OC Dooley
Tulsa +24.5
Even though woeful Tulsa is in the midst of an ugly 6 game losing streak tonight is very important for their head coach Bill Blankenship who on the surface seems to have driven what was once a proud program into the ground. This is a “teacher versus student” game as current Memphis head coach Justin Fuente exactly 20 years ago was actually a high school quarterback on a team coached by Blankenship. Tonight marks the first time they have faced opposed each other which makes familiarity a key component. The current offensive coordinator of Tulsa actually used to be an assistant alongside Fuente when both were a part of the mighty Oklahoma football program. Admittedly there is some danger going against Memphis who is coming off a 48-10 triumph but that was against a program (SMU) that is in such shambles that the head coach bolted after just two games. My research indicates that when off a “double digit” margin of victory in a road game Memphis has actually been a “bet against” (5-14 ATS) long term. Considering that Tulsa has failed to cover the spread 15 times in the past 19 outings one can call this a “law of averages” primetime special
Dave Essler
Tulane +6
I'll take a flyer here. Some books have +6.5 and Bovada has +7 (which we were able to get) but for the sake of argument and not upsetting to many people that have nothing better to do, we'll use +6. I don't care what my record is as much as I do my integrity and the information I share. I've seen this movie too many times, the one where the free world is on Cincinnati. Clearly they are the better team. However, the ML actually came DOWN as some sharp books today, and at CRIS (a very sharp book) it came back to +5.5. It's a dead number, but often times it's also an indicator of where the number will stop. With that in mind, I doubt it goes to +7 or more anytime soon, and if it does and goes beyond I am probably f'd anyways. So, the game is not played on paper and Tulane just played a reasonable game at UCF, so we'll go with it, smaller.
Vegas Lock Club
Cincinnati vs. Tulane
Play: Cincinnati -6.5
Having been destroyed by Ohio State, Miami of Florida and even Memphis, it's pretty clear Cincy can't play with the big boys. The good thing for Cincinnati is no one will confuse Tulane with the Bucks, 'Canes or Tigers. The Bearcats rolled 34-17 last week against South Florida despite watching QB Gunner Kiel (2,049 yards passing; 20 TDs) leave in the first half because of a previous rib injury. But former starter Munchie Legaux came in an didn't miss a beat by completing 14-of-15 passes for 121 yards. And out of nowhere a ground game that's been decimated by injuries got a 212-yard performance from a true freshman, Mike Boone. Cincy can score; the 'Cats average 34.3 ppg. That's about 15 more than Tulane gets a game. Problem is, Cincy can't stop anyone wit a defense ranked 115th nationally among 125 Division 1-A schools with a per game yield of 32 points. Just don't think Tulane can take advantage of the Bearcats' porous stop unit. Redshirt freshman Tanner Lee is expected to start at QB for the Wave. He last played September 27 because of a shoulder injury. He's only a 49.3 percent passer with 8 TDs and 9 INTs. Tulane is also defensively-challenged. This is a team that gave up 38 at Tulsa, the same number at home to G-Tech, 47 at Duke and 31 at Rutgers.