Tulsa vs Old Dominion Odds, Picks and Preview – 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl

• Old Dominion and Tulsa meet in the Myrtle Beach Bowl
• Both teams are riding winning streaks to end the season
• Read below for an analysis and best bet
  

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Old Dominion (6-6) and Tulsa (6-6) are slated to get things going in the 2021 Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 2:30pm ET.

Both teams come into this one riding winning streaks. Tulsa won three straight to become bowl-eligible. Old Dominion? They’ve been even hotter. They’ve won five in a row. One will leave with a record above .500 and the other will probably leave 2021 with a sour taste in their mouths.

Tulsa vs Old Dominion Odds

Before we dig into a deeper analysis, let’s take a moment to look at a few trends:

• Tulsa is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games facing an opponent coming off a win
• Tulsa is 10-3 ATS in its last 13 game facing an opponent on a five game winning streak or more

In short, Tulsa has made a habit of performing well against teams with a lot of momentum. Does that hold true here?

Old Dominion Has Impressive Running Game

The best attribute of Old Dominion has been what they’ve done on the ground. The Monarchs’ success directly correlates with the emergence of running back Blake Watson.

Their five- game winning streak to end the season follows a path of his success. He’s one of four runners in Conference USA that has eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

Week 10 Performance

RB Blake Watson – Old Dominion

• 158 rushing yards 2 TDs (5.6 ypc) pic.twitter.com/3utfh5p4WW

— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) November 8, 2021

Watson didn’t start to get the bulk of carries until Old Dominion played Marshall. In that one, the 5-foot-9 Sophomore ran for 168 yards. He would follow up with four consecutive games of over 100 rushing yards.

Watson is complimented in the backfield by Elijah Davis. He offers a nice change of pace and is eighth in Conference USA with 5.5 yards per attempt.

Tulsa Will Look to Create Turnovers

Old Dominion has been fun to watch to end the season. They’ve also had a big issue coughing up the football, with multiple turnovers in eight of its last nine games.

Turnovers, to me, are a pretty impossible thing to handicap. The numbers show they are virtually random but it’s something you have to factor in when it’s been such a big problem. In this case, it’s a major factor for both teams.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

We’re headed to the @MBBowlGame in Myrtle Beach, SC to play Old Dominion on Monday, December 20th!#ReignCane 👑🌀 #HuntForTheCrown pic.twitter.com/jfi3Ptxgoc

— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) December 5, 2021

Tulsa had much higher expectations coming into the season than six wins. A part of the story of them failing to meet expectations was because of their turnover margin.

They had a negative turnover margin of -0.4 including -1.7 to end the season. Even despite this, they finished the year on an impressive winning streak.

Now they get an opponent with a higher turnover margin — one of the few times that’s been the case for the Hurricanes.

💪 @ReevesTreyvon making his presence FELT!#ReignCane 👑🌀 #HuntForTheCrown pic.twitter.com/cy9LlNAwMu

— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) November 23, 2021

It seems as if the turnover issue for Tulsa could be negated by a side that actually likes to give it up more. Will that spell success? My guess is yes. Both of these teams will cough up the ball a fair amount, but Tulsa appears to be more equipped to deal with it. Is it enough for them to cover or just win? That remains to be seen.

Tulsa vs Old Dominion Pick

This is a very difficult game to handicap. If I had to pick a side, I would go with Tulsa but I would do so with little confidence. Instead, I’ll look at the total.

Both of these teams love to move the ball via the ground. Both of these teams have solid rushing defenses. Both of these teams cough the ball up a fair amount.  This all combines for one play: the under. As of Sunday, the total on FanDuel was listed at 53.5. I’ll happily back that number and would do so to 52.

• Bet: Under 53.5 (-110)