Tulane's Sumrall Gives a Scouting Report on UTSA
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The Tulane Green Wave put their perfect American Conference record on the line this Thursday in a prime time game against UTSA at 6:30 p.m. The Wave is 6-1 on the season, 3-0 in league play, one of only two teams unbeaten in the Conference, the other being Navy at 5-0. The Road Runners stand at 3-4 on the year, 1-2 in American games.
During practice this week, the coaches had crowd noise and music blaring on the Yulman Stadium speakers. Sumrall said it was all to prepare his team for the Alamodome on Thursday night.
"Yeah, we did it Sunday and today (Monday)," Sumrall said after practice Monday. "You know, everything, by all accounts, they pump in the music. I've talked to other coaches. I haven't played there in a really long time, and the guys that I've talked to in our league that have played there, crowd noise can be a factor. But they (the other coaches) say they're also pumping (in) the music So, we've just got to be ready for any crowd noise.
"They've had a formula for success there at home," the Tulane coach continued. "I think they've lost three games total in their last five years at home, none in conference. That's unbelievable. (I have) a lot of respect on how they're doing it."
Road Runner Home Field Advantage
When asked about Texas-San Antonio's strengths, Sumrall pointed to the Road Runners' incredible home record.
"They (a team) that's 23-0 in conference games at home since 2020, hadn't been beat" Sumrall pointed out. "When you watch them on video, they could easily be the top team in our conference with their talent. (I've got) a lot of respect for them. We've got our work cut out for us.
To overcome that impressive home record, Sumrall believes the team must focus inward.
"We've got to maximize who we are," Sumrall said. "We haven't been great in the red zone, offensively. That's an area of emphasis. Defensively, I feel like communication on the back end, secondary-wise in particular. We have to play cleaner and communicate at a higher level."
UTSA Offense
Even though the Road Runners are a more balanced attack, it all starts with running back, Robert Henry, who leads the team gaining 124-yards per game on the ground and whose longest run is 76-yards.
"He's talented, number one," Sumrall said. "He's a 22-mile an hour runner. He's physical. He's got good vision. They're committed to running the football.
"It (UTSA's offense) is more conventional offensive football you're having to defend," Sumrall said comparing what his Tulane defense faced last time out against Army. "It's things we see from our offense or other teams we play regularly. They (the UTSA offense) are balanced. They want to play complementary football, not just be one-dimensional."
Road Runner Defense
The UTSA defense tends to give up more through the air than on the ground. The Road Runner D gives up 246.9-yards per game passing, while surrendering 150.1-yards per contest rushing. They're key man on defense is linebacker Shad Banks, Jr. who leads the team in solo tackles with 29 and total stops with 47. He's the UTSA version of Tulane safety Jack Tchienchou, a guy who's all over the field.
"He's a good football player," Sumrall told us. "(but) their second level and third level players are good. They've got talent. When I watch the film on these guys, these guys could be one-loss or zero-loss teams."
The Green Wave play UTSA in another prime time game, this time Thursday night at 6:30 in the Alamodome in San Antonio. ESPN will be doing what they did for the East Carolina game on the Tulane campus. They will be hosting live SportsCenters on the UTSA campus most of the afternoon.
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.