2015
Tulsa
College Football
Betting Preview
Schedule and Odds
Like numerous other AAC teams this year, Tulsa is looking to turn things around after a two-win campaign. To help, the Golden Hurricane brought in former Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery to be the new coach. And with him, come increased expectations and an over/under that’s at 5 wins (at 5 Dimes Sportsbook). That seems like a lofty goal, but in the AAC, anything can happen.
To reach those five wins, the best chance Tulsa will have at success is on the offensive side. This group wasn’t terrible last year and actually threw for 264 yards per Game and returns most of those players. Dane Evans is back at quarterback after throwing for 3,102 yards, 23 TDs and 17 INTs. Returning is stud wide receiver Keevan LUcas (1,219 yards, 11 TDs) as well as Keyarris Garrett and Joshua Atkinson. This looks like an almost-perfect group for Montgomery to be joining up with, as he’ll bring the same kind of attack that Baylor has been known for over the past decade.
The running Game is a little more of a question with D’Angelo Brewer (39 carries) getting the starting job out of spring. Although it’s expected that Tulsa will run some kind of committee anyways. The offensive line returns Four starters as well, so that should help a bunch.
The defense is another story for Tulsa after allowing close to 40 points per Game last year. They only return five starters to the group, but at least have some pieces to work with.
The Golden Hurricane will rely on safety Michael Mudoh to stabilize the secondary. He had 113 tackles last year and is joined by linebacker Craig Suits, who was second on the team in tackles as a freshman. The line returns the bulk of their players including ends Derrick Alexander and Jeremy Smith. However, this group did give up 5.5 yards per carry and weren’t much better through the air. What’s going to change for them to double their win total?
Tulsa’s non-Conference Schedule isn’t overwhelming, but it should be noted that they get Cincy, ECU and UCF in cross-division AAC play. The Hurricane also open the season with FAU, but they lost 50-21 in that matchup last year. In fact, three of their non-Conference Games are winnable, it’ll be just a matter if they can actually get over the hump, and whether the defense can stop anyone. Conference wins may be tougher to come by, with home Games against Four solid teams in Houston, Memphis, UCF and Navy. Their best shot at road wins include SMU and Tulane.
The Golden Hurricane’s over/under is so high because the offense is expected to take a big leap under Philip Montgomery and could be one of the better ones in the conference. However, to get to five wins, the defense will have to show something, and that may be asking for too much.
2015 Tulsa Football Schedule
Sept. 5 vs. Florida Atlantic
Sept. 12 at New Mexico
Sept. 19 at Oklahoma
Oct. 3 vs. Houston
Oct. 10 vs. UL Monroe
Oct. 17 at East Carolina
Oct. 23 vs. Memphis
Oct. 31 at SMU
Nov. 7 vs. UCF
Nov. 14 at Cincinnati
Nov. 21 vs. Navy
Nov. 27 at Tulane