The Ohio State Buckeyes were somewhat stunned last week, as Ryan Day’s team was upset as a 15-point home favorite against the Oregon Ducks.
Now the Buckeyes will look to put it behind them when they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, September 18.
Will Ohio State, a huge 24.5-point favorite, beat the brakes off Tulsa to make up for last week’s loss? Find out in our free college football picks and predictions for Tulsa vs. Ohio State.
Tulsa vs Ohio State odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
The Golden Hurricane opened up as a 25-point underdog in this game, but that line has quickly dropped to 24.5 — despite the consensus being on the Buckeyes' side in this one. Most bettors appear to believe that there will be a lot of points in this game, yet the total has dropped from 61.0 to 60.5. Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.
Tulsa vs Ohio State picks
Picks made on 9/15/2021 at 12:07 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Tulsa vs Ohio State game info
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
• Date: Saturday, September 18, 2021
• Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1
Tulsa vs Ohio State betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Tulsa: Josh Stewart WR (Out).
Ohio State: Sevyn Banks CB (Questionable), Cameron Brown WR (Questionable), Harry Miller OL (Questionable), Kamryn Babb WR (Questionable), Joe Royer TE (Questionable), Jerron Cage DT (Questionable).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Tulsa is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games as an underdog. Find more NCAA betting trends for Tulsa vs. Ohio State.
Tulsa vs Ohio State predictions
Tulsa +24.5 (-110)
The Golden Hurricane have performed well as underdogs recently, going 5-1 against the spread in the last six games in which they were getting points. They’re also 10-2 against the spread as underdogs over the last three seasons, and 8-1 against the spread when coming off a game in which they committed one or fewer turnovers in that span.
Tulsa has been tough to read through two games this season, as the team suffered an upset loss as a 23.5-point home favorite against the UC Davis Aggies in the opener and then followed it up with a competitive five-point loss as a 10.5-point ‘dog against the Oklahoma State Cowboys last week. The Golden Hurricane looked more like the team we expected in that loss to the Cowboys, as they allowed just 313 total yards against what is normally an explosive Oklahoma State offense. Tulsa returned 10 starters from a D unit that was Top 30 in the country in scoring defense a year ago, so that should be a strength this year. And that group, led by a ball-hawking secondary that gave up only 189.6 yards per game through the air last year, should be able to give freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud some issues in this game.
Stroud put up good numbers against Oregon last week, throwing for 484 yards with three touchdowns and one pick. However, that one interception was extremely costly for Ohio State, and he was also shaky passing the ball throughout the game, with a lot of overthrown balls in dangerous spots. Ultimately, the freshman should be able to help the Buckeyes win this game, and his numbers will undoubtedly look good when it’s over. But this Tulsa defense is capable of making more plays than people are expecting, and it should get the Ohio State offense off the field enough to help the Golden Hurricane go out and score points.
On offense, look for Tulsa to learn a bit from what Oregon did to Ohio State last week. The Ducks leaned heavily on the rushing attack in that win, and the Golden Hurricane have rushed for 370 yards through two games this season. They have a very experienced offensive line and should be able to get some push, even against a very talented Buckeyes front. That will allow Tulsa to move the ball and eat into the clock a bit, making it easier on the team to cover such a hefty spread.
Under 60.5 (-110)
Given Tulsa’s aforementioned experience on both the offensive line and the defensive end, there’s a good reason to think that this Golden Hurricane team will be able to make this game a bit lower scoring than the consensus seems to be expecting.
If Tulsa can run the ball effectively, which Oregon did last week, it’s going to be difficult for Ohio State to run up the score in this one. That’s especially true when considering that the Golden Hurricane have an experienced secondary, so they should be able to avoid giving up huge plays. Stroud is better than Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders, but Sanders’ 173 passing yards last week is pretty telling.
The Under has hit in four of the six games that the Golden Hurricane have played as underdogs of 21.5 to 31 points with Philip Montgomery at the helm, and 10-1-1 in their last 12 September games.
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