Preview: South Alabama at #24 Tulane

Credit: Vegasjon via Wikimedia

Broadcast Information

* Kickoff at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, September 2nd, 2023. Broadcast on ESPNU.

* John Schriffen and Rocky Boiman will be on the call.

* WRKH-HD2 99.5 FM (South Alabama)

* KVDU 104.1 FM "The Spot" (Tulane)

What's at stake?

This game could determine which Group of Five teams will be playing in the New Year's Six bowl game. Last season, AAC Champion, Tulane finished with a 12-2 season, including a Cotton Bowl win over 10th-ranked USC. On the other hand, South Alabama is coming off of their best season since joining the FBS in 2013.

South Alabama finished second in the Sun Belt Conference, going 10-3 but finishing the season with an ugly 44-23 loss to Western Kentucky in the New Orleans Bowl.

South Alabama will be looking to join the top 25 rankings for the first time in school history.

Key Player

RB La'Damian Webb - South Alabama

S Yam Banks - South Alabama

QB Michael Pratt - Tulane

Darius Hodges - Tulane

Key Matchups

This will be the 14th-ranked defense (South Alabama in 2022) versus the 31st-ranked offense (Tulane in 2022). South Alabama will try to take advantage of the returning coordinators in Major Applewhite and Corey Batoon while Tulane attempts to grab their footing under both a new offensive and defensive coordinator this season.

Prediction

With so much experience on both teams, this game could easily go either way, but the defensive front for South Alabama will be the game changer. Players Jamie Sheriff and Charles Coleman III will control the Jaguars' defensive front forcing the Tulane offense to struggle early. The South Alabama Jaguars will not only cover the +6 point spread but they will win in New Orleans.