Army West Point Black Knights Three Biggest Keys to Beat Tulane Green Wave

The Army West Point Black Knights must do these things to beat the Tulane Green Wave in the American Athletic Conference title game.

Nov 30, 2024; West Point, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken celebrates a 29-24 win against the UTSA Roadrunners at Michie Stadium. The victory clinched home field advantage for the American Athletic Conference championship game against Tulane. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The Army West Point Black Knights haven’t lost a game at home this season. That’s an encouraging face as they prepare to face the Tulane Green Wave in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. eastern at Michie Stadium, with the game set to be broadcast on ABC.

Army (10-1, 8-0 in American) has found the sledding tough the past two weeks, with a blowout loss to Notre Dame and a close shave to beat UTSA to clinch an undefeated conference season and the home championship game.

Few want to make a big deal out of the weather, but it’s likely to be below freezing at kickoff.

Tulane (9-3, 7-1) is smarting from its regular-season ending loss to Memphis on Thursday, but the Green Wave have been in the title game before. This is their third straight trip and they know the ropes. Their coach, Jon Sumrall, may be new to Tulane, but he led Troy to a pair of Sun Belt championship game wins. So, preparation won’t be a problem.

So how does Army win this game? Here are three keys to the contest.

Win the Run Game

That won’t be easy in this game. Army and Tulane are two of the best running teams in the nation.

Army is No. 1 in rushing offense and the only team in the country rushing for at least 300 yards per game (312.5 ypg) while Tulane is No. 12 at 212.9. That sounds like a chasm but it really isn’t. Both teams average five yards per carry.

It also means both teams do a great job of possessing the football. Army is No. 1 in the nation in time of possession at 35 minutes per game while Tulane is tied for fourth at 33 minutes per game.

Both teams can win this game doing what they do best. It may come down to Army doing it a little bit better.

Targeting the Pass Game

Army isn’t known for its passing, but the Black Knights proved against UTSA they can move the ball through the air.

Quarterback Bryson Daily threw the ball 17 times on Saturday, completing 10 and notching 190 passing yards. That was a season-high for him in every category. He also threw a touchdown pass.

That’s a good precedent to set going into a game like this. It can help keep the Tulane defense off-balance.

The Green Wave have the more prolific quarterback, as Darian Mensah has thrown for more than 2,500 yards. But Daily needs to have an efficient, mistake-free outing when he does pass the ball.

Avoid the Game-Changing Mistake

One of the benefits of Army’s offense is that it tends to lead to mistake-free football. But this is a game where the Black Knights really need to avoid them.

Tulane has forced 20 turnovers this season, but the Green Wave has turned several of those turnovers into defensive scores. Tulane also returned a couple of kickoffs for touchdowns this season.

Few teams in FBS can score defensively and on special teams like the Green Wave can. Army must do all it can to avoid that. In a game like this one big play can make a difference.