AAC: SMU-tulsa
Time: NOON ET
Spread: TUL -14
Total: 57
Betting odds courtesy of Bovada
It’s a good indication your football team is very bad when it finds itself 14-point underdogs to a 1-7 team. Thus has been the season for the SMU Mustangs, which find itself underdogs in college odds once again in a season that has yet to see the Mustangs win its first contest.
While SMU’s basketball program may have ascended, the same isn’t true for the pigskin. Over the last two weeks against Cincy and Memphis, SMU has lost by a combined score of 89 to 13. The offense averages just seven points per game, while its defense surrenders 48 points per game. Both are at the bottom of NCAA rankings. The offense has no clear strengths, with a pass game ranked 106th and a rush game that is 126th with just 66.1 yards per game.
The Mustangs lost Neal Burcham for the season, but Garrett Krstich hasn’t really been any better. He’s thrown six INTs to his two TDs and has a passer rating of just 93.1. In the backfield, the Mustangs top two backs both average 3.2 yards or less, and neither has more than 124 yards on the season. Krstich ranks No. 3 on the team in rushing with just 81 yards on 39 carries. The stats all bear witness to why this team is so bad.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane haven’t won since it’s double-OT win Week 1 against Tulane. Last week, Tulsa fell 40-20 to Memphis, and the Golden Hurricane are averaging a negative-17 point differential this season.
Dane Evans has been reasonably successful behind center. He’s thrown 2,290 yards on the season with a 55.6 percent completion ratio and a 14/9 TD/INT ratio.
The Golden Hurricane haven’t had much success rushing the ball with No. 1 back Zack Langer averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and having only scored three TDs on the season (though the team has just seven). Keevan Lewis has been a good WR, with 929 yards on the season and eight TDs. The No. 2 and No. 3 targets Keyarris Garrett and Joshua Atkinson have just one TD between them, despite having amassed 742 yards as a duo.
