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GMAC Bowl: Tulsa vs. Ball State Football Picks

Written January 5, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Ball State Tulsa Football

This Tuesday the Ball State Cardinals will take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the GMAC Bowl, in what is the final bowl game before Florida takes on Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship game. The Cardinals went a perfect 12-0 during the regular season, but was upset in the Mid American Conference Championship game, by Buffalo 42-24. The Cardinals still come in ranked No.23 in the country after being as high as No.12 during the season, and for a team that has never been in the top 25 or ever won a bowl game, a perfect ending would be a win over the Golden Hurricanes. Tulsa won’t be a push over for the Cardinals, as they come in 10-3, and if they hadn’t turned the ball over 7 times they would of likely beat East Carolina in the Conference USA championship game, where they fell 24-27. For those of you looking to do some NCAA football betting on the game this week, the oddsmakers have Tulsa 3 point favorites over Ball State at Sportsbook.com.

Ball State comes into this contest with one of the better offenses in the country, as they are scoring nearly 37 points a game. The Cardinals are doing it both on the ground and through the air, as they average 193 yards in the run game and another 267 in the passing game. A big reason for the Cardinals success is they have All-MAC players at both running back and quarterback, in RB MiQuale Lewis and QB Nate Davis. Lewis rushed for 1,701 yards and a very impressive 22 touchdowns, while Davis completed nearly 67% of his passes for 3,446 yards with 26 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions. Davis can also get it done with his feet, as he added another 277 yards and 4 scores on the ground. The top receiver for the Cardinals is Briggs Osborn who did a great jobbing stepping and taking over the role of the injured Dante Love, as Osborn racked up 767 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The Cardinals defense didn’t get a lot of talk this season, but this unit allowed opposing teams just 19 points a game, and were very solid against the run allowing just 142 yards a game. This unit did an alright job forcing turnovers, as they forced 16 interceptions and 7 fumbles, but this unit struggled to put pressure on the quarterback, as they forced just 21 sacks this season. The Cardinals leading tackler is freshman Sean Baker, who had 91 stops on the season, and also added 6 interceptions as well. This unit is going to have its hands full against the Hurricane, as they too have a very explosive offense. Bet Ball State Cardinals +3 at Sportsbook.com.

As good as the Cardinals numbers were on offense, the Golden Hurricane were even better, as they were second in the nation with an average of 565 yards a game, and averaged an outstanding 47 points a game this season. This unit is very balanced, as they average 245 yards on the ground, and another 310 on through the air. Tarrion Adams was the leading rusher for the Hurricane running for 1,316 yards with a solid 5.6 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns. The guy under center for the Golden Hurricane is David Johnson who completed 65% of his passes for 3,866 yards and a very solid 43 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. Tulsa has two big playmakers on the outside in freshman Damaris Johnson and Brennan Marion. Johnson hauled in 47 passes for 608 yards and a team best 9 scores, while Marion was the teams deep threat catching 43 balls for 1,112 yards and 8 scores. This unit has to be on against Ball State in this one, and it can’t afford to turn the ball over like it did in their game against East Carolina.

The Golden Hurricanes defense is not that impressive, as they come into this one giving up 391 yards a game, which has led to 29 points a game. This team has really struggled to stop the pass this season, as they are giving up nearly 258 yards a game through the air, including an awful performance against Houston this season, where they let the Cougars pass for 461 yards and 6 touchdowns. This unit did however force 22 turnovers and were much better than the Cardinals at getting to the quarterback, as they piled on 36 sacks this season. Look out for James Lockett who was an All-Conference defender this season recording team highs in tackles for loss with 15.5 and sacks 8.5. Bet Tulsa Golden Hurricane -3 at Sportsbook.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Ball State +3
I really like the Cardinals to bounce back from their shocking loss to Buffalo in this one, as I think the Cardinals defense is going to be the key to this one. I still think a ton of points are going to be scored in this one, but when it comes down to which defense can make a stop, I’m going with the Cardinals.

Predicted Score: Ball State 48 Tulsa 44

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