The Tulane Green Wave and Houston Cougars have struggled this season. Most people that have bet on these teams are likely feeling some pain.
The Green Wave kicked off the season with a win over UMass, beating the Minutemen 41-10. Following that, Tulane crushed Alcorn State 52-0. Those two games showed that the team might have some promise.
The team continued to thrive, taking down then Top-25 Kansas State 17-10. Rolling into Week 4 undefeated, the Green Wave finally lost their first game against Southern Miss, which was a disappointing result against a Sun Belt side. Tulane now travels to Houston where they are getting 2.5 points on the road, so sportsbooks assume these two teams are seen as equals even though this is technically a neutral field.
As for the Cougars, they’re 2-2 which is not even close to the start they were hoping for. Houston beat UTSA in overtime 37-35 but then lost in overtime 33-30 to Texas Tech. Week 3 brought more disappointment against the typically-underwhelming Kansas. The Jayhawks beat up on the Cougars, winning by 18. Houston’s last game was a 34-27 win over Rice, so it at least has a win under its belt rolling into conference play.
Kickoff for this battle is set for 7 p.m. ET on Friday, September 30th. It will be played at TDECU Stadium in Houston.
Tulane vs. Houston Predictions and Week 5 Picks
Which Tulane Side Will Come To Play?
It’s difficult to trust Tulane here, but it does have the most impressive win of the two sides.
Tulane held former Nebraska starting QB Adrian Martinez to just 150 yards in its Week 3 win. It showed grit too as they were trailing at halftime and then shut out the Wildcats in the second half. Its run defense held up as well. It has not had a rusher go for over 100 yards on them yet this season.
Tulane has continued to put faith in head coach Willie Fritz who has been leading the Green Wave since 2016. The strength of this team is its defense, holding opponents to 102.5 yards on the air and 126.3 yards on the ground.
Tulane should be undefeated in this game, and it likely would’ve been had junior QB Michael Pratt not thrown a pick-six with 7:07 left against Southern Miss. That’s where one may see some value here, since an undefeated Tulane would likely stay on the road and be a favorite.
Pratt is on track for the best season of his career. His dual-threat nature is a nice perk as he’s 8 yards away from being the team’s leading rusher, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Tulane added two starting junior offensive linemen, both of which transferred in. That’s been huge for Pratt to go along with an impressive Green Wave defense.
The Cougars Have Yet To Impress
The Cougars are led by QB Clayton Tune. He’s not quite on pace to top his impressive season a year ago. Tune had a 30:10 touchdown to interception ratio last season and is at just 7:3 this season. His completion percentage and yards per attempt are both down this season, as well.
WR Nathaniel Dell who had 1,329 yards a season ago and has 380 through 4 games is still the top option for the Cougars.
Most of Houston’s struggles are not all on Tune and the team’s offense. It has scored 30 or more points in all 4 games.
It is the defense that’s concerning. Head coach Dana Holgorsen was an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach prior to taking over at Houston. Last season, the Cougars were able to use monster games from DE Logan Hall, who is now in the NFL, to boost their line. This season, even Rice’s quarterback went for over 300 yards on Houston. The Cougars haven’t had the same success getting to the quarterback and disrupting plays like they did a year ago.
Houston has the offensive firepower but their defense allowed five touchdowns to Kansas’ star QB Jalon Daniels and over 300 passing yards in every other game this season. That’s what will hold this team back all season.
Tulane vs. Houston Prediction
Tulane is 3-1 against the spread while Houston is 2-2. The Cougars have yet to have a multi-score win, so this game should be close. Considering the Green Wave’s strength is pass defense while that’s the key focal point for Houston, it looks like Tulane should match up well with the Cougars.
Similarly, Daniels is a strong dual-threat quarterback, and they gave up 5 total touchdowns and 123 rushing yards. What Pratt can do won’t mimic the Kansas star, but it may get to a comparable level. Considering his strengths mixed with Houston’s weaknesses defensively, side with the road dog here.
Best NCAAF Bet: Tulane +2.5 (+100) at DraftKings | Playable to +2.0 (-110)
