The 13th-ranked Houston Cougars will try and bounce back from last week’s loss to Navy as they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday in a game that can be seen on ESPN 2. It may not be easy for Houston in this Week 7 matchup as Tulsa comes into this contest at 4-1 with an offense that is averaging over 39 points per game. Oddsmakers are not giving Tulsa much respect as Houston is laying almost three touchdowns.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 7 game is set for Saturday, October 15, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at TDECU Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Tulsa +20.5
Houston -20.5
Odds Analysis
The Cougars opened up as 19-point home favorites in this game and the wiseguys took this number up to 19.5 and then to 20 on Sunday night. The movement toward Houston continued on Monday morning when the Cougars went to a 20.5-point favorite.
The only way this number is likely to go is toward Houston as the public is only going to take the Cougars and the wiseguys have already shown they are backing Houston. It would not be a surprise to see this number go to 21 before game time.
Matchup to Watch
The Tulsa defense is likely to be under siege on Saturday against a potent Houston passing attack. The Cougars are scoring just over 43 points per game which is 10th best in the country and Houston is putting up 313.7 yards per game through the air which is 19th in the nation. Greg Ward Jr. has thrown for almost 1700 yards this season.
Ward should have a big night against a Tulsa defense that is giving up 32 points per game. The Golden Hurricane is giving up 232 yards per game through the air. And it is not like Tulsa has played a tough schedule as their only game against a good opponent was against Ohio State and they lost 48-3.
Key Stat
The road team is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings in this series. Tulsa has been a very good team against the spread on the road of late going 8-2 ATS in their last ten games. On the other side, Houston has been good at home of late going 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. Houston is also good in the month of October going 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games in the month.
This should be a high scoring game but the trends are a bit mixed. The Over is 8-2 in Tulsa’s last ten games overall. They have also gone over in four of their last five road games. On the other side, Houston has gone under in six of their last eight home games and four of the last five meetings in this series have gone under.
Free ATS Pick
If you look simply at the stats then you might think Tulsa has a chance in this game but listening to Houston head coach Tom Herman you have to like the chances of Houston bouncing back on Saturday. The Cougars had a team meeting on Sunday and Herman told the team they still have a lot to play for. Herman said the Sunday practice was "as energetic a Sunday practice as we've had.”
The Cougars realize they need to run the table and finish at 12-1 and it starts with a big win over Tulsa. This situation happened last year to Houston and the team game out strong. "The last time this happened to us the next few games on the schedule we came out and played like gangbusters," Herman said. "So I would expect that we'll respond and do it the same way."
I will lay the points and take Houston on Saturday night.
College Football Odds: Cougars 51, Golden Hurricane 17
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