College Football Game Lines – Tulsa, SMU Fight For Positioning

Conference USA’s West Division is up for grabs right now according to the college football game odds. Two teams chasing the flag will meet this weekend just outside Dallas.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane @ Southern Methodist Mustangs

Saturday, October 9th – 8:05 PM ET
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, University Park, TX
College Football Game Lines: Tulsa +6.5, SMU -6.5
Total: 63

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The nature of the C-USA West race has already been transformed to an appreciable extent this season. Houston, the runaway preseason favorite, hasn’t yet lost a game in the conference, but the Cougars are likely to suffer in the coming weeks due to the absence of each of their top two quarterbacks.

Houston starter and former Heisman Trophy contender Case Keenum got knocked out for the rest of the season in a loss at UCLA on Sept. 18. In that very same game, Keenum’s capable backup, Cotton Turner, also got injured for the rest of the season.

Third-string signal caller Terrance Broadway is now piloting the Houston offense, giving the rest of the division a very good chance at stealing C-USA West. Tulsa and Southern Methodist are the two teams that stand to benefit the most from Houston’s injury problems, so when the Golden Hurricane and the Mustangs lock horns this week in Texas, there’s a lot on the line.

College Football Game Lines: What Tulsa Has To Do To Win

The Golden Hurricane – had they been able to knock down a Hail Mary pass by East Carolina in week one – would have been 4-1 entering this game. Tulsa is averaging just under 500 yards of total offense each and every time it takes the field.

Coach Todd Graham’s team is also averaging just under 40 points. In what promises to be a shootout against SMU, a few basic principles need to be re-emphasized. First, field goals mean almost-certain death in a matchup like this one.

Tulsa has to either hit home-run plays that bypass the red zone or score seven points when in the red zone. Second, this is just not the kind of game in which very many turnovers can be absorbed. If Tulsa was playing a team with an impotent offense, one or two interceptions could be endured, but SMU can score in bunches as well.

Third, Tulsa’s defense – which is allowing 31.4 points per game – has faced terrible offenses the past two weeks, in the form of Central Arkansas (from the Football Championship Subdivision) and Memphis. The Golden Hurricane have to play this game with speed and passion. If not, SMU will roll.

College Football Game Lines: What SMU Has To Do To Win

The Mustangs have a tough and gifted quarterback in Kyle Padron, but the young man flinched in the face of TCU’s pass rush back on Sept. 24, in a 41-24 loss. Padron responded the next week in a virtually flawless outing against Rice.

Padron completed 75 percent of his passes for 371 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. If Padron delivers that stat line against Tulsa, it’s hard to see how the Golden Hurricane can come out on top.

College Football Game Lines: Outlook & Pick 

Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne is solid, but Padron is discernibly better. In what will be a high-scoring game, SMU has more horses. That’s fitting for a bunch of Ponies. SMU should cover the number, winning by about two touchdowns on Saturday.

College Football Game Lines Pick: SMU -6.5