Tulane football prepares to take on Tulsa Saturday
Coming off a bye week after its 21-17 victory over Army on Sept. 23, Tulane football will face off with the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa on Oct. 7 in the Green Wave’s second game of American Athletic Conference play.
Tulane (2-2, 0-1 AAC) will look to carry the momentum it gained from a game-winning drive against Army that included three 4th down conversions onto Benson Field in Yulman Stadium for the early 10 a.m. contest, rescheduled from the original 3 p.m. kickoff in anticipation of Tropical Storm Nate.
Tulsa (1-4, 0-1 AAC) has struggled of late, having lost its last three games, albeit each of these ending in losses by 10 points or fewer.
The Golden Hurricane has been defensively weak this season, giving up an average of 40.4 points per game. Tulsa does have a top-10-ranked running attack in terms of yards per game offensively, but that strength is effectively canceled out by the lack of a passing game that can put the ball in the end zone. Quarterback Chad President has thrown just two touchdown passes on 120 attempts this season.
Tulane is also a run-heavy team, ranking No. 22 nationally in yards per game, largely due to coach Willie Fritz’s option playbook and the personnel the Green Wave have at the quarterback spot in junior Jonathan Banks and freshman Johnathan Brantley.
The difference-maker will in all likelihood be the Tulane defense. With the exception of the predictable Sept. 16 loss to Oklahoma, the Green Wave defense has bent but rarely broken, giving up an average of just 17 points in its other three games this season.
Betting odds on the game at the time of this article’s publication favor Tulane by 5.5 points.
The game was originally slated to be broadcasted on ESPNU but has been moved to ESPN3 following its rescheduling.
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