Tulane vs Virginia Tech Odds, Prediction & Pick Military Bowl Betting Preview
The 6-6 Virginia Tech Hokies and 11-2 Tulane Green Wave meet in the Military Bowl in Tuesday afternoon college football action.
These two programs had two very different seasons, as evidenced by their records, but they're both currently in very different states.
Tulane will be without head coach Willie Fritz, as well as many starters, headlined by quarterback Michael Pratt, who has entered the transfer portal.
Virginia Tech, meanwhile, will be without a few injured safeties and one of its starting tight ends. The remainder of this team and coaching staff remain intact for what might as well be a home game in Annapolis — a short drive from Blacksburg compared to the hike from New Orleans.
Which team will prevail in a chaotic matchup in Maryland? Let's dive in.
The must-have app for college football bettorsSports betting is coming to the Tar Heel State! Stay up to date on the latest news about BetMGM North Carolina.
Check out our NCAAF Betting Hub for more college football previews, predictions, news and analysis.TulaneThe Green Wave enter this one following a disappointing loss to SMU in the AAC Championship.
Since then, most of the offense has entered the transfer portal, Fritz has accepted a job at Houston, and most of his supporting staff has agreed to follow him after this bowl game.
This team is in disarray and looking to pull it all together in one final game together.
With the departure of Pratt via the transfer portal, Kai Horton is anticipated to be the starting quarterback despite entering the transfer portal.
Horton played some time for the Green Wave this season when Pratt was battling injury and looked capable of leading this team. That said, with the disarray in the coaching staff and maybe even Horton not being committed 100% in this one, the Wave might not look like the offense that ranked 22nd in Passing Success Rate.
The ground game for Tulane did not look good all season, ranking 114th in Success Rate.
The Green Wave offense is battling a tough pass defense without its two safeties, so it will be interesting to see if Horton can take advantage of backups in the back half.
Tulane's defense will be missing its fair share of players at all three levels to the transfer portal as well, so it may not look like the dominant run defense that sat 25th against the run and 92nd against the pass.
Fortunately for Tulane, the Virginia Tech air game has not been a strength. The Green Wave should be able to slow the run game a bit, but they will likely still get beat by Drones.
Tulane will need to contain both Virginia Tech's quarterback and running backs if it hopes to win this one.
Sports betting is coming to the Tar Heel State! Stay up to date on the latest news about BetMGM North Carolina.
Virginia TechBrent Pry leads his Hokies into this one following a big rivalry win over a struggling Virginia team to reach bowl eligibility.
The Hokies had an up-and-down season in the ACC, but they're looking to finish off their season strong with a win in this one. Virginia Tech finished with a stronger second half to the season, so it has started to play its best football of the year.
Offensively, this team has been pretty average all season but has played better in recent weeks. The team averages 28.6 points per game and is led by dual-threat quarterback Kyron Drones, who has caused trouble for many teams with his success as a passer and a runner.
Drones has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards this season and added another 642 on the ground.
The Hokies enter with a pretty balanced offensive attack, favoring the run a bit due to Drones’ ability on the ground. This has resulted in a Success Rate rank of 61st, which has allowed the offense to rank 15th in explosiveness due to the big plays created through play action.
They will need to find success on the ground game early to connect on these big play-action plays, which will be key against a tough Tulane defense.
The Hokies have had a stout defense all season, ranking 21st overall in Success Rate. Pry a former safety during his playing days, has his defense allowing 24.3 points per game this season.
The defensive-minded Hokies prevent consistent yardage, but they can’t seem to force enough turnovers to really get after opposing teams. They've forced only 13 turnovers through 12 games. If they can force even two in this game, it could go a long way in helping them secure the win.
The strength of this Virginia Tech defense has been in its secondary, but without two starting safeties due to injury, there could be some mistakes Tulane could take advantage of over the top.
The backups will need to come in ready to play and execute for them to hold this high-scoring Tulane team at bay.
Sports betting is coming to North Carolina soon. Plenty of sportsbooks are expected to be live when it launches, such as Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina.
Tulane vs Virginia TechMatchup Analysis
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Virginia Tech and Tulane match up statistically:
Virginia Tech Offense vs Tulane DefenseOffenseDefenseEdgeRush Success6125Line Yards7036Pass Success10169Havoc8912Finishing Drives4842Quality Drives7829Tulane Offense vs Virginia Tech DefenseOffenseDefenseEdgeRush Success11436Line Yards6932Pass Success2244Havoc6795Finishing Drives85128Quality Drives2430Pace of Play / OtherPFF Tackling8688PFF Coverage8545Special Teams SP+1059Middle 81726Seconds per Play28.5 (95)29.4 (109)Rush Rate57.1% (36)60.1% (25)Data via CollegeFootballData.com, SP+, Pro Football Focus and SportSource Analytics.Tulane vs Virginia TechPrediction, Pick
It's hard to see all of the movement and question marks on the Tulane sideline and not take Virginia Tech to win and cover in this one.
While there will be some question marks in the Hokies’ secondary, this game clearly means more to them with the rest of this team returning despite a few entering the transfer portal.
Give me Virginia Tech to find some big plays in the ground game and passing game to cover the 10.5 in this one.
Pick: Virginia Tech -10.5Use our BetMGM bonus code for bonus bets before making your Virginia Tech vs. Tulane pick.
Access the tools used by pro bettors