Saturday’s game against the University of South Florida marks a key turning point for the Green Wave, as they begin to go up against American Athletic Conference foes. Despite starting the season 2-2, Tulane remain in prime position to compete for their ultimate goal: making the 12-team college football playoff.  

In the current college football landscape, the last spot in the playoff, designated for the highest-ranked Group of Five schools, remains up for grabs. Tulane’s two losses, while giving them little to no room for error, still has them in the race due to their strength of schedule early on and hanging tight against strong opponents such as Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma. Adding to that, a lot went right for Tulane as far as their G5 opponents this past week: The University of Memphis — known to be the toughest team in the American —  lost to inferior opponent United States Naval Academy, formerly ranked University of Northern Illinois fell at home to University of Buffalo and University of Nevada, Las Vegas lost their starting quarterback for the season due to an NIL disagreement. This leaves Boise State University as the main team in the way of the Green Wave and the ultimate prize, as they were just added to the AP poll at No. 25.  

That being said, while the Green Wave does not necessarily control their own destiny if Boise State remains undefeated, they can control what they can control, and that is to roll through American. After four games, here are some key adjustments they have to make to get themselves back on top of the conference. 

Run. The. Football. 

One of the things Tulane thrived in throughout the first four games, and especially against University of Louisian at Lafayette, was running the ball. There is no doubt that the offense is at its best when running through powerback Makhi Hughes, who averages over 5.5 yards-per-carry this season. The lowest points of the season tend to correlate with the abandonment of the run game. Against Oklahoma, Tulane started out the game immediately relying on Darian Mensah and the passing game, causing them to get behind the sticks and punt the ball. Later in that same game, on a critical third and one, the decision to convert the first through a play-action pass resulted in a timely interception that effectively ended the game.  

This is not a knock-on Darian Mensah, who has had a great start to the season outside of a few mistakes as the Green Wave’s starting quarterback. In fact, sustaining a dominant run game will only make things easier for the redshirt freshman, as it will open up the field and give our playmaking receivers such as Dontae Flemming and Mario Williams more room to operate.  

Discipline is key 

We have talked a lot before about the officiating throughout the first four weeks of Tulane football and whether they have been fair, especially after that Kansas State game. But ticky-tack calls only represent a few of the total penalties given out in a game, and overall, the Green Wave gets penalized way too much for a team built to compete for a CFP spot.  

Currently, Tulane averages 8.7 penalties a game, making them No. 121 out of 134 FBS schools in least penalties per game. This number can cost them anywhere from 43.5 to over 87 yards per game. Penalties can decide the outcome of a game, with giving up free first downs allowing your opponent to stay on the field. Becoming more disciplined and in control will be key to not just defeating conference opponents but to controlling the game in its entirety.  

Defensive consistency  

The most alarming part of the win against Lafayette was the performance of the Green Wave defense. After looking mostly strong against the tough power four opponents of Oklahoma and Kansas State, there were far too many big plays given up to Lafayette, allowing them to stay in the game until a big stop at the end.  

A common trend throughout the first four games has been the defense’s struggles against dynamic run games. We saw this against Lafayette, as running back Bill Davis rushed for over 100 yards, and was specifically brutal against Oklahoma, where quarterback Jackson Arnold rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Tulane ranks in the lower third of run defense, currently No. 100 out of 134 and giving up around 190 yards per game on the ground. Shutting down the run will prohibit opponents from dominating time of possession and the line of scrimmage, both of which play a huge role in winning football games.  

For the Green Wave to achieve the goals set out by Sumrall to make the playoff and compete for a national title, we must hope the run defense tightens up and penalties significantly decrease, while keeping up what works offensively. 

The Green Wave opens up the next chapter of the season against South Florida at 11:00 a.m. CST, which will be broadcast on ESPNU. See you all at Yulman Stadium!