Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick: Florida International vs New Mexico State 9:00pmET
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The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-2, 2-2-1 ATS, 2-3 O/U) collide with the Florida Atlantic Owls (1-3, 1-3 ATS, 2-2 O/U) in a AAC showdown on Saturday evening. The Golden Hurricane posted a dominating home win against Temple in their previous bout. The Owls were dealt a narrow road loss by Illinois. These squads last met in 2015.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are seeking a third consecutive victory. Tulsa had a challenging schedule in the opening three games, posting a 1-2 record after three bouts involving losses to Washington and Oklahoma. They rebounded by defeating Northern Illinois of the MAC and were 3.5-point favorites in a dominating 48-26 home win against Temple last week to begin AAC play. The Golden Hurricane have covered the spread in two of their last three decisions.
Cardell Williams doesn’t attempt a ton of passes on an offense that prefers to run. The freshman QB has yet to attempt more than 20 passes in a game. Williams posted his best performance of the season against Temple, recording 244 passing yards, and now has 840 passing yards accompanied by an 8:5 TD to INT ratio.
Antho ny Watkins is a key player in this game. The senior WR rushed for 77 yards in the conference opener and has collected 320 rushing yards on 4.1 yards per rush. They have three dangerous RBs including Jordan Ford who has 237 rushing yards. The receiving core has three players with at least 176 yards. Marquis Shoulders posted 132 yards in the season opener and leads the squad with 283 receiving yards on the year. The Tulsa offense has been solid with the exception of the two bouts against power conference opponents in Washington and Oklahoma.
DEVAN. WILLIAMS. OH MY. ???? #SCTop10 #AmericanFB x @TulsaFootball pic.twitter.com/VNX5sE7mUu
— The American (@American_Conf) September 29, 2023
The Golden Hurricane usually win games with their defense. The unit held Temple to only 313 total yards in the conference opener. The defensive numbers don’t stand out on paper because they were exploited by potent offensive squads in Washington and Oklahoma but have contained all other opponents. The pass defense is pegged 125th but the rush defense has been stellar, marking 31st.
Tulsa is averaging 27.8 points, ranking them 76th. They are conceding an average of 31.2 points, pegging them 110th.
Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick: Florida International vs New Mexico State 9:00pmET CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW