The Tulsa Golden Hurricane has looked really good so far this season, except for one very terrible week against No. 4 Ohio State. The team is 3-1 now after surviving a double-overtime win against Fresno State last week and will look for its third straight win against the SMU Mustangs in this Week 6 matchup.
SMU comes into this one with a record of 2-3 and has lost the last two in a row. The Mustangs are going to need a big upset this week to avoid three-game skid.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 6 game is set for Friday, October 7, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
SMU +17
Tulsa -17
Odds Analysis
It’s not always easy to cover a spread this big but gamblers seem confident it will happen. Tulsa is getting more than 87 percent of the action to cover and a fast start seems important if that is to happen.
Player to Watch
Courtland Sutton -- Southern Methodist doesn’t have a ton of playmakers on offense, as evidenced by its points per game average of just 19.8 per game. If the Mustangs are able to hang around in this contest, it could be because of their star wide receiver.
Sutton has 22 catches for 492 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He has three games with more than 100 yards receiving already, highlighted by a starring role in the opener. Sutton had four catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns, playing a huge part in the team capturing a win over North Texas.
Sutton is the only player on SMU with a receiving touchdown, so Tulsa figures to be keying on him defensively. The Mustangs have done a pretty nice job against the pass thus far this year and keep it up if Sutton is contained.
Key Stat
15. That’s the number of interceptions that the two quarterbacks have combined for over the first five games. Four of Dane Evans’ interceptions came in Tulsa’s loss to Ohio State in Week 2.
He has thrown six so far this season and has thrown for 880 yards with eight touchdowns.
SMU freshman quarterback Ben Hicks has proven his arm strength at times this season, but he’s struggled with accuracy as well.
Hicks has thrown for 1,026 yards in the first five games with four touchdowns and nine interceptions. Both quarterbacks will need to limit the mistakes this week, although Hicks could be asked to make more plays since his team is the underdog and figures to be playing from behind at the end.
Free ATS Pick
SMU comes into this game fresh off a 45-20 loss to Temple last week. The Mustangs’ two wins so far this season came against North Texas in the season opener and Liberty in Week 3. Southern Methodist hasn’t beaten a time the caliber of Tulsa, and that’s the concern heading into this one.
Tulsa opened the season with a 45-10 victory over San Jose State and also captured a big win over NC A&T this season. In the Golden Hurricane’s lone loss to Ohio State, the usually high-powered offense was held to just a field goal. However, the Buckeyes are one of the best teams in the country so it wasn’t totally unexpected for the team to get blown out.
Tulsa has put together some good wins and also showed its ability to handle an opponent in a pressure situation by knocking off Fresno State in double overtime. This one shouldn’t be that close as expect the Golden Hurricane to roll to the victory.
However, the spread is a touch too high as a backdoor cover could be in the works in this one.
College Football Odds: Tulsa 34, SMU 20
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