Tulane Green Wave Focus on Avoiding Turnovers vs. Oklahoma Sooners
The Tulane Green Wave remember one big turnover from Saturday’s game against Kansas State. But they’ve had three for the season. That’s not a bad number two weeks into the year.
However, as they prepare for the Oklahoma Sooners (2-0), the Green Wave (1-1) is preparing for a defense that in just two games is among the best in college football at creating mistakes.
That’s a Brent Venables staple. Before he was a head coach, he was one of the game’s top defensive coordinators at Clemson. He’s always put an emphasis on creating turnovers.
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said all you have to do is turn on the tape.
“They’re multiple,” Sumrall said. “They keep you really guessing, keep you off balance, do a lot of different things schematically. They present a lot of challenges with what they do, and the guys they’re doing it with make it even tougher.”
Through their first two games, the Sooners have the best turnover margin in FBS at plus-7, tied with Cal and Illinois. Oklahoma has forced eight turnovers, the same as the Golden Bears and the Illini.
How do they do it? Sumrall said it’s about how they attack the player with the football on every single play.
“They attack the ball carrier,” Sumrall said. “They swarm. They run with great energy to the ball, and they’ve got guys that can make plays. They put you in a bind with what they do schematically. They put you in some pressure situations and they’ve gotten people into obvious pass, but they’re really an attacking group.”
The turnovers forced are part of the reason why Oklahoma is one of the top scoring defenses, too. OU has given up 15 points in two games and just one touchdown, which came against Houston last week.
It matters little when the offense scores just 16 points, as the Sooners did last week against Houston, when they only give up 12 points.
The core of their defense is built to create havoc. Linebacker Danny Stutsman is a returning All-American who had 15 tackles last week. He regularly puts up more than 100 tackles a season. Defensive lineman Gracen Halton is a tackle-for-loss machine, and one of his TFL’s last week led to a safety.
Defensive back Billy Bowman had six interceptions a year ago and returned three for touchdowns.
Sumrall wasn’t with Tulane the last two times the Green Wave went to Norman. But he’s got the scout of the gameday environment, courtesy of last week’s opponent.
Part of how Oklahoma defends you is a sold-out stadium.
“I’ve texted with (Kansas State coach) Chris Klieman, who we played this past week, and Chris texted this morning it’s one of the loudest places you’ll ever go,” Sumrall said. “I’ve played most places in the SEC as a coach or a player, but I haven’t been to Oklahoma, but by all accounts it’s loud.”
MATTHEW POSTINS