Who:                    USF Bulls vs. Tulane Green Wave
What:                   FBS football game
When:                  Saturday, October 21
Where:                 Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, LA
Why:                     AAC conference game

The University of South Florida Bulls will hit the road and head to New Orleans to visit the Tulane Green Wave for the first time in history.  While the teams have no playing history, they do share a little personnel history.  USF running backs coach, Shaun King, played quarterback for the Green Wave from 1995-1998.

Tulane is just 3-3 (1-1) on the season, losing to FIU, 23-10 in their last outing.  Their best win of the season was a 62-28 stomping of 2-5 Tulsa two weeks ago.  With just one conference loss, they’re not officially out of the conference title hunt, yet.

The story is very different for the USF Bulls, who are 6-0 (3-0), lead the conference, and are ranked #16 / #13 nationally.  USF has currently tied the NCAA record for most consecutive games scoring 30 points or more, at 23.  They also have the longest consecutive win streak in the nation, currently at 11 straight games.  Their last game was a 33-3 blowout of Cincinnati last Saturday. 

USF Offense
Despite scoring just 33 points against Cincinnati, USF maintains a top ten scoring offense for the second year in a row, currently ranked 7
th, averaging just under 43 points per game.  Much of that scoring comes from their 8th
ranked rushing offense, averaging 293 yards per game.  Running back, Darius Tice, has two 100 yard games and has amassed 493 yards on the season to lead the team.  His eight rushing touchdowns also lead the team.  Running back, D’Ernest Johnson and quarterback, Quinton Flowers, are not far behind, with 485 and 475 yards, respectively.  Flowers has run to the end zone six times and Johnson has four scores. 

When Flowers isn’t running the ball, he’s passing it in what is currently the 90th ranked passing offense, averaging just under 200 yards per game.  The low passing numbers are due to running the ball more in games where the Bulls are leading big, which has been just about every game.  Flowers has ten passing touchdowns with two interceptions.  Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been his favorite target, pulling down 341 yards worth of catches and three touchdowns.  Also with three touchdowns is Tyre McCants, who has 191 yards on just nine catches. 

On special teams, kicker, Emilio Nadelman has made 13 straight field goals.  He’s #4 in the nation in kicking percentage (93%) and tied for second for field goals made, with two less than Utah’s Matt Gay (16). 

Tulane Defense
The Green Wave allow their opponents about 27 points per game, which ranks them 74
th in scoring defense.  They allow 201 passing yards per game and 206 rushing yards per game, 39th and 105th
respectively. 

Senior linebacker, Rae Juan Marbley leads the defense with 52 tackles and two sacks.  Lineman, Luke Jackson, has 3.5 sacks and fellow lineman, Ade Aruna, has 3 of his own.  Defensive backs, Parry Nickerson and Donnie Lewis Jr. lead the team in interceptions, with 3 and 2, respectively.  Nickerson is ranked 12th nationally in interceptions.  As a team, Tulane has the 9th best turnover ratio in the nation, giving up just four and gaining 11. 

Tulane Offense
Tulane’s offense ranks 68
th in scoring, averaging 28 points per game.  The 62 points scored against Tulsa was a season high.  Like the Bulls, they have been able to run the ball, averaging a nation’s 10th best, 278 yards per game.  Senior running back, Dontrell Hilliard, is carrying the load for the Green Wave, averaging 101 yards per game with eight rushing touchdowns.  Hilliard is ranked 24th
in the nation in rushing yards.  Quarterback, Jonathan Banks, gets his share of carries, also, with 53 yards per game and three touchdowns on the season. 

Passing the ball is a different story for Tulane.  Banks is averaging just 100 yards per game with four touchdowns and one interception.  Those numbers amount to the 126th ranked passing offense in the country.  Leading receiver, Terren Encalade, averages just 36 yards per game, with a pair of touchdowns on the season.

USF Defense
The much-improved Bulls defense is allowing their opponents 17 points per game, the 16
th best total in the country.  Their run defense has been stifling, ranking third and allowing just under 78 yards per game.  As strong as they have been against the run, they have been sloppy against the pass, allowing 212 yards per game and ranking 58th
in the category.  However, allowing teams to pass the ball might be some strange genius strategy because USF leads the nation with 15 interceptions, three more than second place Duke, Cal, and Stanford, in one less game. 

Defensive backs, Devin Abraham and Mazzi Wilkins lead the team and tie for 12th nationally with 3 picks apiece.  Senior linebacker, Auggie Sanchez  has turned his two interceptions into touchdowns, the only player on the team to do so.  Defensive back, Deatrick Nichols, and linebacker, Nico Sawtelle, each have a pair of picks for themselves.  Those 15 interceptions are a big part of the reason that USF leads the nation in turnover margin, gaining 18 and losing just five possessions. 

Sanchez and Sawtelle lead the team with 38 and 27 tackles, respectively.  Nichols is third with 26 tackles.  Linemen, Mike Love and Bruce Hector have 3.5 and 3 sacks, leading the team. 

Expectations
Tulane’s weakness against the run will play poorly against USF’s strength in the same.  That doesn’t bode well for the Green Wave.  Their strength of running the ball on offense will be tested by USF’s top ten rushing defense.  Expect a lopsided score in favor of USF just based on those matchups.  Passing shouldn’t be much of a factor, but turnovers probably will be, since both teams rank highly in turnover margin. 

Summary
USF are just 11.5  point favorites on the road at Tulane, with a target over /  under of just 54.5.  Based on the ESPN FPI, the Bulls have a 68% chance of winning.  Kickoff is at 7 PM EDT, with the game broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

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