Tulane to face Army following losses for both teams last week

Shea Dobson, Sports Editor

The Tulane Green Wave is set to face off against the Army Black Knights, one week after both teams were defeated on the road. Army fell 38-7 to a fired up Ohio State team coming off a loss to Oklahoma, while Tulane was knocked out 56-14 by an Oklahoma team boosted by a big win against Ohio State. Both teams will be looking for a palette cleanser at 11 a.m. Saturday at Benson Field in Yulman Stadium.

Offensively, Army and Tulane are both known for their running games. Like week two opponent Navy, Army runs the triple-option offense, with more than 1,000 net rushing yards through three games. This means, however, that Army rarely passes the ball, and when it does, it rarely completes passes. Army has only 36 passing yards on the season.

Tulane has also struggled with its passing offense since starting quarterback and junior Jonathan Banks went down against Navy. It remains questionable whether Johnathan Banks will return tomorrow against Army. Meanwhile, Tulane is averaging 241 yards per game on the ground, with a committee led by senior running back Dontrell Hilliard.

Both teams are reeling on the defensive side of the ball after facing top-five opponents last week, but neither team has a weak defense. Even with the loss of star defensive tackle Tanzel Smart, Tulane’s front seven has tallied seven sacks through three weeks of play, with four forced fumbles. Army also has seven sacks in three games, but it has only one forced fumble and has just one interception to Tulane’s two. The key for Tulane may be forcing fumbles, as Army’s offense lives and dies by the running game.

Tulane is favored by a line of 2.5 going into tomorrow’s game. Fans should expect a heavy ground game from both teams, especially if Banks remains sidelined.

Prediction: Tulane 20, Army 14

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