Oklahoma vs. Tulane picks, predictions, 2024 college football projections for Week 3

Expert picks and predictions for Oklahoma vs. Tulane in this Week 3 college football game.

Oklahoma vs. Tulane picks, predictions / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Coming into the season, Tulane was being floated as one of the Group of Five's best playoff hopefuls, but it comes into this weekend in danger of falling below .500 against No. 15 Oklahoma in college football's Week 3 action on Saturday.

Tulane had a ranked Kansas State team on the ropes in most of last week's game at home, and if not for some late mistakes, could have upset the Big 12 hopeful Wildcats in that matchup.

Oklahoma played close against Houston, one of the Big 12's worst teams, last week, pulling away only late in a 16-12 victory in which the Sooners scored just 2 second-half points, and losing out in total yards gained (318 to 249) and first downs (18 to 15).

Looking ahead to this week's matchup, let's check out the latest college football predictions from the Football Power Index computer projection model.

The model simulates every NCAA college football game 20,000 times and uses key analytics from both teams to predict outcomes based on a projected scoring margin per game.

Oklahoma vs. Tulane picks, predictions

The computers favor the home team in this matchup, as Oklahoma is projected to win the game in a majority 77.7 percent of the updated simulations.

Conversely, the Green Wave is expected to come out as the projected winner in the remaining 22.3 percent of sims.

Oklahoma is a 13.5 point favorite against Tulane, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook, which lists the total at 47.5 points for the game.

FanDuel lists the moneyline odds for Oklahoma at -580 to win outright and for Tulane at +420.

Oklahoma is expected to be 11.9 points better than Tulane on the same field, according to the model's latest projection, not enough to cover the spread.

The index predicts that Oklahoma will win 6.8 games this season and ranks seventh among SEC teams with a 14.2 percent chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff.

Tulane is second among AAC teams with a 9.9 percent chance to make the 12-team playoff and is projected to win 8.5 games, based off last week's strong performance.

Oklahoma vs. Tulane game time, schedule

When: Sat., Sept. 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN network

College Football Power Index

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance. 

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games, using a combination of key analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting, and a team’s schedule.

Teams are ranked not in order of talent like in other rankings, but by a projected point margin per game against an average team on a neutral field.

AP top 25 rankings

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Georgia (54)
2. Texas (4)
3. Ohio State (5)
4. Alabama
5. Ole Miss
6. Missouri
7. Tennessee
8. Penn State
9. Oregon
10. Miami
11. USC
12. Utah
13. Oklahoma State
14. Kansas State
15. Oklahoma
16. LSU
17. Michigan
18. Notre Dame
19. Louisville
20. Arizona
21. Iowa State
22. Clemson
23. Nebraska
24. Boston College
25. Northern Illinois

Details ... Week 3 AP top 25 rankings

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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