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I love totals, but I won't touch this one. Tulsa has shown an amazing preponderance for both scoring and giving up scores in bunches, but Ball State hasn't had a single game all season go over 70 points.
I'll be playing the side, and I'll be on the *recent* underdog. Without getting into too many variables here, I'll try to make this simple.. here is why:
Tulsa has played 8 games against teams with a final record of 4-8 OR WORSE. Their record in these games is an impressive 8-0. Good teams beat bad teams, and they have done it with HUGE scores. In their 4 games against teams with record of 5-7 or better, they are 1-3. Their lone win against a "quality opponent" came against Rice, but against Arkansas, Houston, and East Carolina, they did not muster nearly the same offensive output.
I think the public is down on the MAC, down on Ball State after a bizarre (some might say bogus) loss against Buffalo, and playing against the news that the Ball State coach has his bags packed for San Diego State.
But the truth here is that Tulsa has given up some HUGE days to teams that could throw the ball, and with 26 TDs and 3500 yards passing, Nate Davis can do that. Ball State has an incredibly balanced offensive attack, and Tulsa has basically been very weak against teams with good rushing attacks OR good passing attacks. This probably will be a shootout of sorts, but I'll take the team with better balance, a tougher slate of quality opponents, and somehow getting points.
People will look at the 42 points that Buffalo threw up on Ball State, but there should be a great many asterisks next to that number, as Nate Davis had two fumbles returned nearly 180 yards for TDs, and I bet he has been aching for a month to make amends for that debacle.
Good luck.
I'll be playing the side, and I'll be on the *recent* underdog. Without getting into too many variables here, I'll try to make this simple.. here is why:
Tulsa has played 8 games against teams with a final record of 4-8 OR WORSE. Their record in these games is an impressive 8-0. Good teams beat bad teams, and they have done it with HUGE scores. In their 4 games against teams with record of 5-7 or better, they are 1-3. Their lone win against a "quality opponent" came against Rice, but against Arkansas, Houston, and East Carolina, they did not muster nearly the same offensive output.
I think the public is down on the MAC, down on Ball State after a bizarre (some might say bogus) loss against Buffalo, and playing against the news that the Ball State coach has his bags packed for San Diego State.
But the truth here is that Tulsa has given up some HUGE days to teams that could throw the ball, and with 26 TDs and 3500 yards passing, Nate Davis can do that. Ball State has an incredibly balanced offensive attack, and Tulsa has basically been very weak against teams with good rushing attacks OR good passing attacks. This probably will be a shootout of sorts, but I'll take the team with better balance, a tougher slate of quality opponents, and somehow getting points.
People will look at the 42 points that Buffalo threw up on Ball State, but there should be a great many asterisks next to that number, as Nate Davis had two fumbles returned nearly 180 yards for TDs, and I bet he has been aching for a month to make amends for that debacle.
Good luck.
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