Tulane Green Wave’s Three Biggest Keys to Beat Army West Point Black Knights
The road has been good to the Tulane Green Wave.
They’ll need it to be good to them one more time to win their second American Athletic Conference championship game in three years.
The Green Wave face the Army West Point Black Knights on Friday at Michie Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. central on ABC.
Tulane (9-3, 7-1) has put its loss to Memphis behind them, something they have to do if they hope to beat the Black Knights. But this is a game where the Green Wave know the ropes. They’ve been in the last two AAC title games, but both have been in New Orleans.
First-year Tulane coach Jon Sumrall hasn’t been here with the Green Wave but he has with Troy. He led the Trojans to two Sun Belt title games, both victories.
Army (10-1, 8-0 in American) finished as the only undefeated team in league play and only has one loss this year to Notre Dame.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks, and Tulane has good experience against a team that plays like the Black Knights, thanks to its win over Navy a few weeks ago.
So how does Tulane win this game?
Here are three keys to the contest.
Beat Army at Their Own Game
Tulane wants to run the ball, and the Green Wave are one of the few teams in the country that can match with the best running team in college football.
Tulane is No. 12 at the FBS level with 212.9 rushing yards per game. Army is No. 1 and averages 312.5 rushing yards per game. Now, that’s a 100-yard difference. But, here’s the rub — both teams average five yards per carry.
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.
When the Green Wave played Navy it was the dominant run team. Tulane has to do it again against Army.
Mensah Rises Up
The Green Wave has the more prolific quarterback, as Darian Mensah has thrown for more than 2,500 yards. He’s emerged as a quality passer. He avoids mistakes. He can make big plays. He can even run the ball and give Tulane a change-of-pace from its bell cow back, Makhi Hughes.
Army quarterback Bryson Daily had a season-best day last week — 10-of-17 passing for 190 yards and a touchdown. The Black Knights don’t want to throw the ball nearly that much. But against UTSA it was needed.
Mensah’s production is the one differentiator offensively for both teams. He doesn’t need to have a huge game — just his normal game. And no mistakes.
Change the Game Their Way
One of Tulane’s biggest pluses is its ability to score on defense and special teams.
The Green Wave is one of the best teams in FBS in this category, as they’ve returned five interceptions for touchdowns. Plus, there are the fumble returns and the kickoff returns for scores.
This is an area where there’s a huge difference between Tulane and Army. It’s an area where the Green Wave can make one big play and it makes a huge difference because the Black Knights typically are not a quick strike offense.
