Three Biggest Keys for Tulane Green Wave to Beat Charlotte 49ers
Realignment can lead to new matchups.
Witness Thursday’s game between the Tulane Green Wave (6-2, 4-0) and the Charlotte 49ers (3-5, 2-2), which will start at 6:30 p.m. central on ESPN.
The Green Wave, long ago, were members of the SEC and even have more league titles in that conference than half of its current membership.
The 49ers rebooted their football program more than a decade ago, started as an FCS independent moved to FBS and joined Conference USA, and are now members of the American Athletic Conference, thanks to the wave of realignment that allowed them to join in 2023.
That’s why Tulane and Charlotte have never met — until Thursday.
The Green Wave needs a win to remain undefeated in league action. The 49ers need a win to get closer to bowl eligibility.
Here are Tulane’s three keys to success against North Texas.
Ride Makhi One More Time
The Green Wave gets 10 days off after this game. When you have so little time to prepare, you have to lean on the things you do well.
Right now, that’s Makhi Hughes, the all-conference back from a year ago who has blown up the past two weeks.
Against Rice two weeks ago he rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Against North Texas on Saturday he took the ball 30 times and rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown.
It’s a big workload. The Green Wave needed him to run the ball plenty against the Mean Green because they ran the Air Raid offense. It worked.
Now, Tulane needs one more big game from Hughes before the 10-day break, if for no other reason than to keep the game plan simple on a five-day turnaround.
The 30/20 Proposition
Saturday’s loss to Memphis was a bit of an anomaly for the 49ers — they scored more than 20 points in a loss. Charlotte fell, 33-28, and it had chances to win that game late.
That makes that 20-point benchmark an important one for the Green Wave. In Charlotte’s other four losses, it scored 20 points or less. And, in those four losses, the 49ers gave up 42.8 points. In fact, Charlotte has given up 30 or more points in all five losses.
So, if you’re the Green Wave, score 30 or more and hold Charlotte to 20 or less and get out of town.
Turnover Machine
Charlotte entered the Memphis game minus-5 in turnover margin with 13 turnovers on the season. That margin only got worse against the Tigers. The 49ers had two turnovers and forced one, dropping their overall margin to minus-6 with 15 turnovers for the season. That is one of the worst margins in the country.
Tulane’s goal is clear — create turnovers. That’s always the goal. But against a team that averages two per game it’s even more critical.
