Tulane Football Emulated Winning Formula Against Kansas State in Opener

Tulane football beat Kansas State in 2022 with a run-heavy game plan and mobile quarterback, much like the offense in their season opener.

Credit: Parker Waters - Tulane Athletics

Tulane football’s winning formula against Southeastern Louisiana didn’t include that many pass attempts, mirroring how the team beat Kansas State in 2022.

Largely led by Michael Pratt’s 87 rush yards, the offense only attempted 26 passes in the 17-10 victory. That was with a veteran quarterback, which illustrates how game planning for an opponent often matters more than skill and experience.

While that was under Willie Fritz, coach Jon Sumrall had the same idea for getting his offense gelling under a new coordinator, group of skill players, and quarterback.

Redshirt freshman Darian Mensah was nearly perfect on his 12 pass attempts, of which he completed 10 for 205 passing yards and two receiving touchdowns. Importantly, and a point of emphasis by Sumrall, he projected the football.

Despite the whopping 52-0 victory in their season opener, Sumrall wasn’t happy with the execution that led to the result.

While acknowledging there’s no such thing as bad wins, Sumrall told play-by-play announcer Corey Gloor in his postgame interview that the team left much to be desired.

He criticized their two first half timeouts, kickoff coverage, pass rush, tackling, and self-inflicted errors, one calling back a third down completion to Yulkeith Brown.

“We weren't lined up properly and got a five yard penalty and brought it back, which would've been another third down conversion. Had the one drop early, that should have been a touchdown. I was disappointed, but there's plenty to clean up. End score’s good. But the way we played won't get us that outcome moving forward. We better get a lot of things addressed fast because next week it's going to be a little bit of a different squad.”

Kansas State from the Big 12 is a different beast than an FCS opponent. But the way the offense was run last Thursday was an incredibly bright spot; the positives outweigh all criticisms of Tulane’s performance.

For a quarterback who’d never played a live college snap, Sumrall was nothing but happy with Darian Mensah’s debut.

“I was pleased with his play. This plan did not require us to maybe have to throw as much. He was probably short on the one to Mario (Williams) on the over route, the climb route. But he was effective and efficient for a guy that's not played, and in his first college game that was very impressive.

Saturday’s 11 A.M. contest is going to be Mensah’s real test as a starting quarterback. But Sumrall has made frequent mention of whoever wins the quarterback competition won’t have the weight of winning every game on his shoulders.

Pratt threw two interceptions against Kansas State before smartly tucking and running the majority of the contest. Mensah showed poise in the pocket, but more so when he used his feet to extend passing plays. A risk with Pratt’s mobility was his lack of regard for his wellbeing when it came to converting downs for his team, something that improved by the time he left the program after learning the hard way several times.

However, Tulane’s ground game was struggling at that point in the season. Tyjae Spears had 9 carries for 26 yards against the Wildcats. The Green Wave doesn’t seem to have that problem to start this season.

The run blocking was not as clean as the frankly stellar pass protection for a redshirt freshman. Makhi Hughes had an average outing with 59 yards. Surprisingly, Tulane found success in their run game by committee.

That isn’t something they’ve really had since the 2022 season; Tyjae Spears did a lot of heavy-lifting. They certainly haven’t come close to 8 ball carriers recording 241 yards on the ground since I’ve been the sideline reporter.

Tulane hasn’t really ever had a potential Jack of all trades like Ty Thompson, who matched Mensah’s touchdown throws by two he ran in with ease.

That will be a key to watch for Tulane to chase a victory against Kansas State. Thompson brings a wrinkle to the offense that not only is primed for red zone creativity, but also takes a mental and physical load off Mensah in his second college start.

A strong run game can overcome poor play at quarterback, but Tulane gets to enjoy the potential of a strong passing game complemented by a rush attack of multiple weapons. A consecutive performance on the ground like the team had in their season opener should be a winning formula against the Wildcats.