Tulane And Ole Miss Should Bring In The Under

Tulane vs. Ole Miss, 3:30 ET

Most sports programming when I was growing up was about highlights, and about small interviews. I can remember the ESPN Sunday Conversations with an athlete, and that just being a small part of SportsCenter. Now, you can almost not find highlights on sports shows because everything is about people sitting in a studio debating each other about questions. I’m not sure why the transition happened, but maybe it has to do with sports betting, because that’s what we do as bettors. We try to answer questions with a logical debate. Questions like, can a mid-major school, like Tulane, beat a school that just lost their coach before this game, as Ole Miss did? 

Tulane is 11-2 and ranked as the 11th best team in the country. Excuse me while I disagree, because I just don’t think in a true tournament, this team would ever come out as the 11th best team. They have talent, they have some interesting schemes, but there are levels to how good programs and talent are. In this case, Tulane is not on the level of 10 of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoffs. That is not a shot at the Green Wave, it is like asking a college basketball team to try and play against a European team. Sure, they could theoretically beat them, and sure they could keep it close if things go the right way. But, the reality is there are more players with higher potential and talent on one side than on the other. In order for Tulane to win, they have to do a few things – they need to win the turnover battle by at least two. I also think they need to win the time of possession battle. Tulane’s defense is not great, and can definitely be exploited. The more time they are on the field, the worse off it may be off for the Green Wave. It is possible that they win time of possession because Ole Miss scores quickly, but let’s not worry about that for now. 

Ole Miss is in a bit of an uproar right now because Lane Kiffin left the school to go coach at LSU. He was not allowed to continue coaching his team for this run due to the switch. A side note – why exactly does anyone care about Kiffin? What has he won? Additionally, the kids transfer every year now, and even if they don’t they leave for the draft or other places. Why do we assume that a coach has loyalty to the school they are employed by. If he lost a couple years in a row, he would be fired. Compare it to your job – if you found a better opportunity, you’d probably leave. I don’t care one way or another about the guy, but I think people like getting mad, because there is no other explanation for all the anger around Kiffin’s departure. Anyway, I’m not talking much about Ole Miss because the truth is, that they would have to play an absolute miserable game to lose this one. Their offense should be more than capable of winning this game no matter who is on the sideline. Defensively, if they can force a turnover, or even just get a couple of key stops, I think they limit the Tulane scoring. I also think they end up playing a slower pace, not looking to get anyone hurt, and they coast to the finish line.

With that being said, I do think Tulane covers this, because I don’t expect Ole Miss to look to blow them out. It is possible that they do it as a kind of "screw you" to Kiffin. Trying to prove they don’t need him. Regardless, my best bet in this game is to take the under. I think Ole Miss probably puts up around 35, and if they are lucky, Tulane gets to 21. That’s 56 and the total is 56.5. While we are tight on points, I’m going to back the under. 

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