With pride and very little else to play for, we’ve got the latest college football betting odds, DFS and fantasy picks, and a USF vs. Tulsa prediction ahead of this Friday night all-AAC clash.
USF vs. Tulsa Betting Preview
- Spread
Tulsa (-13.5) - Moneyline
Tulsa (-475); USF (+380) - Over/Under
58 - Game time
9 p.m. ET - Location
Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, OK - Predicted weather at kickoff
37.4 degrees, intermittent cloud, 10.5 mph winds - How to watch
fuboTV, ESPN 2
After winning the first three encounters between the two sides, USF has succumbed to the Golden Hurricane the last two seasons. And there’s no reason to believe that the Bulls won’t get blown away again tonight. Neither team has had a stellar season, but you can feel relatively confident taking the moneyline on Tulsa in this tussle.
The USF vs. Tulsa odds mean that you won’t get much of a return on your investment, so why not throw in the Golden Hurricane against the spread too? Well, Tulsa has only covered in 22.2% of their games this college football season and has only had a 13.5-plus-point winning margin against FCS Jacksonville State. That’s why not!
In fairness, USF has only covered in 30% of their games this season and has lost each of their last four games by more than the 13.5-point spread line, including on the road at Temple. The other three games — Tulane, Houston, and SMU — all featured substantially better offenses than the Tulsa unit they’ll face in tonight’s game.
You should factor that into your consideration before splashing out against the spread.
As a result of their dicey defense, 66.7% of USF games this season have hit the over. Furthermore, all but two have covered the 58-point over/under line. Meanwhile, Tulsa is 5-5 against the over, with over half of their games surpassing the line for tonight’s game.
However, with the two teams failing to score more than 30 points in 14 of their 20 games this season, a low-scoring affair might be in order.
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
Will Davis Brin help you win your fantasy matchup? Can Katravis Marsh make you some money in DFS? Place your USF vs. Tulsa picks with FanDuel Fantasy, and you’ll get a $10 bonus off a $1 entry.
- QB Davis Brin, Tulsa ($9,200)
- QB Braylon Braxton, Tulsa ($9,200)
- QB Katravis Marsh, USF ($7,200) *Questionable
- QB Byrum Brown, USF ($7,200)
- RB Deneric Prince, Tulsa ($8,400)
- RB Brian Battie, USF ($7,500)
- RB Jordan Ford, Tulsa ($6,000)
- RB Jaren Mangham, USF ($5,500)
- RB Steven Anderson, Tulsa ($5,400)
- RB Michael Dukes, USF ($5,100)
- RB K’Wan Powell, USF ($5,000)
- WR Keylon Stokes, Tulsa ($9,500)
- WR Xavier Weaver, USF ($8,500)
- WR JuanCarlos Santana, Tulsa ($7,900)
- WR Jimmy Horn Jr., USF ($7,600)
- WR Isaiah Epps, Tulsa ($6,200)
- WR Malachai Jones, Tulsa ($5,600)
- WR Khafre Brown, USF ($5,100)
- WR Dequan Stanley, USF ($5,000)
- WR Yusur Terry, USF ($4,800)
- WR Omarion Dollison, USF ($4,600)
- TE Colby Powers, Tulsa ($4,500)
- TE Gunnar Greenwald, USF ($4,500)
- TE Ethan Hall, Tulsa ($4,400)
With just two games on this Friday college football slate, USF vs. Tulsa is going to provide a substantial slice of your DFS picks.
USF QB Katravis Marsh has shown flashes of exciting play, but he comes into the game off a brutal performance against SMU where he completed just 38.7% of his passes. The QB situation at Tulsa isn’t much better, with Davis Brin struggling to rebound from injury and even being benched in favor of Braylon Braxton during last week’s loss to Memphis.
If he starts, Brin offers the most fantasy potential.
As far as the running backs in this Friday night clash are concerned, it’s Brian Battie’s world and we’re just living in it. The USF rusher has double-digit carries in his last three games. He averages over six yards per carry on the season, with 100+ yard games in five games this fall. No other back in this game can match his 955 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns this season.
Much depends on who is leading the offense under center, but failing to play Keylon Stokes should be a crime punishable by whatever forfeit your fantasy league dishes out to the loser at the end of the year.
The Tulsa WR is the only pass catcher in this game beyond 1,000 yards this season. The big-play threat is averaging 16.4 yards per catch, so even though he hasn’t reeled in double-digit receptions since Week 1, it won’t take many catches to hit double-digit points. Meanwhile, his six touchdowns are only equaled by USF wide receiver Xavier Weaver. Speaking of…
Weaver is the most in-form receiver available in this game. Over the past two games, he’s snagged 179 receiving yards with three touchdowns (and he’s rapidly closing on Stokes in terms of fantasy points this year). Playing Weaver alongside Stokes and JuanCarlos Santana should be a recipe for receiving success.
With nine receptions, 51 yards, and two touchdowns between them, Chris Carter and Ethan Hall offer little to no value at the tight end position. San Diego State’s Mark Redman is the only viable tight end option tonight. With 13 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown, we’re playing it fast and loose with the term viable.
Prediction for USF vs. Tulsa
After disappointing seasons, both teams will be looking to end the year on a high and build some momentum heading into the 2023 season. For USF, interim head coach Daniel Da Prato is auditioning for the job on a permanent basis while trying to guide the Bulls to their first conference win this season.
There was early reason for optimism as USF hung with SMU for a while last week before succumbing to a 41-23 defeat. Can they get over the hump and trouble Tulsa tonight? While it might seem unlikely, there is a path to victory for the Bulls.
That involves them trampling over a Tulsa run defense that has hemorrhaged yards and touchdowns this year. The Golden Hurricane have allowed the second-most rushing yards per game (211.6) and yards per carry (4.77) in the AAC this season. They’ve also given up the third-most touchdowns on the ground, inviting opposition backs into their end zone on 18 occasions during the 2022 college football season.
MORE: College Football Bowl Projections 2022
Led by the brilliant Battie, the Bulls actually have the third-best rushing offense in the AAC with 180.4 yards per game. Only East Carolina and UCF have more yards per carry than USF’s 5.04 YPC. Give the ball to Battie, control the clock, tootle out of Tulsa with a win. Simple.
Not quite. There’s one small problem for USF in Oklahoma that is impossible to overlook. Despite possessing some playmakers on that side of the ball, the Bulls’ defense has been devastatingly bad this year. They’ve allowed the most points per game (40.0), total yards per game (508.1), rushing yards per game (220.10), and rushing touchdowns (29) than any other team in the conference.
Furthermore, only Houston’s putrid pass defense has given up more passing yards per game. It’s the perfect opportunity for Brin, if he does start, to recover the form that he started the season with. If he doesn’t play, Braxton’s ability to convert in the red zone with his legs should be a defining factor.
Prediction: USF 23, Tulsa 31