Tulane Green Wave Continue Climb Up AP Poll Following Another Blowout Win
The Tulane Green Wave entered Week 12 as one of the hottest teams in college football, and they kept the momentum going with an incredible performance against the Navy Midshipmen.
Facing off against a service academy has some challenges given how unique their offensive approach is, but that didn’t phase Jon Sumrall and his squad, as they were as prepared as possible.
In their biggest game of the year, the Green Wave came away with a convincing 35-0 victory.
With Navy quarterback Blake Horvath dealing with a thumb injury, backup Braxton Woodson was in the lineup for stretches and the offensive production stalled.
On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Darian Mensah kept up his remarkable redshirt freshman season. He completed 10-of-14 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, the sixth time this year he tossed multiple scores.
His legs were a factor as well, as he rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown.
It was the most yards in a single game for him thus far in 2024, and was the first rushing score of his collegiate career.
The Tulane rushing attack was relentless, led by Makhi Hughes with 82 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. His backup Arnold Barnes II added 62 yards on 12 carries. Backup quarterback Ty Thompson had five rushes for 20 yards.
That dominant victory was looked highly upon by AP Poll voters, as the Green Wave moved up the rankings for a second straight week.
After coming in at No. 25 last week, they are now No. 20 heading into Week 13.
Their five-spot jump was the biggest in the country as they are peaking at the right time and knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff.
Tulane will be on bye this upcoming weekend before playing against the Memphis Tigers in their regular season finale on Nov. 28, which is Thanksgiving night.
With the win over the Midshipmen, the Green Wave have clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game against the Army Black Knights, who are 9-0 on the season and 7-0 in the conference.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.