Tulane Green Wave Top Offensive Stars To Watch Against Army West Point
The Tulane Green Wave hope to beat the Army West Point Black Knights at their own game when they square off in the American Athletic Conference Championship game on Friday night.
The Black Knights and the Green Wave want to do the same thing. They just do it in different ways.
Tulane (9-3 7-1) is No. 12 in rushing offense at 212.9. Army (10-1, 8-0 in American) is No. 1 in rushing offense and the only team in the country rushing for at least 300 yards per game (312.5 ypg). But, both teams average five yards per carry. So each is efficient, even if their base offensive sets look much different.
The Green Wave can go toe-to-toe with the Black Knights when it comes to running the football. Both possess the football for at least 33 minutes per game.
Kickoff at Michie Stadium is set for 8 p.m. eastern, with the game to be broadcast on ABC.
Here are three offensive players to watch for each team going into Saturday’s contest.
Tulane Green Wave
QB Darian Mensah
The redshirt freshman didn’t claim any AAC postseason awards. But, given that he was named the starter hours before the season opener in August, he’s been the perfect quarterback for the Green Wave under first-year-coach Jon Sumrall.
He’s thrown for 2,514 yards, with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 91 yards. His efficiency in the pocket and his ability to avoid mistakes made him invaluable to Tulane.
RB Makhi Hughes
For the second straight year, the sophomore was named to the AAC all-conference first team. For the second straight year, he also rushed for at least, 1,300 yards, as he carries 1,306 yards and 15 touchdowns in this game. If the Green Wave can keep him around two more years he might own the entire rushing record book.
WR Mario Williams
Williams leads the Green Wave with 48 receptions and 831 yards entering the title game, so it’s been a great first season in the Big Easy for the USC transfer. He only has four touchdown receptions, which is behind tight end Alex Bauman’s six receiving scores. But with nearly 18 yards per reception, he’ll be the deep threat on Friday.
Army West Point
QB Bryson Daily
He’s one of the most dynamic rushing quarterbacks in the game, as he has 1,348 yards and 25 touchdowns entering the title game. He’s also thrown for 860 yards and is coming off a season-best performance passing last weekend. On Tuesday, he was crowned the AAC offensive player of the year in the Black Knights’ first season in the conference.
RB Kanye Udoh
He enters this game with 906 yards rushing and nine touchdowns and Udoh will probably clear 1,000 yards rushing at some point in the Black Knights’ final three games. One thing to note is that he’s had declining rushing numbers each of the last four games and he only had 15 yards rushing last week.
WR Casey Reynolds
Reynolds has 16 of Daily’s 55 receptions this season, almost one-third of the team’s passing output. Reynolds has 409 receiving yards and three touchdowns through 11 games. Reynolds had one of his biggest games of the year last weekend as he caught four passes for 81 yards.
