Ye Olde Green Wave Forum

Tulane

Tulane has been trending up since coach Willie Fritz arrived on campus prior to the 2016 season. After winning four games in ’16, the Green Wave improved to 5-7 the following year and jumped to 7-6 last fall. Tulane’s winning mark in 2018 was just the program’s second since the 2003 season. Additionally, the Green Wave claimed a share of the American Athletic Conference West Division title with a 5-3 mark in league play. With Memphis replacing dynamic running back Darrell Henderson, and Houston looking to reload under new coach Dana Holgorsen, Tulane should be in the mix to win the division title in 2019. Quarterback Justin McMillan is back after assuming the starting job during the season and throwing for 1,304 yards and 10 touchdowns and accounting for 238 yards and five scores on the ground. He should be more comfortable in his second year under center, especially with the arrival of new play-caller Will Hall. The Green Wave also return 1,000-yard rusher Darius Bradwell, Corey Dauphine (785 yards) and Stephon Huderson (281) in the backfield. Hall’s top priority in spring ball will be plugging a couple of holes on the offensive line, along with replacing receiver Terren Encalade (44 catches for 727 yards). Tulane’s defense ranked near the top of the AAC by holding teams to 27.5 points a game in 2018, but coordinator Jack Curtis has a few key cogs to replace, including linebacker Zachery Harris, cornerback Donnie Lewis, and safety Roderic Teamer. However, the cupboard isn’t bare. Edge rusher Patrick Johnson returns after collecting 16 tackles for a loss in 2018, and fellow defenders Lawrence Graham and Cameron Sample are back after combining for 8.5 sacks. The Green Wave have a challenging non-conference slate with FIU visiting New Orleans and road trips to Auburn and Army. Additionally, Fritz’s team hits the road for games at Memphis, Navy, Temple, and SMU. However, both Houston and SMU come to Yulman Stadium in 2019.

All Tulane has to do to continue to be "on the rise" in '19 is to finish 7-5 regular season. Of course that would be just a small jump, but a jump none the less. '97 is 22 years ago, but was the last time Tulane made any substantial jump from a losing year to a winning one. But a jump just one more win than 7 might be considered substantial for the Wave.

Fan since '54

7-5 or 8-4 would be considered an improvement considering the presumed tougher schedule. I’m ok with stringing a couple 7 win seasons together before getting to the 9/10 win mark.

7-5 or 8-4 would be considered an improvement considering the presumed tougher schedule. I’m ok with stringing a couple 7 win seasons together before getting to the 9/10 win mark.

Eliminate those little mistakes and we would have played for it in 2018. In short, we should aim higher than just a bowl game. I'm sure Fritz feels the same way.

The floor expectation this year should be bowling. We pulled it off last year and return enough that even if the schedule turns out to be tougher we can reach six wins. The number of bowls makes this goal even more manageable.

The actual expectation in year four of a coach should be pushing for a conference title berth. Given last year we were essentially one game away (SMU) from pulling that off, I'd say that's more than reasonable this year. Our overall record could be a number of things, from 7-5 to 11-1, but the focus should be on conference hardware this year.