Offensive Players to Watch as Tulane Green Wave Face Oklahoma Sooners
The last time the Tulane Green Wave played the Oklahoma Sooners there was a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.
Back in 2021, the two teams were preparing for a showdown in New Orleans, part of a home-and-home arrangement. But, Hurricane Ida forced the game to be moved to Norman. The Green Wave were still the home team and they played like it, losing 40-35.
The Green Wave (1-1) are trying to put their loss to Kansas State in the rear view, and they’ll have to do against a second straight ranked opponent, as the Sooners (2-0) are No. 13 in the country in the latest AP Top 25. Hurricane Francine isn't making preparation easy on Tulane.
Oklahoma is coming off a two-point win over Houston. Sooners fans aren’t exactly feeling great about their team right now. The Green Wave might catch a wave of momentum and pull off the upset. The Kansas State game proved they’re capable.
Here are the offensive players to watch for both teams entering Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Tulane
QB Darian Mensah
Yes, the fumble. It was a rough way for Tulane to lose. And it was a rough way for Mensah to learn the lesson about protecting the football. But, he still had a day against Kansas State, a defense that had the talent to stop him.
If Southeastern Louisiana was his debut, Kansas State was the true validation of coach Jon Sumrall’s decision to start him. His 342 passing yards were, obviously, a career-high (it was his second college game, after all). It was also the 74th 300-yard passing game ever for a Tulane quarterback. Not bad for a second start.
The next step in his evolution is his first road start at Oklahoma. That Sooners defense is ticked after struggling against Houston. OU will bring an unrelenting pass rush. It will be the redshirt freshman’s toughest test yet.
WR Mario Williams
One hates to repeat Williams, as he was here a week ago. But it bears mentioning that the USC transfer is doing things that haven’t been done in Uptown for a while.
Williams has now gone over 100 yards receiving in each of the first two games of his Tulane career, with his 128 yards receiving vs. Kansas State a Tulane career-high. The back-to-back 100 yard receiving performances were the first for the program since 2018 when Darnell Mooney did it against Nicholls (6-111-1) on Sept. 8 and UAB (4-123-2) on Sept. 15.
I mean, everyone knew Williams was good. He had two solid seasons with the Trojans but never emerged as the star of that offense. It’s starting to look like he’ll become that player with the Green Wave.
RB Makhi Hughes
Just when you think the days of the bell cow back are done, along comes Hughes, who is one of the best options in the country. He’s also one of the most consistent.
His 128-yard rushing day against Kansas State was his first of the season for him and the eighth of his career. Hughes has rushed for 100 or more yards in eight of his last 12 games, dating back to last season. This coming off first-team selection in the American Athletic Conference last season. He’s already in mid-season form, showing an ability to handle one-cut runs and getting outside the tackles with aplomb.
Oklahoma
QB Jackson Arnold
He got the job done against Houston, but the Sooners were not firing on all cylinders against the Cougars. Arnold finished 19-for-32 passing for 174 yards, two touchdowns and his first interception of the season. Notably, he completed fewer than 60% of his passes, that being the floor for efficient quarterbacking in college football.
The sophomore was a consensus five-star and top-25 national recruit and the 2022-23 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year coming out Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. To this point, he hasn’t quite played like it. He now has three career starts and nine career games — and other highly-touted quarterbacks breathing down his neck.
WR Deion Burks
He established himself as a leader in his third season at Purdue, where he led the Boilermakers with led team with 47 receptions, 629 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. He transferred to OU before this season.
Thus far, he’s made himself indispensable to Arnold and the passing game, as he caught nine passes last week vs. Houston and now has 15 catchers for 89 yards and three scores this season. The receiving yardage will come. The Sooners haven’t taken too many shots down the field. When they do, Burks will be on the other end.
RB Gavin Sawchuk
On paper, OU’s running game doesn’t look great. It’s gained 295 yards in two games, on 4.5 yards per carry, and scored just once. It’s possible that has everything to do with the redshirt sophomore having trouble getting back on track after an exceptional finish a year ago.
The Sooners have faith in him and have started him in each of the last two games. But he’s only gained 19 yards on 10 carries. He built that faith on five straight 100-yard rushing games to end last season. It’s only a matter of time before he breaks through. The Green Wave defense hopes to make sure it isn’t against them
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