Not Another Hurricane!

I really have looked hard for reasons to pick Tulane this week. Why? For one thing, you are getting 14 big points. So get your pith helmet- and let’s search together!

Tulsa is obviously pretty darn good- probably one loss away from sniffing the Top 25. Clearly they are one of the nice surprises of the League this year. Good balance on offense- the Golden Hurricane seems to be a lock to go for 35-plus in this spot. They travel well. Tulane will certainly be hard pressed to come up with three touchdowns. And any serious observer of Tulane's kicking follies this year knows the Golden Hurricane probably wins the special teams’ battle by a lot.

I started the season proclaiming Tulane was bad- so I am okay with that. But I am not convinced Tulane is horrible yet. Brightly, they might be the best two-win team in the country! I also think Tulane suffered a little match-up wise the past two weeks. Okay, it was Rice and Navy. I’m not insane. But despite Tulane’s minor improvement upfront, the Green Wave is still vulnerable to teams with a polished rushing attack- and the offense can’t possess the ball enough to protect the defense at all. Again, I can’t imagine Tulane stopping these guys one bit- so closing that big spread isn’t coming from this side of the ball.

So, we are left with: can Elliott score enough points to keep this close? Can he put up three scores?

You know, I kind of think he can. I can’t believe the Tulsa defense is capable of the emotional effort they displayed last week during their final home game. And I can't imagine they ain't looking past this game a bit. Rice and SMU garnered some points; we arguably could get a few more. And Elliott will try. The quarterback has got something to play for- either taking Ricard’s job or finding a new spot next year elsewhere. Same with the young wide outs.

I don’t believe the kids have quit or are totally overwhelmed. Tulane will come to play- score a little- and cover this spread.