Keys to Victory: Tulane vs Charlotte
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Tulane 2026 Football Schedule
Opponent | Time/Date | Result | Score | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
at Duke | 2:30PM, 9/5 | L | 17-3 | 0-1 |
Sou Alabama | 6PM, 9/12 | W | 28-24 | 1-1 |
@ K-State | 11AM, 9/19 | L | 31-20 | 1-2 |
Sou Miss | 6PM, 9/26 | W | 24-21 | 2-2 |
OPEN | 10/3 | -- | -- | -- |
@ Army | 11AM, 10/10 | L | 20-17 | 2-3 (0-1) |
Memphis | 6:30PM, 10/16 | W | 31-17 | 3-3 (1-1) |
UTSA | TBD, 10/24 | L | 42-19 | 3-4 (1-2) |
@ Charlotte | 6PM, 10/30 | |||
Tulsa | 11AM, 11/7 | |||
@ Rice | TBD, 11/14 | |||
Nor Texas | TBD, 11/21 | |||
@ Sou Fla | TBD, 11/27 |
Tonight, the Tulane football team is in North Carolina to see who can wiggle their way into the middle of the pack in the American Conference, as the Green Wave take on the Charlotte 49ers. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT and will be telecast on ESPN2. The radio broadcast has been moved to the left on the radio dial for tonight, from its usual home, The Ticket, to Alt 92.3 FM. Pregame begins at 5:00 p.m. on the Tulane Sports Network.
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The Wave come in 3-4 on the year, 1-2 in American Conference games. Charlotte is fresh off its first league victory in almost two years, defeating Temple in Pennsylvania. The 49ers are 1-6 on the season, while also standing 1-2 in American play.
Keys to a Tulane Victory
Throw the Ball
Yeah, we know. That's the exact opposite of what we have been preaching for weeks now. Here is our reasoning.
This is a banged up Tulane front five. They have had issues making holes for Wave runners. They have not (for the most part) had difficulty protecting their quarterback. In fact, except for parts of the UTSA game, Trace Johnson has gone unscathed and had time to find receivers. This is the week to let the pass set up the run.
The Charlotte defense is giving up over 465-yards per game, 278 of which is via the air. Time to throw the ball. A lot.
Throw the ball on first down, second down, third down, fourth down, heck throw it every time, if you have to. Then run the ball.
Stop the 49ers on 3rd Down
Though this defense has forced nine turnovers in the last two games, pretty impressive, it still has a problem stopping their opponents on 3rd down. This squad has allowed 7.6-third down conversions per game, the worst in the FCS.
The key is stopping the rushing game. Charlotte's run game isn't what you'd call stellar, 111-yards per contest, but this would be the time to make a statement. Stop the 49er run game and let the secondary do its job: take away the ball.
Don't Rely on the Kicking Game
This Tulane kicking game hasn't missed a beat after the departure of last year's stars to Florida. Cooper Helmke, William Hudlow, and Jason Arredondo have been almost flawless. If you're going to have a beatdown on an opponent, the kicking game needs to be in the background, not the forefront.
If Hudlow is punting five or six times or if Helmke is attempting field goals instead of the Wave scoring touchdowns, this game will be closer than it should be, and that is not good news on the road against a team that is desperate for a home victory.
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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.