Tulsa at East Carolina College Football Odds
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the East Carolina Pirates open up their seasons on Sunday, September 5 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in a Conference USA showdown. East Carolina may be the reigning two-time Conference USA champs, but NCAA football lines makers are giving the nod to Tulsa Saturday. They have listed the Golden Hurricane as the 7-point favorite with the total set at 59.5.
Bet your football picks at BetUS this season, where our readers can get $500 in free bonus cash!
Under new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, East Carolina would like to be an explosive passing team. But it may take a while for the Pirates to get there. It still hasn’t been announced who will start at quarterback. If not this week, I expect Dominique Davis to be the guy at some point. People forget that he originally went to Boston College before running into academic trouble.
Whoever is behind center will be looking to get the ball to wide receiver Dwayne Harris, who caught 83 passes for 979 yards and seven scores last season. Harris also added five rushing touchdowns in 2009.
In the backfield, running back Jonathon Williams has separated himself from the rest of the pack. He has a career average of 5.1 yards per carry.
The Pirates bring back three key starters on the offensive line in left tackle Willie Smith and guards Cory Dowless and D.J. Scott. These boys will do their job, so it will be up to the skill players to hold up on their end of the bargain.
The offense will likely have to carry the load this season. East Carolina only brings two starters back on the defense and must replace its entire front seven.
Up front, tackles Josh Smith and Michael Brooks will be asked to man the trenches. If they can get a good push, it will make life a lot easier for an inexperienced linebacker corps.
Senior outside linebacker Dustin Lineback will be asked to step up in a full-time roll after playing well in limited time last season.
The defensive backfield, where Emanuel Davis and Travis Simmons are the two returning starters, is the strongest unit. Both are all-conference performers.
After finishing last season with a 5-7 mark, Tulsa expects to challenge for a Conference USA title in 2010. The offense certainly appears to be in good shape with quarterback G.J. Kinne and wide receiver Damaris Johnson forming a dangerous combo.
Kinne threw for 2,732 yards and 22 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season, and he also added 399 yards and five more scores on the ground.
Kinne’s go-to guy, Johnson, caught 78 passes for 1,131 yards and three touchdowns in 2009. It is also certainly worth noting that Johnson led the entire country in all-purpose yards, averaging 224 per game.
Starting running back Charles Clay has also proven worthy as a receiver with 2,018 receiving yards and 21 scores in his career.
The Golden Hurricane have the skill players to put up some big numbers, but a line that allowed 46 sacks in 2009 could hold them back.
Defensively, Tulsa has a long way to go after giving nearly nearly 400 yards per game and over 27 points per contest last year.
Much like East Carolina, Tulsa is at its best across the back where safety DeAundre Brown and cornerback Charles Davis roam. Brown, who led the Hurricane with 102 stops in 2009, is fun to watch as a hybrid player in Tulsa’s 3-3-5.
Odrick Ray gives Tulsa a lot of experience up front. He plays the run well, but isn’t much of a pass rushing threat. Tulsa would certainly benefit from putting more heat on opposing quarterbacks. Its lack of a pass rush was a big reason why it was among the worst teams in the country in defending the pass last season.
I expect both offenses to have success in this football game while both defenses struggle. With this in mind, my early lean is to take East Carolina +7 as it keeps this one close at home.
Remember, this is just an early lean. Be sure to check out my expert college football picks on Sunday to see if I lock in a premium play on this matchup.