A few Tulane fans are all over an Advocate goof that had nothing to do with me, with an editor forgetting to substitute FIU for Tulsa in the matchup listing at the top of the Tulane page in today's edition. You make mistakes, and people are going to hold you accountable, often with a nasty tone, but that's not the point here.
In my mind, Tulane needs to treat FIU exactly like Tulsa. It won't be as easy because the Golden Hurricane was looking for a reason to lie down when it arrived at Yulman Stadium last Saturday, but a decisive rout would be another positive step as Willie Fritz changes Tulane's culture. When I picked all of Tulane's games for The Advocate in the preseason, I forecast a 2- or 3-point victory for the Wave, figuring a letdown was inevitable in a non-conference road game against a nondescript program.
But Tulane has a real chance to exceed my expectations. Most of the questions that needed to be answered before the season have been answered positively, with quarterback Jonathan Banks exhibiting all of the qualities of a playmaking winner in his limited sample size, the offensive line showing signs of life and a veteran, deep defense making up for the loss of Tanzel Smart and Nico Marley better than any outsiders anticipated.
The two biggest questions today are whether the offensive line can duplicate its dominance against Tulsa and a secondary that has given up far too many big pass plays can tighten up its coverage. If the Wave runs on the Panthers early, this could be another blowout, but if the offense is up and down like it was against everyone but Tulsa, the game could get interesting.
As for the pass defense, there will be fewer one-on-one opportunities against safeties than in previous weeks because Tulane will not have to load up the box to stop the run as much as it did against Navy and Tulsa. FIU quarterback Alex McGough can make all the throws, although he is not always accurate, so it is time for the defensive backs to step up. That means Donnie Lewis not getting caught with his head in the backfield and the safeties not blowing any assignments. These guys will have to play better down the stretch for Tulane to have a true breakthrough season.
Tulane is not playing Tulsa today, but if the final score is anything like last Saturday, the Wave will be set up perfectly for its biggest two-game American Athletic stretch (USF at home, Memphis away) since it joined the league.
In my mind, Tulane needs to treat FIU exactly like Tulsa. It won't be as easy because the Golden Hurricane was looking for a reason to lie down when it arrived at Yulman Stadium last Saturday, but a decisive rout would be another positive step as Willie Fritz changes Tulane's culture. When I picked all of Tulane's games for The Advocate in the preseason, I forecast a 2- or 3-point victory for the Wave, figuring a letdown was inevitable in a non-conference road game against a nondescript program.
But Tulane has a real chance to exceed my expectations. Most of the questions that needed to be answered before the season have been answered positively, with quarterback Jonathan Banks exhibiting all of the qualities of a playmaking winner in his limited sample size, the offensive line showing signs of life and a veteran, deep defense making up for the loss of Tanzel Smart and Nico Marley better than any outsiders anticipated.
The two biggest questions today are whether the offensive line can duplicate its dominance against Tulsa and a secondary that has given up far too many big pass plays can tighten up its coverage. If the Wave runs on the Panthers early, this could be another blowout, but if the offense is up and down like it was against everyone but Tulsa, the game could get interesting.
As for the pass defense, there will be fewer one-on-one opportunities against safeties than in previous weeks because Tulane will not have to load up the box to stop the run as much as it did against Navy and Tulsa. FIU quarterback Alex McGough can make all the throws, although he is not always accurate, so it is time for the defensive backs to step up. That means Donnie Lewis not getting caught with his head in the backfield and the safeties not blowing any assignments. These guys will have to play better down the stretch for Tulane to have a true breakthrough season.
Tulane is not playing Tulsa today, but if the final score is anything like last Saturday, the Wave will be set up perfectly for its biggest two-game American Athletic stretch (USF at home, Memphis away) since it joined the league.
