The Green Wave has learned from its first matchup against Ole Miss. With that being said, here are three keys to success that the team needs to capitalize on if it wants to win on Saturday.
Some things in life -- and in college football -- serve as nothing more than lessons to learn from.
That's probably how the Tulane Green Wave would like to look at its early-season matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels: a game that ended in a 45-10 loss. There are plenty of things to learn from the struggles all over the field that day, right?
There's no doubt that Tulane has keyed in on some of those crucial mistakes in practices leading up to this Saturday's showdown. Here are three keys to success for the Green Wave as they head into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
1. Spread the rushing attack out.
Tulane had a little bit of late-game success on the ground against Ole Miss back in September, and although it was too late, the team did finish the game with 178 total rushing yards.
Arnold Barnes III had a team-high 11 carries, but quarterback Jake Retzlaff notched the most yards with 51 on eight carries. The game also marked the start of what would ultimately become a productive second half of the season for Javin Gordon, as he was given the ball eight times and took it for a total of 35 yards.
At this point in the year, Gordon and fellow freshman Jamauri McClure, who only had three carries in the first matchup, have become the go-to guys on the ground. They've easily been the most productive running backs that the team has had, and using them has taken a bit of the early-season pressure off of Retzlaff. Despite the fact that they are rookies, both student-athletes have proven themselves against some tough competition, and that shouldn't change. Each of them -- especially McClure -- can make a big difference in the game.
2. Find a way to control Trinidad Chambliss.
Chambliss is a dual-threat monster for the Rebels, despite coming into the season as a backup with little hype surrounding him.
The senior transfer had one of this best outings of the season in the first showdown with the Green Wave, recording 307 passing yards with two touchdowns plus an additional 112 rushing yards on 14 carries. No matter what Tulane tried to throw at him defensively, he found a way to evade it and make things happen.
Chambliss is extremely hard to contain -- not to mention that he's got one of the top running backs in the country in Kewan Lacy -- but it is possible to stop him. The Green Wave will need to be nearly perfect across the entire defense to limit Chambliss... if not, things could get out of hand early.
3. Expect the unexpected against a team with a new head coach.
Tulane probably knew a bit of what to expect against former Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin, and at the very least, the team could have prepared for the different schemes and styles that the Kiffin-led Rebels presented back in September.
Of course, Kiffin is now at LSU, and defensive coordinator Pete Golding has been promoted to the permanent head coaching position. Ole Miss might be bringing back some offensive personnel (who had previously left for LSU alongside Kiffin) to coach in the playoffs, but there's honestly no telling how different Golding will be as a head coach.
The fact that nobody has seen Golding in this position before adds to the mystery. Will he be aggressive on fourth down? Will he try to take a bit more offensive control than he's had this season? If so, what will that look like? Will he be comfortable making major decisions? These are all unanswered questions, and that can make it a bit harder for the Green Wave to prepare ahead of time.
Tulane is going to have to really go with the flow and be ready to adjust to just about anything amidst the uncertainty. It'll be a challenge, but this team is capable of facing off against anyone.