With the American Conference starting out strong thanks to Memphis, the Tulane Green Wave have an opportunity to make a statement in Week 1.
The Tulane Green Wave will start their quest for another American Conference title when they kick off against the defending AAC champs, the Duke Blue Devils, on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 2:30 pm.
The conference is already off to a strong start, with the Memphis Tigers defeating the UNLV Rebels 27-21 in a Week 0 nailbiter that already has solidified the Tigers as the top dogs in the G6.
It’s probably a bit of an overreaction for the small sample of games played.
But it certainly shows that head coach Charles Huff at Memphis will be a solid foe for the Green Wave when they meet them in the second week of conference play in a game that will likely have major implications for the conference championship at minimum, and potentially the College Football Playoff.
It puts a major spotlight on Tulane getting off to a strong start in nonconference play, in an age where a solid G6 can be as valuable of an opponent win as a P4 won – but probably not in this case with the Blue Devils defending a conference title much like the Green Wave.
That Week 2 game also was one of the deciding factors in Tulane heading to the CFP in favor of Duke, and not in the lowest seed at that.
For the Green Wave, playing in December is almost a given over the last five seasons, which is such a major change from even a decade ago.
But people seem to be a bit more bullish on the Wave this season after they lost head coach Jon Sumrall to the Florida Gators.
There’s certainly a spotlight on new head coach Will Hall to make a bit of a statement in their season opener, one that would make Tulane poised to be on track for a fifth straight run to the American championship.
There was a time where it really only mattered once you got to conference play, and that will still be the largest determining factor in how the Green Wave finish this season.
Looking back at how Tulane finished last season, there were marquee wins in conference play that mattered – mainly, the gritty win over the Tigers late in the season after a rough loss to the UTSA Roadrunners, who the Wave will face again this season.
However, what they did in their non-conference slate set them up for their grand finale with major victories over the Northwestern Wildcats and Duke.
It would be a statement for them to best the Blue Devils two seasons in a row.
This week of prep will set them up in their opportunity to do that.
