Televised Tilt of C-USA Action

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane gave a very good accounting of themselves but came up short against highly ranked Boise State 28-21as nine-point home underdogs. As opposed to 45-0 Oklahoma destruction, Tulsa coach Todd Graham was pleased with what he saw this time.

“No, our boys battled hard,” Graham said. “This is the highest ranked team we’ve played. They are a great team, and they have one of the best offenses in the nation, they are really explosive. We fought and battled hard.”

Another positive byproduct is the emergence sophomore quarterback G.J. Kinne. As compared to the last several seasons, where 300 or more passing days were the norm, Kinne is an accomplished runner and opposing teams can no longer sit in pass coverage since he will take off and scamper for a first down.

The Golden Hurricane (4-2, 4-1-1 ATS) need to do a much better job in pass protection, surrendering 23 sacks, among the worst in the nation. This is the only road game in four of five contests and Tulsa is 3-9 ATS in road sandwich.

UTEP (2-4 SU&ATS) is seeking to bounce back, upsetting then unbeaten Houston one week and falling at Memphis 35-20 as a single point favorite the next. With half the season to go, it’s all about consistency for the Miners. UTEP has conceded 34.8 points per game, having faced Kansas, Texas and Houston’s high-powered offenses. The players refuse to blame the tough competition for lack of containment.

“That’s an excuse,” said linebacker Jeremy Springer. “To be a great defense, you have to play great against great teams. I think we’re better (than last year), but we’ve had a lot of little mistakes.” This is the first of two home games for UTEP and the visitor is 12-5 ATS in this series.

For Tulsa, it’s back to C-USA action, trying to win the West Division and they are currently tied with upstart SMU at 2-0. The Golden Hurricane defense deserves props, allowing 18.2 points per game and limiting opposing teams to 3.0 yards per carry. Tulsa is 17-4 ATS when they allow 50 to 100 rushing yards.

UTEP can tie Tulsa in C-USA action with the upset and they are 7.5-point home underdogs at DiamondSportsbook.com. The Golden Hurricane is 3-1 on the road and the Miners are 9-3 ATS vs. teams with winning road record. How UTEP will play has been determined early, as they average 459.5 yards of total offense in their two wins and 268.8 yards of offense in their four defeats. Tulsa is 4-1 ATS off a loss and the favorite has failed to cover the last four times (1-3 SU).
Watch the total carefully, since in the last six meetings these two teams have averaged 82 points per game.

ESPN has this C-USA conflict at 8 Eastern.