UCF Needs Diverse Passing Attack vs Tulane
A calculated passing game will be necessary when the No. 22 UCF Knights hit the road and take on the No. 16 Tulane Green Wave.
Can the Knights go right at the Tulane passing defense? At times, they should, but using good judgment will be needed. Here are some components of this battle to be considered.
Good Secondary
Three different members of the Green Wave picked off two passes. It's a balanced group on the back end. Overall, Tulane has eight interceptions from nine contests. That earned Tulane the No. 49 spot in the country. What’s more important would be the yards passing allowed to date.
180.3 yards passing permitted per game placed Tulane at No. 16 in the land. It did a nice job of keeping the opposition from hitting the big play as well. In fact, the Green Wave allowed just 59 passing plays of 10 or more yards this season, good for No. 11 nationally. However, there have been some chinks in the armor of late.
During the past four games, Tulane gave up 251.3 yards passing per game. More specifically against Memphis and quarterback Seth Henigan, the Green Wave gave up several passing plays of 10 or more yards, and their fair share of 20-plus yard passes, too.
Henigan threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns, completed 63.4% of his passes, and threw three touchdowns. The negative would be the two interceptions.
That point, again, needs to be taken seriously. UCF cannot force the football down the field. Now for where UCF should make some serious headway regardless of whether it ends up being Mikey Keene behind center after he was the starter against Memphis, or John Rhys Plumlee returning to his starting position after returning from injury.
Can the Green Wave Sack Keene or Plumlee?
Tulane has been porous at bringing down the opposing signal callers behind the line of scrimmage, with 14 sacks in total. That’s just No. 102 in the nation.
UCF’s experienced offensive line holds the advantage here. Tulane’s Dorian Williams aside, as the linebacker has 4.5 sacks (more about him during an upcoming article), the Green Wave defenders have been pedestrian at sacking the quarterback. No other Tulane defender has produced more than 1.5 sacks this season.
Be Smart, Adjust When Needed
Whether it ends up being a few big downfield passes off of play-action passes, or just dropping back and hitting some short passes and screens that allow talented athletes like Ryan O’Keefe to make plays after the catch, UCF will be successful by being patient. It’s just utilizing what’s available during each given play. The point above about pass protection should make this an even easier situation.
Barring something unforeseen, UCF’s wide receivers should have ample time to work their routes. Same with tight ends like Alec Holler and Kemore Gamble. It’s been a while since running back Johnny Richardson went for big yards after catching a pass, too. That’s definitely another possibility.
Look for UCF to throw for well over 200 yards against Tulane, and throwing for 300 or more is not out of the question. By attacking Tulane through the air, UCF’s passing game could honestly be the reason that it comes up with a win in New Orleans.
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