The Tulane Green Wave got off to an impressive start this year, winning three of five — dropping a close game at Navy and taking a beating at Oklahoma, but also beating Grambling in a rout, edging Army and then blowing out Tulsa, 62-28. Since then, though, they have dropped four of five, ending a four-game skid with an overtime win at lowly East Carolina. They take on a Houston team that beat Arizona on the road and beat USF on the road but got routed at Tulsa and lost a winnable game at Temple. Now the Cougars head to New Orleans to face Tulane — can the Cougars keep up their relative consistency? Or will the Green Wave post the upset? Take a look at our college football odds preview of this American Athletic Conference matchup.
The offense for Tulane has been inconsistent, though. Yes, they hung 62 on Tulsa back on October 7, but since then they have held to 16 points or fewer twice — by Florida International and by Cincinnati, neither of which features an ironclad defense. If you like Tulane, you think that Houston will come to town more than a little overconfident, or perhaps inattentive with Thanksgiving coming up. You also think that Houston will make mistakes and play down to their opponent’s level.
Houston at Tulane Week 12 College Football Odds & Pick
When: Saturday, November 18, 2017, 4:00pm ET Where: Yulman Stadium, New Orleans TV: ESPNEWS Radio: Houston IMG Sports Network / Tulane IMG Sports Network Live Stream: WatchESPN College Football Odds: Houston (-9.5), O/U 52For the fifth straight season, the #HTownTakeover is Bowl Eligible. #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/Zm0OUtJAOy
— #HTownTakeover (@UHCougarFB) November 4, 2017
Weather Forecast
- Overcast: 25°C/77°F
- Humidity: 68%
- Precipitation:10%
- Wind: 16 mph SW
- Cloud Cover: 84%
- Type of Stadium: Open
Why should you bet on the Cougars?
Houston returns from their bye to take on the Green Wave — two weeks ago, they walloped East Carolina, 52-27 — the same team that Tulane needed overtime to overcome. In that game, quarterback D’Eriq King went 15 for 21 for 330 yards and three scores, and Houston ran for 142 more yards. This isn’t quite the same prolific offense that Houston featured under former coach Tom Herman, but King has the arm and the feet to cause problems for opposing defenses (he added a fourth touchdown via the run against East Carolina), but they have the talent to cause Tulane some real problems. The bye week came at the right time for the Houston defense. Outside linebacker Khalil Williams missed the East Carolina game with an ankle sprain but is considered ready to play when the Cougars face Tulane, according to head coach Major Applewhite. With a full complement on defense, Houston should have the personnel in place to control a Tulane offense that was prolific at the start of the year but has sputtered over the last month and a half.Why should you put your money on the Green Wave?
Tulane did slow down the East Carolina passing attack a little bit in their win. The Pirates had gone 52 for 68 against Houston the week before — but the Pirates had also taken a bad loss in that game. Tulane held East Carolina to 25 for 53 passing, deflecting a dozen attempts. Donnie Lewis broke up six passes all by himself, and the Pirates only averaged 4.2 yards per attempt. Cornerback Perry Nickerson has 48 tackles on the season, four interceptions and six defenses on the season. So Tulane does have some players who bring the effort on defense, and they could break up some big plays by Houston.
The offense for Tulane has been inconsistent, though. Yes, they hung 62 on Tulsa back on October 7, but since then they have held to 16 points or fewer twice — by Florida International and by Cincinnati, neither of which features an ironclad defense. If you like Tulane, you think that Houston will come to town more than a little overconfident, or perhaps inattentive with Thanksgiving coming up. You also think that Houston will make mistakes and play down to their opponent’s level.
Latest NCAAF Betting Trends
- Houston is 17-7-1 ATS in the last 25 games on the road
- Houston is 18-7 SU in the last 25 games
- The total went UNDER in 8 of Houston’s last 10 games
- Tulane is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
- Tulane is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- The total went UNDER in 6 of Tulane’s last 9 games when playing Houston
