2011-2012 Football Previews – Conference USA – Tulane Green Wave
Tulane hasn’t had a winning season since 2002, and they have lost at least eight games for six straight years. Bob Toledo was supposed to be the guy to come in and turn this program around, but the Green Wave has gone 13-35 since he took over.
Conference USA 2011-2012 Football Previews: Tulane Green Wave
Head Coach: Bob Toledo
2010 Record: 4-8
Tulane Gambling Odds from BetOnline to win BCS: +1,500 (Part of Field)
Tulane Odds from 5Dimes to win Conference USA Championship: +5,200
Tulane Odds from 5Dimes to win Conference USA West Division: +2,000
Tulane Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –>
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It’s a little surprising that Toledo is still around for a fifth season at the school, but administration is definitely showing patience. This is a team with quite a few high quality returning starters, and if Tulane improve this year I expect Toledo’s job to be in serious jeopardy.
The Green Wave did go just 2-6 in the conference last year, but they actually outgained their opponents. Costly turnovers in the red zone held this team back in 2010. It was a team that showed potential, but they just couldn’t seal the deal. Can they start realizing their potential in 2011?
Team Strengths:
The first obvious strength of this football team is Orleans Darkwa, their star running back. Tulane has become famous for its great running backs in recent years, and Darkwa is definitely capable of carrying the torch for a couple more years. Darkwa piled up 925 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in his freshman campaign. He managed to average an impressive 5 yards per carry, despite running behind a less than stellar offensive line.
Ryan Griffin made great strides in his sophomore campaign at quarterback, and I expect him to be even better this year. Griffin battled injuries all of last season and was still able to throw for 2,371 yards. Toledo hasn’t had many solid passers in his time at Tulane, but Griffin certainly has the ability to let it fly.
The defensive secondary was very good in 2010, and I expect them to be impressive again this year. In fact, Tulane only allowed opponents to complete 53.9% of their pass attempts. Shakiel Smith is one of the most talented safeties in the league, and Ryan Travis is an excellent cover corner.
Team Weaknesses:
The Tulane offensive line wasn’t good at all in 2010, and I don’t see them being any better in 2011. The Green Wave lost their best lineman from last season to graduation, and they lack a leader on this unit. Despite having a running back as good as Darkwa, Tulane only picked up 3.5 yards per carry as a team last year. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Just as the offensive line is a real weakness, so too is the defensive line. Tulane’s secondary is solid, but the Green Wave allowed 196 yards per game on the ground last year. The defensive line should be a little better this year, but they need to find someone who can be a run stuffer. As a whole, the Tulane defense allowed 37.2 points per game last year.
Tulane lost four of their top five receivers from last year. Who will Ryan Griffin throw the ball to this year? The team has a chance to be very balanced offensively, but they’ll need some inexperienced receivers to step up.
2011-2012 Tulane Football Prediction: 6-7
Tulane has 13 regular season games on the schedule this year. I fully expect this team to be improved from last year. A team in a conference as weak as Conference USA with a dominating running back like Darkwa should be able to get some wins. At the same time, they’ll need both the offensive and defensive line’s to play much better this year. I think it is a little too much to ask to expect this team to have a winning season, but they should definitely boost their win total.
2011 Tulane Green Wave Schedule
9/3/11 3:30 PM ET SOLOU
9/10/11 3:30 PM ET TULSA
9/17/11 8:00 PM ET @UAB
9/24/11 12:00 PM ET @DUKE
10/1/11 12:00 PM ET @ARMY
10/8/11 8:00 PM ET SYR
10/15/11 3:30 PM ET UTEP
10/22/11 3:30 PM ET MEM
10/29/11 12:00 PM ET @ECAR
11/5/11 3:00 PM ET @SMU
11/10/11 8:00 PM ET HOU
11/19/11 12:00 PM ET @RICE
11/26/11 11:00 PM ET @HAW
