM 6 - 45 L +13.5 +14 L -25 0 0 O +-51.0 G



PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

LINE OVER/UNDER
DATE DAY VIS SC HOM SC OPEN CLOSE ATS &
MARGIN OPEN CLOSE O/U &
MARGIN G/T
11/22/08 Sat TLN 7 TLS 56 -27.5 -28.5 TLS +20.5 NL NL O +-63 T




STATISTICAL AVERAGES:


AWAY/HOME RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
TLS (off) 38.2 27 45 213 4.7 32 21 0.7 338 10.6 551 1.2 0.7
TLN (def) 32.0 17 33 161 4.9 24 16 0.7 167 7.0 328 0.8 0.7
RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
TLS (def) 35.7 23 33 182 5.5 35 22 0.6 293 8.4 475 0.5 0.8
TLN (off) 22.7 21 36 128 3.6 36 21 0.6 283 7.9 411 2.2 0.5
ALL GAMES RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
TLS (off) 47.4 28 47 255 5.4 31 20 0.6 310 10.0 565 1.6 0.7
TLN (def) 34.5 21 39 218 5.6 24 15 0.6 173 7.2 391 0.8 0.7
RUSHING PASSING TOT TURNOVERS
PTS FD AT YDS AVG AT CO PCT YDS AVG YDS INT FUM
TLS (def) 29.1 20 34 133 3.9 32 20 0.6 258 8.1 391 0.6 1.1
TLN (off) 16.7 18 33 118 3.6 34 19 0.6 221 6.5 339 1.3 0.6



SCORING AVERAGES:

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (away) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 6.3 16.0 22.3 10.3 5.5 0.0 15.8
POINTS ALLOWED 10.8 11.7 22.5 9.8 3.3 0.0 13.1



Tulane Green Wave (home) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 5.2 7.5 12.7 6.2 3.8 0.0 10
POINTS ALLOWED 7.0 7.8 14.8 7.3 9.8 0.0 17.1



Tulsa Golden Hurricane (all) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 10.7 14.4 25.1 13.1 9.2 0.0 22.3
POINTS ALLOWED 9.5 8.9 18.4 7.2 3.5 0.0 10.7



Tulane Green Wave (all) Q1 Q2 H1 Q3 Q4 OT H2+OT
POINTS FOR 4.0 5.8 9.8 3.6 3.3 0.0 6.9
POINTS ALLOWED 8.7 9.2 17.9 9.4 7.3 0.0 16.7



VALUE INDEX COMPARISON TO LAS VEGAS LINE:

LV POINTSPREAD VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX
OPEN CURRENT RATING LINE EDGE
Tulsa Golden Hurricane 51.5 -16.5 3.0
Tulane Green Wave 31
LV OVER/UNDER VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX
OPEN CURRENT RATING EDGE
OVER/UNDER 55 UNKNOWN

 

[Lumi]

DUNKEL INDEX 04 SEP 09

DUNKEL INDEX 04 SEP 09

NCAA Football Game Picks
Tulsa at Tulane
The Golden Hurricane look to take advantage of a Tulane team that is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games as a home underdog of 10 1/2 points or more. Tulsa is the pick (-13 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Golden Hurricane favored by 22. Dunkel Pick: Tulsa (-13 1/2). Here are all of Week One's picks.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Time Posted: 8:00 p.m. EST (8/17)
Game 143-144: Tulsa at Tulane
Dunkel Ratings: Tulsa 88.604; Tulane 66.497
Dunkel Line: Tulsa by 22; 76
Vegas Line: Tulsa by 13 1/2; 64
Dunkel Pick: Tulsa (-13 1/2); Over

 

[Lumi]

Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Tulane Green Wave (+13.5, 64)

Setting the Scene

Tulsa comes into this Week 1 Conference USA game as a heavy favorite against the Green Wave of Tulane. Tulsa defeated Tulane 56-7 last season thanks in large part to 489 yards rushing on 8.3 yards per carry.

This time around, the Golden Hurricane have more question marks on offense and could be vulnerable in this road game at the Superdome.

