Tulane football has won its right to host the American Conference title game after strong performances against both Temple University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte over the break. However, there is still uncertainty from mistakes on the field, and head coach Jon Sumrall’s decision to leave the team after the season ends.

After their blowout win against Florida Atlantic University, Tulane rode the wave of momentum all the way through frigid Philadelphia in the win against the Temple Owls and went home this past weekend to shut out Charlotte. The Green Wave has now routed their past three opponents to end the regular season, beating Temple 37-13 and the 49ers 0-27. This makes Tulane’s final regular season record 10-2, an improvement from the 9-3 of last year. 

Both games saw an overall good quarterback performance. In Philadelphia, Jake Retzlaff had a strong performance with a total of three touchdowns, two passing and one running. One of those touchdowns came on Tulane’s first offensive drive with a 69-yard bomb to Shazz Preston. His second passing touchdown was caught by junior tight end Justyn Reid. 

However, against Charlotte, Retzlaff made mistakes by throwing two interceptions, one of which was on the goal line, where Tulane was in prime position to score. Although still a solid performance with nearly 300 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns, it is these mistakes that can be detrimental against stronger teams like University of North Texas. 

Besides the passing game, Tulane’s rushing attack also did its job. Led by a duo of first-years, Jamauri McClure and Javin Gordon, the run game produced 326 yards across both games. McClure ran for 122 yards against Temple and Gordon ran for a touchdown against Charlotte. 

Tulane’s defense has not been struggling. Once Tulane took the lead in both games, they never gave it back, stifling both Temple and Charlotte’s offenses and forcing them to punt a whopping eight and nine times, respectively. 

Part of the success is from behind the line of scrimmage. Across both weeks, standout linebacker Jordan Norman recorded three sacks and four tackles for loss. The Green Wave defense was also able to come up with two clutch interceptions against Charlotte. 

Kicker Patrick Durkin continues to be one of the best in college; he just received the American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. Against Temple, he was perfect, making five of five field goals from as far out as 52 yards. Against Charlotte, Durkin went two for three with a long of 52 yards.

However, the team’s strong performance over the past two weeks was overshadowed by Sumrall’s decision to leave the team after the season. Thankfully for Tulane, Sumrall will be coaching in the conference title game and potentially the playoffs. It is to be seen how the team’s play will be affected under so much coaching drama. To succeed in the rest of the season, the players need to keep their focus solely on winning now.

Tulane will battle against North Texas in the American Conference Championship this Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Yulman Stadium. It is not a guarantee that Tulane will be hosting the title game any time soon after this season, so it is important to support the team and pack Yulman.