Well, we took it on the chin last night with Toledo’s special teams performance. We had multiple chances to cover last night. Toledo outgained Akron in total yardage and first downs, but missed 3 field goals, which would have given us a 9-point victory in regulation. Let's get that back tomorrow when football returns!
Can Memphis Ruin Tulane's Perfect Conference Record?
Tulane has been a fantastic team to follow this season starting with the wild loss to Kansas State earlier in the season. Since that game they are 8-1, with their only loss coming to Oklahoma the following week. Outside of that Kansas State game, Tulane has won by a combined 162 points in 4 games.
Memphis brings an identical 7-2 overall record into Tulane, looking for their 6th conference win. Though they have played 6 common opponents, Memphis' strength of schedule is ranked 133rd and their strength of victory is 119th. Going on the road, with an uptick in competition may be too much for this Tiger’s squad.
Both offenses rank top 20 in points per game, and rank top 50 in red zone efficiency, third down conversions, first downs, and yards per play. Both offenses have been good all year, and neither turn the ball over a ton. Memphis does have a path to victory, but they must be efficient on both sides of the ball and figure out a way to slow Malachai Hughes and this #4 scoring-ranked Tulane offense.
Two Tough Defenses
With both teams ranking top 20 in scoring offense, you would think there would be an offset and the defenses would be lacking, but that is not the case here. Defensive scoring and efficiencies always tie to strength of schedule and who you play, and perhaps that helps these teams rank a bit higher, but even then, they have been impressive, especially Tulane.
16 of Tulane's last 24 home games have been under this total, a trend I can get behind. They rank 10th in the country allowing just 17 points per game, 6th allowing 15.6 first downs per game, and 23rd allowing 4.7 yards per play. Memphis ranks 45th allowing 22.6 points per game and ranks 14th allowing just 16 1st downs per game.
With weather projected to have 15 MPH consistent winds, with 20 MPH gusts, these teams may look to keep it on the ground. Both defenses should find success in slowing the other down. I do think Memphis can get this up and over 10 points and to have a higher-scoring game I like teams to find success passing and I don’t see that for Memphis vs this Tulane pass defense. Give me the under and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
My Best Bet: Memphis/Tulane Under 56.5 (-115) FanDuel
