Make New York Post a Preferred Source Tayven Jackson of North Texas. Getty Images Neither team will be on many radars right now, but it’s hard not to be impressed with the work that North Texas and Tulsa have done through the first month of the college football season.
Each program has already pulled off an impressive upset, and they both will now fancy their chances of making some noise in the wide-open AAC this season.
A win Thursday night, with both teams on short rest, will be a big step toward putting themselves in the mix of a conference that looks weaker than originally projected.
Adding to the fun is the fact that oddsmakers are having a tough time separating these two teams for their battle at Skelly Field on Thursday night.
Sometimes it’s not the worst thing in the world to clear the decks and start over in college football.
After going 12-24 from 2022-24, Tulsa opted to go down that route, bringing in Tre Lamb to guide the program back from the doldrums.
The Golden Hurricane didn’t turn things around immediately under Lamb, going 4-8 overall and 1-7 in the conference, but they did seem to establish something to build on for 2026. Not only did Tulsa upset Oklahoma State and put an end to Mike Gundy’s tenure in Stillwater, but they also defeated Oregon State.
It’s hard to call a 4-8 season a success, but in this context it was, and it looks even more impressive when you consider that Tulsa has carried the momentum into a 3-1 start to 2026.
Lamb had one of the toughest gigs in college football last season, but nobody had a trickier one than Neal Brown at North Texas this summer.
The Mean Green put together the best season in program history in 2025, but the end result was that head coach Eric Morris and star quarterback Drew Mestemaker bolted from Denton to run the show at Oklahoma State. They took just about everybody they could with them, too.
Nobody thought it would be a quick turnaround for North Texas, but Brown has this team in good shape. They got walloped by Indiana in Week 1 and fell short against Texas State in Week 3, but they creamed UNLV, 44-6, in one of the most surprising results of the campaign.
Tulsa Golden Hurricanes head coach Tre Lamb. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect North Texas is still scoring plenty of points, which is a genuine shock considering all the talent that departed the program this offseason.
The big question mark for this game will be the status of Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes. Lamb implied that his sophomore quarterback will be a game-time decision, but considering the short week, it’s hard to see him suiting up.
Regardless, the real story here is the North Texas offense. Quarterback Tayven Jackson, formerly of Indiana, Tennessee and UCF, has been superb to start the season. The senior ranks 16th in FBS in QB Rating and is 12th in passing yards.
Part of the reason for Jackson’s success is the emergence of 5-foot-7 running back Jahiem White. He’s ripping seven yards per carry behind an impressive offensive line that has come together quite quickly.
The concerns for North Texas revolve around a leaky defense, but Tulsa’s offense ranks 101st in SP+ and will be further compromised if Hayes is limited or can’t go.
There’s value on the Mean Green on the road.
The Play: North Texas +1.5 (-120, DraftKings)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
