The No. 21 SMU Mustangs will look to stay undefeated when they host the struggling Tulane Green Wave in an American Athletic Conference game on Thursday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. The Mustangs (6-0, 2-0 in AAC) are off to a 6-0 start for the second time in three seasons. Meanwhile the Green Wave (1-5, 0-2) are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. 

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET. The Mustangs are 13.5-point favorites in the latest SMU vs. Tulane odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Over/Under for total points scored is 70. (See the latest college football lines for all of this week's games on our college football odds page.)

Before you make any Tulane vs. SMU picks and college football predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,700 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Week 8 of the 2021 season on a 22-9 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The model also knows that SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai is having a prolific season. The 6-foot-3 transfer from Oklahoma has thrown 26 touchdown passes this season, which is tied with Western Kentucky's Bailey Zappe for the most in the country. Mordecai also leads the AAC and ranks sixth in the country in passing efficiency (175.5).

The model knows that Tulane's defense has the ability to get into SMU's backfield. The Green Wave average 7.0 tackles for loss per game this season, which ranks second in the AAC and 19th in the country. They also make 2.5 sacks per game, which also is second in the conference.

Now the model has simulated SMU vs. Tulane 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over the total, and it says one side of the spread covers almost 60 percent of the time. You absolutely need to see it before locking in your own picks.

Who wins SMU vs. Tulane on Thursday? And which side of the spread covers almost 60 percent of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Tulane vs. SMU spread you need to jump on Thursday, all from the computer model that has crushed its college football picks!