Keys to Victory for Tulane vs FAU
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Today, the Tulane football team entertains American Conference foe Florida Atlantic in what will be an SRO Yulman Stadium. The Green Wave still have league championship aspirations, as TU is 4-1 in conference play. The Owls are 3-3 in the American and all but mathematically eliminated from the trophy game. Here are the keys to the game.
Don't Let the Rat Poison Get You
Head coach Jon Sumrall was putting out cartons of fake rat poison around the field house, warning the players not to fall for this being a "trap game." It would be easy to celebrate a little longer after beating then 22-ranked Memphis a week ago, especially being a 16-plus point favorite, but Tulane cannot fall for that trap. As Sumrall has said numerous times this year, all their goals are still ahead o them.
FAU Quarterback Can Chunk It
Though he is injured, Florida Atlantic quarterback Caden Veltkamp can absolutely fling a football. He's big, standing 6' 6" tall, and he's got an arm. He's second in the American in yards passing per game. However, he is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in last week's game. It will be a different game if Veltkamp cannot play.
The Owl Pace will be Frenetic
The aforementioned Veltkamp and the Owl offense is first in the nation in getting the ball out, averaging just under 2.1-seconds per drop back. That's faster than East Carolina whose pace owned the Green Wave defense. The defense will need to be on its toes and in position for every snap, something they did not do against the Pirates a couple of weeks ago.
Tulane Running Game Needs to Get in Gear
The way you slow down a fast-paced offense is by keeping them off the field. The Tulane rushing attack needs to own this one. It will be on this Tulane offensive line to own the front. Then, the Tulane running backs need to keep their hands on the ball, which they have done a good job of for the most part this year.
Tulane and Florida Atlantic meet at 3:00 p.m. today in a sold out Yulman Stadium for the Green Wave's annual homecoming game.
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.