The Tulane Green Wave will finally look to put a complete defensive game together as it faces the Memphis Tigers in an American Conference rivalry showdown on Friday night.

The Green Wave hasn't exactly been... great... on defense this year. The program's rush defense is among the worst in the nation, but a solid secondary has somewhat made up for that. Tulane isn't necessarily letting opponents blow them out by 30 points, but the defense has just lacked that intensity that it seemed to have during the 2025 campaign.

If there's ever a time for the Olive Green and Sky Blue to make a big statement, it's now. Memphis is one of the easy frontrunners to win the conference this year, and a home win over a rival program could do wonders for Tulane moving forward. 

Which defenders are expected to show up and show out tomorrow night? Here's a look at three key players to watch. 

You've got to like what you've seen from Rogers through the past few games.

Against Army, the standout defensive back recorded three total tackles and two pass breakups. Rogers has been one of the team's top players in the secondary, and he's shown improvement week by week.

At some point, that clutch play is going to happen for Rogers. He's going to find a way to haul in the ball for a massive interception that turns the game around -- he's come so close to that already. Don't be surprised if that breakthrough comes against Memphis. 

Agu bounced back from a few quiet performances by posting a team-high 12 takedowns against Army last weekend. 

The linebacker has picked up 46 tackles on the season and showed that he can be consistent and dependable; that's a welcome sight to see, especially since he suffered a season-ending injury last year.

Ideally, it would be nice if Agu could step up his game a bit more and find a way to get into the backfield. He's had no tackles-for-loss or sacks this year, and that's something that the team desperately needs. Can he find a way to make those big plays against Memphis?

Though Tchienchou hasn't had quite the season that many have expected up to this point, he's still one of the better defenders on the team.

Interestingly, the seven of the safety's eight tackles against the Black Knights were solo tackles: he's needed very little help when getting the job done. 

Tchienchou still hasn't recorded a turnover on the year, and he's struggled to look as dominant as he did in 2025. It feels like everyone is patiently waiting for that player to come back out, and it feels like that's got to happen pretty soon.