Tulsa has to replace its top passer, rusher and receiver from a year ago. That group includes RB Tarrion Adams, who is the school?s career rushing leader at 3,651 yards.

While Tulsa is struggling to replace a bevy of starters, Tulane has experience returning at every skill position.

The Green Wave bring back their quarterback Joe Kemp, who won the starting job last year before suffering season ending injury on a late hit vs. Houston. The Wave also return their top three running backs and three of their four top receivers.

Questions at Quarterback

Tulane enters this game in a drastically different situation than last year?s 56-7 blowout loss. While teams are allowed to travel with 70 players, Tulane was down to 53 players in that loss due to an array of injuries. One of the players out in that game was Kemp. He has again been named the starting QB for 2009 after beating out Kevin Moore and redshirt freshmen Ryan Griffin.

Kemp appeared in five games last season and completed 26-of-46 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns before suffering a broken collarbone.

While Tulane is set at the quarterback position, Tulsa has to replace one of the most productive passers in school history. David Johnson graduated after passing for over 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns last season.

Tulsa hasn?t announced a starting quarterback for this contest and is likely to use a three-headed monster at the position. Sophomore and former Texas transfer G.J. Kinne is expected to take the majority of the snaps while Junior Jacob Bower and Freshmen Shavodrick Beaver will also get some time.

Bower threw 15 passes last year so he has some experience. Kinne hasn?t taken a snap in 33 months dating back to his high school days. He committed to the Longhorns as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in Texas high school history before making the transfer to Tulsa.

Health Issues

Tulane suffered a ?wave? of players feeling flu-like symptoms in recent weeks. After nearly 10 days of various players feeling ill and missing practices, Tulane finally got back to full strength Monday.

One concern for the Tulane staff is will that rash of sickness result in lack of preparation for Friday nights game?

?We weren't very physical with our scrimmage this past Saturday,? Tulane head coach Bob Toledo told reporters. ?There was a lack of concentration and focus today and the tempo was up and down. I was disappointed and I told them we were sloppy today.?

Trends

Tulsa is 4-0 both straight up and ATS vs. Tulsa, winning by an average of 33 PPG and covering by an average of 16 PPG.

Tulsa has been a road favorite of -14 or more just nine times since 1980. It is 9-0 SU in those games but just 4-5 ATS. However, it has failed to cover four of the last five times it has been favored by two or more touchdowns away from home. It was just 2-6 ATS last year when favored on the road.

Tulane has been a poor home dog, going 4-9-1 ATS dating back to 2004. Going all the way back to 1980, the Green Wave are just 31-45-2 vs. the number when getting points at home.

Line Movements

This line opened with the Golden Hurricane favored by 14 points and has hovered around that number ever since. As of this writing, the number is mixed at Tulsa -14 and -13.5. The total opened at 63.5 and moved up to 64.5. Now it sits at 64.5 with a few 64?s mixed in.

 

[Destructor D]

All these people on Tulsa and they're now laying 14... thinking about Tulane!

 

[Lumi]

All these people on Tulsa and they're now laying 14... thinking about Tulane!

Well, what are you thinking ? :shrug:

It's hot, humid, but damn the babes down south ! :00hour :00hour

 

[Destructor D]

I'm thinking Tulsa is replacing a ton and laying 14 on the road isn't easy in opening games. Also, the whole world seems to like Tulsa so I'm thinking 14 might be enough. In reading about Tulane, their defense sucks, but they should be okay offensively.

 

[Lumi]

I WILL POST MORE LATER :SIB

 

[kegray1]

In reading about Tulane, their defense sucks, but they should be okay offensively.

Tulane defense is terrible and that is polite.
They get no pass rush and secondary is weak.
All passing teams had field day on them last year(Rice,Tulsa,Houston).
Tulane offense only scored 16 points a game last year. If they are gonna cover 14 then they will need to probably score 24+.
I expect Tulsa to put up some number in the 40's.
At the very least 35 points for Tulsa tonight. They keep talking about how this will be one of Tulsa's better defensive teams so we will see.

All I know is when the 4thQ rolls around I would much rahter have Tulsa needing to score for a cover than asking this Tulane team to try and score down 20.