Cotton Bowl Matchup Breakdown: Scouting Tulane
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cotton Bowl has created a matchup of two football programs that each put together incredible turnarounds from last season, through very different circumstances.
USC, of course, bottomed out at 4-8 last year after firing former coach Clay Helton just two games into the season. In came Lincoln Riley, one of college football's established coaching stars, who orchestrated a substantial roster rebuild through the transfer portal and brought the Trojans to the brink of a College Football Playoff berth before losing to Utah in the Pac-12 title game.
USC fans know all that.
Meanwhile, more under the radar to the college football world, Tulane has statistically pulled off an even bigger one-year improvement -- an increase of nine wins from 2021 -- but it didn't take a coaching change to get the program back on track.
Willie Fritz is in his seventh season and has the Green Wave ranked the highest the program has been (No. 14 in AP poll, No. 16 in CFP rankings) since 1998 thanks to big seasons from quarterback Michael Pratt, who has passed for 2,775 yards, 25 touchdowns and 5 interceptions and rushed for 395 yards and 10 scores; running back Tyjae Spears, who has 1,376 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns; and a defense that ranks 35th nationally in allowing 342.4 yards per game.
So what's changed?
"We had a lot of obstacles to overcome last year. We had a ton of injuries at specific positions that are hard to overcome. ... We got transplanted over to Birmingham for a month and things like that, so it was a tough year without question," Fritz said. "But the guys never stopped believing. I was just very impressed with their resolve in everything that we were doing. ...
"A lot of guys that put their faith in myself, our program and decided to come back and play another year, so a lot of veteran leadership."
Tulane spent three weeks camped out in Birmingham at the start of the 2021 season due to Hurricane Ida, and its season just never really got on track from there, after Fritz had led the program to three straight bowl games in the seasons prior -- a first in program history.
The Green Wave returned the bulk of its starters, hired a new offensive coordinator in Jim Svoboda, got to sleep in its own beds with regularity this year and has a chance Monday to tie the program record for wins at 12 -- which would match Tommy Bowden's undefeated 12-0 team in 1998 (that had to settle for playing in the Liberty Bowl).
This week, Fritz was named the winner of the Dodd Trophy -- a national coach of the year award.
On Sunday, he was asked about the challenge of being a Group of 5 team going up against the likes of USC.
"When you get to this point, you have a body of work. The guys have shown what they can do. It's obviously a tremendous challenge playing a team like USC. We're proud to represent our conference and university and New Orleans. We're going to have to play great tomorrow. There's no doubt about it. We know that. But it's a tremendous opportunity," Fritz said.
"... The last time Tulane was in a game like this was 1940. A couple years ago. Anybody at that game?"
Let's take a closer look at what Tulane brings into the matchup ...
Cotton Bowl game info
When: 10 a.m. PT Monday
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV: ESPN
Betting line: USC -2
Over/under: 63.5
Scouting the Green Wave
Record: 11-2
Ranking: No. 14 AP, No. 16 CFP, No. 17 AFCA Coaches
Coach: Willie Fritz (7th season, 42-45; 196-114 overall)
Scoring Offense: 35.2 PPG (22nd)
Scoring Defense: 20.5 PPG (23rd)
Total Offense: 433.8 YPG (33rd)
Total Defense: 342.4 YPG (35th)
What Tulane does well:
What stands out immediately upon watching this Tulane team is how well coached it’s been across the board. The first place that’s apparent is in the penalty tally, where the Green Wave has averaged the 5th fewest in the FBS with just 4.0 per game. The team’s defense has been remarkably disciplined all year, playing assignment-sound football with great efficacy for much of the year. Tulane’s steady proficiency on that side of the ball leads to few busted coverages or unmanned gaps, forcing opponents to earn every bit of yardage gained. That soundness is evident in the lack of big plays allowed by the defense all year, with just 38 plays of 20+ yards given up -- good for 7th in the country.
The metrics across the board speak to Tulane’s stinginess on that side of the ball, ranked 8th nationally in both defensive yards per play (4.73) and passing yards per attempt (6.0). Though the talent level of its opposition has certainly been middling at best, the defensive success the team has managed is a testament to the job done by this coaching staff. The defense has done its best work against the pass, allowing only 188.5 aerial yards per game --19th fewest in the country. The talented collection of playmakers in the secondary has allowed the Green Wave to remain competitive at the catch point all year, as players like Macon Clark and Jarius Monroe have racked up impressive production in their efforts to stymy opposing receivers.
Tulane’s offense is an equally well-coached and steady unit, carefully avoiding turnovers while maintaining reliable efficiency through both the air and the ground. The run game is the spearhead of the Green Wave’s attack, led by running back Tyjae Spears, who’s had a fantastic season. With him at the forefront, Tulane has rushed for 197.1 yards per game, averaging a strong 4.9 yards per carry. Spears himself has been exceptionally productive as the engine of the offense, rushing for 15 scores while averaging 6.5 yards per tote. With Spears leading the charge, Tulane’s rushing attack has been practically unstoppable over the later half of the season while consistently steamrolling opponents on the ground. Though the passing game hasn’t been nearly as explosive, quarterback Michael Pratt has been careful with the football while making good decisions, throwing 25 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions on the year. The Green Wave has averaged just a middling 236.8 passing yards per game, but there have been days where Pratt has gone off for over 300 yards, including the AAC championship game where he threw for 394 yards and 4 touchdowns. Despite the general lack of explosiveness in the passing attack, Tulane plays steadily and smartly enough through the air to remain a threat there.
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