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Game Week: Tulsa @ Memphis

Chris Harmon

ITS Publisher
Staff
Aug 15, 2002
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Tulsa, OK
tulsa.rivals.com
We'll start it off with Sports Chat Place...

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will travel to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to take on the Memphis Tigers this Saturday night in College Football action.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane improved to 5-2 (2-1 AAC) on the season after defeating the Tulane Green Wave by a 50-27 margin this past Saturday. Tulsa jumped all over Tulane in this one and had little trouble securing the victory after taking a 31-7 lead at halftime. Tulsa outgained Tulane by a 566-392 margin however, did lose the turnover battle by a 2-0 margin. Leading the way for the Golden Hurricane was RB James Flanders who had 2 TD and 190 rushing yards on 22 carries. On the season, Tulsa is averaging 39.7 ppg on 483.9 total yards per game (260.1 passing, 223.7 rushing). Offensively, the Golden Hurricane has been led by the strong rushing duo of D’Angelo Brewer (23.3 att/g, 114.7 yds/g, 4 TD) and James Flanders (14.7 att/g, 92.9 yds/g, 7 TD). QB Dane Evans has completed 57.6% of his passes for 13 TD and 8 INT while averaging 248.0 passing yds/game. Keevan Lucas (6.3 rec/g, 94.7 yds/g, 6 TD), Josh Atkinson (5.7 rec/g, 74.1 yds/g, 3 TD), and Justin Hobbs (4.3 rec/g, 58.0 yds/g, 3 TD) have been the leading receivers for the Golden Hurricane. Defensively, Tulsa has allowed their opponents to average 32.1 ppg on 407.3 total yards per game (207.3 passing, 200.0 rushing). Tulsa has committed 15 turnovers on the season and has an overall turnover margin of -3.

The Memphis Tigers dropped to 5-2 (2-1 AAC) on the season after being defeated by the 24th ranked Navy Midshipmen, 42-28, this past Saturday. Memphis had no answers for Navy’s triple-option rushing attack and couldn’t fight back after following behind by a 35-21 margin at the end of the 3rd quarter. Memphis was outgained by a 532-431 margin and allowed Navy to gain 447 yards on the ground. Leading the way for the Tigers was QB Riley Ferguson who completed 25 of 40 passes for 2 TD. On the season, Memphis is averaging 38.4 ppg on 437.3 total yards per game (282.4 passing, 154.9 rushing). Offensviely, leading the way for the Tigers has been QB Riley Ferguson who has completed 65.0% of his passes for 14 TD and 6 INT while averaging 275.6 passing yds/game. Ferguson’s main targets have been Anthony Miller (5.9 rec/g, 81.7 yds/g, 3 TD), Phil Mayhue (3.9 rec/g, 56.7 yds/g, 2 TD), Daniel Hurd (2.0 rec/g, 26.4 yds/g, TD), and Tony Pollard (2.1 rec/g, 21.0 yds/g, TD). Leading the Memphis backfield has been Doroland Dorceus (9.57 att/g, 66.9 yds/g, 5 TD), Patrick Taylor Jr. (5.8 att/g, 37.1 yds/g, 2 TD), and Darell Henderson (5.0 att/g, 32.7 yds/g, 2 TD). Defensively, Memphis is holding their opponents to an average of 22.6 ppg on 408.7 total yards per game (224.9 passing, 183.9 rushing).

The Golden Hurricane are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 conference games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.

Tulsa was able to follow-up their close loss on the road at Houston with arguably their best performance of the season against Tulane and will come into this matchup with the 19th ranked scoring offense in the country. Memphis has a respectable 5-2 record on paper however, has yet to really beat anyone worthwhile and has struggled against their two tough opponents in Ole Miss and Navy. Memphis certainly has a solid offense that could do some damage against the Golden Hurricane, however, I still feel that the Tigers are a bit overrated this season and I think Tulsa will at worst keep this one within the number and possibility pull off the upset on the road. Take Tulsa and the points in this one!

BRETT'S PICK
Tulsa Golden Hurricane +7.5
 
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