The Texas Longhorns hope to bounce back from a disappointing season opener when they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes this week. The game is set to start at 8:00 EST on Saturday, September 8, at Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Fans can watch the game on the Longhorn Network.
If we look at the Week 2 college football odds, the Longhorns are 21-point favorites to beat Tulsa. That line has grown slightly after Texas opened at -20.5.
For the second straight season, the Longhorns opened their season with a loss to Maryland. Texas didn’t do themselves any favors by falling behind 24-7 midway through the 2nd quarter. To their credit, the Longhorns fought back to take the lead in the 3rd quarter, only to give the lead back in the 4th quarter and lose 34-29. In the end, the two teams were almost identical statistically aside from the three turnovers Texas committed that ended up playing a big role in the outcome of the game.
Tulsa, meanwhile, won their season opener, but not exactly in impressive fashion. The Golden Hurricanes opened the season against FCS opponent Central Arkansas and had to erase multiple deficits in order to steal a 38-27 win. Tulsa out-gained Central Arkansas by more than 200 yards, but like Texas, they hurt themselves with turnovers and had to score two 4th-quarter touchdowns in order to come from behind and win.
This is the first-ever meeting between these two schools and one that both teams desperately want to win. Obviously, the Longhorns need to atone for their loss a week ago, especially since they’ll be coming back home. Also, with USC and TCU coming to Austin the next two weeks, Texas risks a possible 0-4 start to the season if they can’t beat Tulsa.
The Golden Hurricanes, on the other hand, are coming off a 10-loss season in 2017. Last week’s win against Central Arkansas didn’t impress too many people, but a win against the Longhorns would certainly do the trick and get Tulsa back on track after the injury-plagued disaster that was the 2017 season.
Stories of Texas being ready to challenge for a Big 12 title may have been a bit exaggerated. In their defense, the Longhorns lost a close game away from home against a Maryland team that is more talented than people realize. However, the progress that some were anticipating from Texas this season wasn’t there the first week of the season. Things may get better, but right now, I’m not comfortable swallowing three touchdowns on behalf of the Longhorns. I’ll side with Tulsa and the points in this game.
Texas’ issues aside, it’s important to point out that Tulsa played a little better against Central Arkansas than the final score would have you believe. Central Arkansas is also a quality FCS program that won a conference championship last season, so I can forgive Tulsa a little bit if they were a tad sluggish early in that game. Ultimately, Tulsa proved to be the better team and I think they’ll be a challenge for the Longhorns this week.
Tulsa quarterback Luke Skipper quietly came on strong down the stretch last season despite a lack of help around him because of all the injuries the team suffered. He’s both a threat to throw the ball downfield and make plays with his legs, so his skill set will give the Texas defense a lot to think about. The Golden Hurricanes are also a dangerous running team. Both Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor eclipsed the 100-yard mark against Central Arkansas. Even against an FCS opponent, that’s an impressive feat.
Texas, to their credit, did a good job of slowing down Maryland’s running game last week. The Longhorns should also have an edge in both size and talent with regard to their defensive line going up against the Tulsa offensive line. However, with two good running backs, a mobile quarterback, and a downfield passing game, I expect the Golden Hurricanes to win plenty of battles against the Texas defense and put some points on the board.
That means the Texas offense will have to be clicking on all cylinders if they expect to cover the spread. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger had his moments against Maryland, but he also threw two interceptions. The Texas running game also struggled to get going consistently, averaging less than 4 yards per carry. Of course, the Tulsa defense has some questions to answer after their disastrous 2017 season and after giving up 27 points to an FCS team. But the Golden Hurricanes yielded less than 250 yards last week, so they should provide some resistance to the Texas offense.
Unless a completely different Longhorns team shows up this week than the group that lost to Maryland, I don’t see Texas being able to cover three touchdowns. Even when Tulsa lost 10 games last year, most of those losses came by small margins. The Golden Hurricanes are a little better than people think, so I think they give Texas a competitive game and do enough to beat the spread.