Sun Belt Game of The Week: Tulane At Louisiana

Not only is this in-state matchup an important game for both programs, but a win here would be beneficial to each of their respective conferences. The Group of Five’s automatic bid in the College Football Playoff could very well be the champion from the Sun Belt or the champ from the AAC.

Last week’s Sun Belt Game of the Week also featured a Sun Belt team vs. an AAC team when East Carolina hosted Appalachian State. The Mountaineers prevailed in a 21-19 bout. College football betting odds had them as a 1.5-point favorite.

This is the toughest non-conference game on Louisiana’s schedule while Tulane has already played a pair of AP Top 25 programs and came up short in both. If it wasn’t for a suspect call from the refs, Tulane might be sitting at 2-1 with a win over Kansas State instead of at 1-2. Louisiana enters this contest at 2-0.

How To Watch Tulane-Louisiana

The game kicks off at noon ET and will air on ESPNU.

Tulane-Louisiana Betting Odds

Tulane is currently a three-point favorite.

Tulane-Louisiana Coaches & Records

Tulane: Jon Sumrall (1-2 at Tulane, 24-6 overall)

Louisiana: Michael Desormeaux (13-14)

Last meeting: Dec. 15, 2018; Tulane won 41-24.

Tulane is 23-6 in this series.

Tulane Preview

Tulane found a way to make things interesting against Oklahoma when a pick-six from Tyler Grubbs put the Green Wave behind 24-19. Those were Tulane’s final points, however, and Oklahoma won 34-19.

Despite the 15-point loss, the Green Wave proved for the second consecutive week that they can compete with Power Four programs. They’re much better than their 1-2 record. A tough non-conference schedule can do that to you. 

If it’s one thing we’ve learned about the Green Wave this season, it’s that they’re tough and play that same brand of football as Jon Sumrall’s teams while he was at Troy. This squad is going to be prepared and show up ready to play. 

One surprise was redshirt freshman Darian Mensah’s emergence to take over the No. 1 quarterback spot after he was expected to be No. 3 on the depth chart entering fall camp. It wasn’t too long ago that Mensah was doing damage on the scout team before earning the nod. He’s had some mistakes, but he’s also had some elite throws. He currently has 713 passing yards and five touchdowns to two interceptions. 

The Green Wave have a solid defense with playmakers and NFL prospects at all levels. It played well in both losses and will only get better.

Louisiana Preview

While we know a lot about Tulane right now, this Ragin’ Cajuns squad is still somewhat of a question mark. Louisiana has faced a light schedule thus far with wins over Grambling State and Kennesaw State. 

This was expected to be one of the best defenses in the Sun Belt and is an experienced group. This week will be the Ragin’ Cajuns’ toughest test so far, so we’ll find out how solid this defense really is although it’ll be difficult to match the quality of defenses the Green Wave have played the last two weeks. One thing I’m surprised by is that UL has only forced one turnover in its two wins.

Ben Wooldridge won the starting quarterback job for the Ragin’ Cajuns over who many thought would be the starter in Chandler Fields. Wooldridge missed most of last season while Fields started eight games. Wooldridge has passed for 497 yards and four TDs this season. We haven’t seen much else from the rest of the UL offense, with the carries being spread out — three players have 10-plus — and with no player having more than eight receptions on the roster. 

Tulane-Louisiana Prediction

I predict Tulane will win the game and cover the 3.5-point spread. 

The Green Wave are frustrated. They let two consecutive upsets slip away after giving themselves a chance to win both. Unfortunately for the Ragin’ Cajuns, I think they’re going to be the victim of a Tulane redemption game. 

Like I mentioned, there’s still a lot to learn about this Louisiana team, but we can expect the Green Wave to show up to play. This team is too good to go on a three-game losing streak.