How and what to watch for Tulsa vs. South Florida

The South Florida Bulls are 1-4 and have yet to defeat an FBS opponent in 2020, whereas the Tulsa Golden Hurricane have lost several games due to Covid-19 and have only played twice, but have looked good in both outings.

Any team with a first-year head coach has it a bit tougher than normal this year, and that holds true for USF and Jeff Scott. The Bulls have seemed to finally settle on a starting quarterback, sophomore Jordan McCloud after playing musical chairs at the position for the first four weeks. The team seems to be getting better, losing narrowly at Temple 39-37 on some questionable coaching decisions. The biggest issue with the team is the turnovers. McCloud, while the most competent passer on a limited roster, has fumbled five times in his last two games. USF can rely on a pretty solid run game led by Johnny Ford. He was hurt down the stretch of the Temple game, but should be a full-go for Friday. The defense has been erratic, going from awful to good on a weekly basis, so there’s no telling what team will show up Friday night in Tampa.

Tulsa has been a bit of a surprise this season. Though it’s only been two games, they made Oklahoma State sweat in a 16-7 loss, and ended up beating UCF in Orlando 34-26. The Hurricane defense has been great this season, holding two of the best offenses to just 21 points per game, and also have forced five turnovers through two games. Quarterback Zack Smith is the first QB to be a returning starter for Tulsa since 2016, so he’s provided a steady hand on the offense and doing just enough to keep games competitive.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Tulsa vs. South Florida Friday, October 23rd at 7:30 ET on ESPN, or you can stream it via the ESPN app.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Tulsa (-11.5) vs USF
Point Total: 50
Money line: Tulsa (-530), USF (+340)

• Tulsa is 4-1 ATS in their last five
• The total has gone under in four of Tulsa’s last five
• USF has hit the under in six of their last nine
• Total has gone under in five of USF’s last seven AAC games

The Best Bet

USF’s struggles on offense this year are evident, but they have improved in recent weeks. However the Golden Hurricane’s defense has carried them this year and should be able to get stops. Tulsa’s offense isn’t going to light up the scoreboard on anybody, and USF has shown a solid defense half the time.

Pick: Under 50

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