Memphis vs. Tulane Prediction, CFB Week 7 Odds & Best Bets (10/16)

Fact checked at 9:15 AM ET, Oct 16, 2026

Odds as of Oct 16, 7:04 AM ET

Memphis (5-1, 2-0 American) should win this game on the ground. The Tigers average 247 rushing yards and have topped 230 in four of their last five games, including 230 on 46 carries in last week's 38-13 win over UAB, when Jaylin Carter ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Tulane (2-3, 0-1) gives up 218.6 rushing yards a game. All five of its opponents have run more than they have thrown, and they have kept the ball for more than 34 minutes a game on average. Nose tackle Kam Hamilton (foot) is likely out for the Green Wave, though fellow starting tackle Ed Smith IV is expected back.

Tulane scores 18.4 points a game and is changing quarterbacks again. Freshman Trace Johnson will make his first career start, according to sources cited by FOX 8 in New Orleans, in place of Kadin Semonza, who has started the last four games and completed 64 of 119 passes for 804 yards. Johnson's only action this season was 2 of 5 for 35 yards against Southern Miss.

A cold front arrives Friday, too. The NWS hourly forecast for Yulman Stadium has a north wind of 17 to 20 mph from the first full hour of the game on, with gusts of 29 to 34 mph, and FOX 8 in New Orleans expects gusts around 30 mph behind the front.

Memphis is -7 (up from -6.5 at the open) and -270 on the moneyline, with a total of 55.5. Kickoff is Friday at 7:30 PM ET at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, on ESPN.

The likeliest version of this game has Memphis running and throwing short to a two-score win while Tulane stays in the teens, something like 31-17, a final in the 40s. Hunter Tipton finds the end zone in that game, and the total stays under.

Memphis vs. Tulane Predictions

• Pick #1: Hunter Tipton Anytime Touchdown (+130)
• Pick #2: Under 55.5 (-110)

PICK #1: Hunter Tipton Anytime Touchdown (+130)

Memphis's tight end has scored in five of six games, six touchdowns in all. He caught a 16-yarder at UNLV, an 87-yarder in a nine-catch, 229-yard day at Boise State, a 7-yarder against UT Martin and two more at Charlotte. Against UAB he didn't catch a pass and scored anyway, on a 1-yard run. His only blank was the opener against Arkansas State, two catches for 31 yards.

That goal-line role makes +130 look long. Tipton can score as a red-zone target or as a short-yardage runner, and this matchup sets up for both: Tulane's run defense is likely without Hamilton, and a 20 mph wind pushes Marcus Stokes toward short throws. The price implies 43.5%, well below the five-in-six rate he has scored at this season.

He isn't Memphis's only scorer, which is the risk. Carter has eight rushing touchdowns, Stokes has 16 touchdown passes spread across a long list of receivers, and two of Tipton's scoring games came against FCS UT Martin and in the 59-8 rout at Charlotte.

PICK #2: Under 55.5 (-110)

Tulane hasn't played a high-scoring game all season. Its five games finished with 20, 52, 51, 45 and 37 points, and its own scores were 3, 28, 20, 24 and 17. Now it is expected to start a freshman quarterback in a 20 mph wind against a Memphis defense allowing 20.8 points a game.

Both teams keep the clock running. Memphis ran 46 times and threw 21 against UAB, and that game finished at 51. Tulane's opponents run first and control the clock. With fewer possessions and a wind that hurts long throws and long kicks, we see a final around 31-17 or 34-14. The wind also cuts into what drove Stokes's two biggest passing days, 384 yards at Boise State and 318 at Charlotte. About six in ten dollars on the total are on the Under, from fewer than three in ten bets.

Memphis putting up 40 by itself would sink this. The Tigers average 38.5 points, scored 42 against Arkansas State and 59 at Charlotte, and four of their six games went over this number. Tulane ranks 134th of 138 FBS teams in third-down defense, so long drives are there for Memphis. Still, at -110 (a 52.4% break-even), the wind and Tulane's offense give the Under the edge.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.