3 Keys to Victory for Tulane to Beat Memphis
Friday, October 23rd is the 100th anniversary of the opening of Tulane Stadium. This Monday morning, please join On SI Tulane's YouTube Channel for our exclusive interview with a digital creator who put together a 3D rendering of the old gal that will blow your mind. The interview, some of his videos, and a link to the full library he has created goes live Monday, October 19th at 6:00 a.m. CT. We hope you'll join us on our YouTube channel.
Tonight at 6:30 CT, Tulane tries to change the trajectory of its season by welcoming the top of the American Conference, Memphis, to Yulman Stadium. The Wave is 2-3 on the season, 0-1 in league play. The Tigers stand at 5-1 overall and unbeaten in two games thus far in American contests.
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Part of the festivities tonight will be a drone show that will be featured between quarters, at halftime, and after the game. Hopes are high for Tulane fans that those are not the only "fireworks" that are going off. If the Wave expects to pull off a win tonight against Memphis, here are the keys to doing it.
Make Trace Johnson Your #1 Quarterback and Don't Look Back
Earlier this week, we told you who we think will win tonight. We agreed with our associate, Fast Eddie. We also opined that freshman quarterback Trace Johnson should be given the reins of the program and to not second guess your decision. Do what you did with Michael Pratt in 2020.
When Will Hall was offensive coordinator under Willie Fritz, they made the decision to bench a senior quarterback and put in Pratt three games into the COVID-affected 2020 season. Pratt became only the seventh true freshman QB to start for Tulane since 1975, joining such names as Roch Hontas, Terrence Jones, and Shaun King. Pratt started 44-games in his illustrious Tulane career becoming the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
We are not saying Trace Johnson is the next coming of Michael Pratt. His coaches have.
Though no name was ever invoked, Hall has said time and again that Tulane's "future Michael Pratt or Darian Mensah was already on the roster." We knew who he was talking about. It's time to put that prediction to good use and do not look back. Run with it.
Run the Dang Ball (again)
No, you're not in an echo chamber.
We haven't seen a couple of good running backs for Tulane this year. We've seen a virtual plethora of them. We said in the Spring and the Fall that this is the deepest running back room we can remember in Uptown. These backs have proven it, and it doesn't matter who the runner is.
Jamauri McClure gets hurt? No biggie, Jaylin Lucas runs for 200-yards. After rushing for 200-yards in a game, Mo Turner gets hurt? No prob, the running game keeps going with Johnnie Daniels and DJ Dugar. The stable is deep and with a true freshman at quarterback, they should be utilized often to keep the pressure off the young man.
Defense Needs Extended Effort
We have seen glimpses of bright spots for this Tulane defense.
- Three and out for Southern Miss four straight times to open the game.
- Stopping an Army running attack often, holding the Black Knights to a touchdown in their first three quarters.
It's the rest of the game that is the problem. Until the offense can get on a roll, this defense has got to stand up and be counted on every drive, not just some or most of them. This group has talent. That talent has got to be top notch on every Memphis drive tonight.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.