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Boise State vs Tulsa
Wednesday Night ESPN
Betting Line Favors Boise State by -9.5
10/14/09
Boise State takes on Tulsa this week in a game between two teams with something in common the last few years. Specifically, they are two teams that have put up some fantastic records, but have been criticized for playing weak opposition. Between the two of them they have won 43 games the prior two seasons and that doesn't take into consideration this year. Boise is 5-0 while Tulsa is 4-1.
Boise State finds themselves in a familiar role with the oddsmakers and betting public. They are -9.5 point road favorites at Tulsa with a total not yet posted at BetUS as of this writing on Tuesday afternoon.
But you don't have to dig to deep to discover that perhaps the respect being given to Boise State in the betting line, is deserved here. What you find when you take a closer look at the two teams is that Boise State is a legitimate contender while Tulsa, at this point, is a pretender. This is evident when looking at what each team has done when they have stepped up in class, both this year, and in the past.
Boise State had proved over and over that they can take on the big boys. You'd gave to go back to 2005 to find a game where Boise was outclassed, and that was a 48-13 loss to Georgia. Since then, they have beaten the likes of Oklahoma, and then Oregon twice, including this year. That's the same Oregon that is ranked #16 and is blowing their opponents away.
Tulsa on the other hand, has no such signature victories. Oklahoma has wiped the floor with them two years in a row and just about every time they step up in class they are whacked right back down. All you can do when you handicap a game is work with the evidence presented. Could Tulsa spring an upset here? Sure. It's a Wednesday Night game. The Only game in town. ESPN TV. A home game where the campus will be pumped. Lot's of motivating factors. You also have Tulsa wanting to prove that they are for real and that they can be the next "Boise St".
But we can't guess. We can't make plays based on speculation of what might happen or what could possibly happen. We have to go with the evidence we have, and the evidence suggests that Boise State is a class above Tulsa at this point and time. We'll lay the -9.5 here with Boise State. The game will likely be more than -9.5 by kickoff.