The Tulane Green Wave (2-0) host the Duke Blue Devils this weekend in one of the biggest storylines in college football.
For the Green Wave, the objective is nothing outside of winning the game this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CT. That comes down to a lot more than the opposing quarterback, Darian Mensah.
The Blue Devils are the second Power Four team Tulane will face on the season. In the season opener, they beat their first Power Four opponent since the Kansas State Wildcats in 2022.
They have an opportunity to head into their final non-conference game against the SEC’s Ole Miss Rebels with their first 3-0 start since that season as well.
What are the key things the Green Wave must to do knock off Duke?
Shut Down Top Five Passing Offense
The Blue Devils are No. 5 in the nation averaging 372.5 passing yards per game. Mensah is No. 4 with 723 passing yards.
It’s not just Mensah; the receiving trio of Cooper Barkate, Andrel Anthony, and Que’Sean Brown are going to pose an unseen challenge to the defense this season.
Barkate is third in the ACC and No. 24 in the nation with 102.5 yards per game. Anthony is second-best in college football with three receiving touchdowns.
The coverage wasn’t all bad against the South Alabama Jaguars. A few explosive plays made the defense’s job last Saturday harder than it needed to be.
They haven’t faced a receiver trio close to what Duke will trot out.
Win the Turnover Battle
Yes, this is always a key. But it’s critical in a matchup where there’s value to knowing about the opponent. Mensah fumbled early in the year for the Green Wave in critical games last year.
They told the story of the Blue Devils' game that went into the halftime tunnel with Illinois leading 14-13 to a lopsided 45-19 victory for the Fighting Illini.
Mensah was sacked and stripped twice, losing two fumbles, and threw an interception in the fourth quarter. It made things go from bad to worse.
That happened in Tulane’s 33-31 win. A fumble by quarterback Jake Retzlaff made what should have been a 7-7 start into a 14-0 deficit.
But they recovered two on defense, ultimately inching out a victory on the turnover battle.
Knowing that, the pass rush will be poised to be the difference-makers, especially if able to rattle Mensah early.
Balance the Right Emotions
Not tapping into what’s going to be an emotional matchup would be unwise. But it becomes distracting to the goals on the field at a certain point.
This Green Wave team is off to a stronger start this season than last at 2-0. That doesn’t erase what wasn’t the best departure by the quarterback who brought the team to a 1-1 start in 2024 that finished 9-5 without him.
But it shows that they’re, frankly, better positioned to make a run at the College Football Playoff than this weekend’s opponent. They still have a chance at being undefeated.
Too much focus on the noise outside of that feels a bit like rat poison.