It’s about time.
After a twelve-day break, Tulane University football will finally return to the field as they take on the East Carolina University Pirates at home this Thursday during primetime.
Not only has it been a while since the win at the University of Tulsa, the last time the Green Wave played in Yulman Stadium was nearly four weeks ago in their riveting win over Duke University.
The crowd was extremely rowdy that night, which head coach Jon Sumrall believes affected the outcome of the game in a major way. After the news that ESPN’s SportsCenter will be in Uptown before the conference matchup, Sumrall hopes students will pack Yulman to the brim once again.
“[I] look forward to hopefully having the same type of environment we had last time we played at home. That would be huge,” Sumrall said on Tuesday. “Our crowd last home game was a difference-maker. We need them to be that way again Thursday night.”
The Pirates are no pushover. Their defense sets them apart from many teams, as they only give up 13.4 points per game, which ranks 11th in all of college football. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff needs to be more aggressive throwing the ball, as he only averages 6.6 yards per pass attempt this season.
However, the running game has been very reliable. True freshman running back Javin Gordon will spearhead the attack on the ground after a remarkable three-touchdown performance against Tulsa.
Retzlaff has also been very successful running the football, as he is co-leading the country in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with seven. Tulane needs to open up passing opportunities by gashing the defense consistently with their legs, meaning Retzlaff and Gordon have to be productive.
East Carolina quarterback Katin Houser has already thrown for 1,509 yards and seven touchdowns through their first five games, meaning he averages over 300 yards per game through the air. With that said, he has thrown four interceptions already, so players in Tulane’s secondary such as Javion White and Jahiem Johnson will have the chance to make game-changing plays.
Coming off of winning the American Conference Defensive Player of the Week, defensive lineman Santana Hopper is under a lot of pressure. He will surely be double-teamed, and getting to Houser will be extremely important, considering he isn’t as mobile as some of the other quarterbacks the Wave have already faced.
“Seeing how he takes shots down the field and how most of the time they connect, I hope my guys come out there to play ball that day, which I’m pretty positive they will,” Hopper said. “[He has] a real arm.”
If the Wave can pull through, they will be well on their way to contend for another conference championship.
The game will start at 6:30 p.m. CST at Yulman Stadium.