The Tulane Green Wave lost to the Ole Miss Rebels 45-10 in September, but will get a rematch in the first round of the College Football Playoff. What can Tulane do differently this time?
The Tulane Green Wave and the Ole Miss Rebels are set to square off for the second time this season on Saturday -- this time, on a much bigger stage.
The pair of programs will be making their first appearance each in the second year of the expanded College Football Playoff, with the winner advancing to the Sugar Bowl to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on New Year's Day. Championship dreams, more games for those senior players, bragging rights -- it's all up for grabs in this game.
The first meeting between the teams was not pretty for the Green Wave, as it entered Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford on a roll and left with a 45-10 defeat. Just about everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for Tulane that day, but now, there's a chance for redemption.
Here's a look at three things we learned from the September matchup, and how the Green Wave can improve from here.
1. Tulane's passing game must be stronger in the big moments.
Things were ugly through the air for quarterback Jake Retzlaff in his first appearance in Oxford.
The transfer completed just 5-of-17 passes for 56 yards, struggling to connect on anything much farther than the first down marker. He went 0-of-11 to start the contest. Backup signal-caller Brendan Sullivan entered the game but didn't fare much better: he had 48 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 5-of-12 passing.
Ole Miss has a solid secondary, but that group isn't unbeatable. Retzlaff will have to shake off whatever mentality he had in the first game and play up to his capabilities; there's been a steady growth through the second half of the season for the Green Wave through the air.
2. The defense must find a way to contain Trinidad Chambliss -- somehow.
Listen, Rebels signal-caller Trinidad Chambliss is a beast. He even received a handful of Heisman Trophy votes, despite not making a start until the third game of the year.
Tulane's defense allowed him to do just about anything he wanted the first time around. The senior transfer completed 17-of-27 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns while adding a team-high 112 rushing yards on 14 carries. Neither the secondary nor the defensive line could find a way to stop him -- only a sack by Sam Howard dampened Chambliss' near-perfect day.
Like every college football player, Chambliss has some weaknesses. The Green Wave will have to find a way to capitalize on any mistakes he might make... otherwise, the signal-caller might make this game look like something out of "Groundhog Day."
3. The team has to find a way to keep critical drives alive.
Tulane struggled a bit with converting crucial third and fourth down plays to keep drives alive when the programs first met.
The Green Wave went a disappointing 6-for-15 on third down, then followed that up by going 0-for-3 on fourth down tries. Not only did those shortcomings keep the offense out of the end zone, but they also forced a tired defense back onto the field far too quickly. Spurts of momentum were few and far between for the visiting team; that can't happen again if Tulane expects to win.
Even just a handful of additional conversions can be the difference between a win and a loss. Every down matters, and that's something that Tulane needs to emphasize ahead of the game.