FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members the ‘Total’ in tonight’s ESPN showdown between the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and the Tulane Green Wave.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list Tulsa as 14-point favorites with the total coming in at 65.

The Golden Hurricane returns eight starters on defense and five on offense, but the big loss is in quarterback David Johnson, who threw for 4,059 yards and 46 touchdowns in 2008. His replacement candidates are junior Jacob Bower, who connected on 11-of-15 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception in limited playing time last year, and University of Texas transfer G.J. Kinne.

Our sources say that Kinne will most likely be getting the start and his first snaps under center as a college football player.  Mac Brown redshirted him at Texas in 2007 and Kinne sat out last year after transferring to Tulsa from Austin.

The Tulsa offense lost a few other stars as well.  Running Back Tarrion Adams, who ran for more than 1,500 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 6.2 yards per carry is gone. Also gone, WR Brennan Marion who tallied 1,112 receving yards and eight TD catches.

So it seems that their only returning playmaker tonight is Damaris Johnson, who led C-USA in all-purpose yardage as a true freshman.  Johnson had a team-high 53 receptions and 10 TD grabs in 2008 and will add punt-returns to his list of duties this year.

Tulane finished 2008 with a 2-10 SU and a 5-7 Against The Spread ledger.  But the Tulane staff feels the eight-game losing streak to conclude the season was misleading.  For one, since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tulane’s athletics budget has been decimated. With that in mind, Tulane had the nation’s worst rash of injuries in ’08 losing almost 20 starters. 

The Wave returns seven starters on offense and six on defense, but they will be without a pair of starters along the defensive line Friday night so that means only 4 will start tonight from last year’s squad.  Tulane sophomore QB Joe Kemp will make his first career start after a broken collarbone limited his playing time in 2008.  As a freshman, Kemp completed 26-of-46 (57%) passes for 344 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Now let’s talk trends…Tulane is 4-5 Against The Spread as a double-digit underdog in Coach Toledo’s first two seasons. The Wave is 3-3 Against The Spread as a home ‘dog in the same era.  Meanwhile, Tulsa is a mediocre 4-7 Against The Spread as a road favorite during Coach Graham’s tenure. The Golden Hurricane is 2-4 ATS as a double-digit road favorite under Graham.

So who covers the spread tonight in the bayou?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com for a month ($99.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com