Thursday, November 19, 2020, H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 7:30 p.m. ET
Green Wave at Golden Hurricane Betting Preview: Green Wave (+6.5), Golden Hurricane (-6.5)
Tulane Green Wave Betting Preview
After an up-and-down start to the season, the Green Wave (5-4, 2-4 American Athletic Conference) have gotten on track and won three games in a row, all by at least 17 points.
Their 38-12 victory last week against Army, which was ranked No. 25 in the coaches poll at the time, was the Green Wave’s first over a ranked team of any kind in 36 years.
“We’ve had some tough losses,” Tulane defensive end Patrick Johnson said, “and this really gives us momentum to finish the year.”
Now the Green Wave will try to beat a second ranked team in a span of six days.
“To beat a Top 25 team shows us we can compete with pretty much anybody,” Tulane running back Amare Jones said. “When things aren’t going your way, you can’t separate. That’s how things start to go bad, so when we were 2-4, we all just came together.”
The Green Wave’s surge has coincided with the maturation of freshman quarterback Michael Pratt, who has 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in seven starts. He has brought balance to an offense that features the second-most productive running game in the AAC at 243.2 yards per game.
“The fact that we’ve been able to open up the offense has really changed (things),” Pratt said. “We’re getting better and better every week, and we just need to continue to execute.”
Tulsa Golden Hurricane Betting Preview
After experiencing postponements and cancelations that created gaps of up to three weeks in their schedule, the No. 25 Golden Hurricane (4-1, 4-0 AAC) will be just five days between games when they host Tulane Thursday night. They are coming off a 28-24 victory against then-No. 19 SMU last Saturday.
“It’s going to be a super-quick turnaround,” Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins said, “the fastest I’ve ever been a part of.”
Before playing SMU the Golden Hurricane had played just two games in 41 days. Their scheduled Nov. 7 game against Navy was their most recent postponement due to the pandemic.
“These postponements are crazy,” Tulsa quarterback Zach Smith said. “It (stinks) going and watching film, getting ready for a game and it gets postponed and we have to wait another week to play.”
The sporadic nature of the schedule might have contributed to Tulsa’s poor starts in games. The Golden Hurricane had to overcome a 21-point deficit to beat SMU, shutting out the Mustangs in the second half and scoring the decisive touchdown with 2:11 to play.
Tulsa overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat UCF and a 14-point deficit to beat East Carolina.
“Do we want to have to do this every week? No,” Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery said, “but our guys know that we can come back. We have to keep getting better and try to get off to a better start.”
The Golden Hurricane, ranked for the first time since 2010, control their fate in the AAC. They will visit Houston and host No. 7 Cincinnati, the only other undefeated team in AAC play, their final two games.
“We are kind of like a little kid at Christmas right now,” Collins said.
Green Wave at Golden Hurricane Betting Pick for November 19, 2020
Tulsa leads the series 11-5, winning eight consecutive meetings after losing the first one to Tulane. The Golden Hurricane have won the last three meetings, including a 27-14 win in 2018 the last time these two got together in Tulsa. They don’t play close games. Tulsa’s average score in its 11 wins is 43.5 to 17.4. The average in Tulane’s five wins is 32.6 to 18.6.
Green Wave at Golden Hurricane Betting Pick:
Golden Hurricane 38, Green Wave 20
Green Wave at Golden Hurricane Best Bet for November 19, 2020
The Green Wave have scored 30 or more points in seven consecutive games after scoring just 51 their first two combined. The Golden Hurricane have won four in a row after losing their opener 16-7 at Oklahoma State and are coming off a comeback 28-24 win over SMU their last outing.
Green Wave at Golden Hurricane Best Bet: OVER 53.5
