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Start Time: Saturday, Oct. 7, 11:00 a.m. CT
TV: ESPNU
Live Coverage: Big Country 99.5 FM, stats available at TulsaHurricane.com
Location: Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, La.
The Series: Tulsa leads the series 11-2, with the Golden Hurricane winning the last meeting 50-27 on Oct. 22, 2016
Betting Line: As of Thursday, Tulane is favored by five points.
Tulsa Outlook: There is not many positive notes when it comes to Tulsa football these days, but if there's one silver lining it’s the running game. Tulsa’s 295 rushing yards per game average ranks in the top 10 nationally.
D’Angelo Brewer has had three games with over 130 rushing yards this season. However, Navy shut him down last week, as Brewer only managed to rush for 65 yards.
The Golden Hurricane have lost three straight games, with their biggest deficit being 10 points. While Tulsa’s defense has been the storyline of their failure, their offense has been the reason that has not won them close contests.
Despite scoring 51 points against Toledo, Tulsa only managed to score 13 against New Mexico and 21 against Navy, with Navy scoring 31 unanswered points. Quarterback Chad President has only had one game where he’s thrown for over 200 yards and has had more rushing touchdowns (five) than passing scores (two).
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With Tulsa giving up more than 500 yards per game, the Golden Hurricane’s defense is still making life difficult to come up with victories. If Tulsa can get all of their offense clicking and their defense sharpened, the Golden Hurricane have a chance to get back on the winning tracks.
Tulane Outlook: Tulane is eager to get this game going, pushing it to an earlier start at 11 a.m. While Tulsa seems to be the more powerful offensive team, the Green Wave’s defense is so much better than Tulsa. And as we know, defense wins games and, most of the time, championships.
With Tulane sitting at a .500 mark, their losses have not been embarrassing. After losing a heartbreaking battle to Navy by two points, the Green Wave simply did not have the firepower to withstand the Oklahoma Sooners, who now rank third in the country.
Tulane does not produce as much offense as their opponents, but they do not give up nearly as many yardage and points as the Tulsa defense does. Jonathan Banks leads the Tulane offense, passing for just over 300 yards and three touchdowns. While he has under 100 yards rushing, he has not committed a turnover through the air or on the ground.
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Coming off a win over Army, Tulane has more momentum coming into Saturday than the Golden Hurricane and are the favorites to use that energy to obtain their third win of the season.
Prediction: Tulsa clearly has some things to work on all over the place. They are inconsistent both on offense and especially on defense. While Tulane does not show a lot of firepower, especially ranking just above Tulsa in the bottom half of the American standings, they will have enough to surge their way past Tulsa.
Tulane 38-24