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Tulane Green Wave 2016 NCAA Football Preview
TULANE GREEN WAVE
American Athletic Conference – West Division
2015 Record – 3-9
ATS – 6-6
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
West Division #6
Conference #12
2015 Recap
Tulane had another rough season finishing up at 3-9 with wins over Maine, UCF and Army. Not exactly a great resume of conquests. Tulane has had only one winning season in the past thirteen years (2013) and now turn the controls over to HC Willie Fritz who has been a winner wherever he has coached.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
Tulane made a great hire in our opinion in snatching up Willie Fritz. The Green Wave will move to essentially a triple option style offense out of the spread formation which means that it will be a while before they feel comfortable on offense. The good news is that Fritz is a proven winner, and to be honest, we have always said that the great equalizer is “wackiness” or the triple option or a hybrid of that scheme.
The QB situation is a complete unknown. There is inexperience (zero career starts), youth and the challenge of learning a completely new system. The strength of the offense is in the running back unit and that is a good thing given what they want to accomplish. There are going to be a lot of carries to go around. The offensive line is a significant worry as the depth is thin and they are learning a new system. If they can somehow cobble a decent unit together and stay healthy this running game has potential.
The Green Wave lose their top receiver from last season and the unit does not look too scary. Having said that, the leading receiver on Fritz’s Georgia Southern team in 2015 had only 16 catches so it is not a huge concern.
DEFENSE
The defense looks sneaky-good on paper and is going to be better this season. The 2015 unit was nowhere near “Tulsa-Bad” finishing 9th in the conference in total defense and returns 8 starters this year. We see promise across the board. DT Tanzel Smart was a 1st Team AAC performer with 15 TFL and LB Nico Marley earned the same honor while leading the team in tackles. The secondary returns four starters including three juniors. If the offense can run the ball as planned to control the clock and keep the defense well-rested this unit may really improve.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK Andrew Dirocco hit 9/10 FGs last season but punter Zachary Block averaged a seemingly impossible 32 yard net over the course of the season which placed Tulane 125th in the FBS. They could use some spice in the return game as they ranked last in the AAC in kickoff return average and 8th in punt return average. Any progress on special teams would go a long way.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 7.0
MEGALOCKS says:
The schedule is very favorable to start the season. The first six weeks on the docket feature Wake Forest, Southern, Navy, ULL, UMass and UCF. Tulsa and SMU follow shortly after that. Dare we say they have a shot at doubling their win total ? Probably not. But it is fun to think about.
Overall, we give the GREEN WAVE a 7.0 ATS Value Rating (Good) this season. Any team that can play good defense and run the ball has our attention. Of course the ISSUE is whether or not the QBs can run the offense efficiently. If we were confident in the offensive line we might have rated the Green Wave even higher, but nonetheless, this team gets on the ATS watch list to start the season.
Want more Tulane football?
Website
http://tulanegreenwave.com/index.aspx?path=football
Forum
http://www.yogwf.com/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=0ac987927a7e7ded274eb84065d77fe4
http://gotula.net/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=02a88d7a8effcdeb5a82ff4c6fd789a1
News
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/sports/tulane/
http://bleacherreport.com/tulane-football
https://twitter.com/GreenWaveFB @GreenWaveFB
https://twitter.com/Guersmith @Guersmith Guerry Smith