Spread Widens between Tulane and Ole Miss, Prognosticators Almost Unanimous
In this story:
This Week's Coverage of Tulane's First CFP Appearance
Monday: Two Words for Those Who Think TU & JMU Should Not Be in the CFP
Tuesday: Tulane offense vs Ole Miss
Wednesday: Wave defensive angle against the Rebels
Thursday: Hear from Some Fans making their way to Oxford.
The Tulane football teams enters its first ever College Football Playoff (CFP) game this Saturday as the 11th seed. The Green Wave will be in Oxford to take on 6th seeded Ole Miss for the second time this season with quite a bit more on the line than back in September when the Wave lost by 35-points. By the way, it's the first time for Ole Miss in the CFP, too.
Two weeks before this game was to be played, the early odds from DraftKings had the Rebels pegged as a 16.5-point favorite. Things have changed as we get closer to kickoff time.
As of Sunday, DraftKings has modified those numbers slightly. Now, Ole Miss is favored by 17.5-points, which usually means bettors have been putting their money down on the Rebels since last week.
Though most experts are divided on whether or not to take or give the points, none are indecisive about who is going to win the game.
The Arizona Republic's Jeremy Cluff says, "This game may be closer than the previous one between the two, but it will still end in a big Ole Miss victory to send the SEC team to the quarterfinals," predicting a 38-20 Rebel victory.
Sportsnrut's Matt Johnson says on Yahoo! Sports it won't even be close, "Pete Golding will win his first game as head coach in dominating fashion, ironically giving himself more career College Football Playoff wins as a head coach than Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss is just far too talented for Tulane to overcome, especially with Jon Sumrall’s attention divided between this matchup and his duties as the Florida Gators head coach. This one will be over before halftime," picking a final of Ole Miss 38 - Tulane 14.
And the Clarion-Ledger's Sam Hutchens out of Jackson, Mississippi thinks the Rebels will pile on in the last 30-minutes of play. "The CFP atmosphere may tighten the feel of the game early, but Ole Miss has enough talent to build a lead in the second half," prognosticating an Ole Miss 31-16 win.
Tulane and Ole Miss play Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CST in Oxford. Even though everyone says Tulane doesn't stand a chance (typed with tongue firmly implanted in cheek), if you want to waste four hours of your time (again, typed with tongue in cheek), the game will be broadcast on TNT and HBO Max.
- Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
- If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.