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How Can Tulane Offense Get Back to Basics Against Rice?
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- How Can Tulane Offense Get Back to Basics Against Rice?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Tulane Green Wave offense felt like it lost a lot of the creativity that it displayed against the Charlotte 49ers, and the offensive line that previously stood tall could not hold up against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Receivers weren't able to break free of coverage in time, and what was the sixth iteration of the offensive line could not shore up their pass protection.
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After previously being able to protect Trace Johnson fairly well on the year, the true freshman quarterback was sacked six times by the Golden Hurricane.
Now, they are tied for the American Conference lead in sacks with the ECU Pirates, with Tulsa racking up 24 in nine games played. But that was not an offense that will be able to sustain drives without a lot of that fixed.
The confidence under center that we'd seen with Johnson wasn't strong on Saturday, and it felt like the pressure started getting to him with a little too much juice on some downfield throws, one of which ended up being an interception.
The bounce back from this game will take a lot of mental toughness, but it will truly show how much the redshirt freshman has in him.
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With that needs to come a more complementary game plan that can sustain more than three drives.
The three that they were able to keep going on went for 11 plays each, including their opening drive that should have resulted in points.
It's now quite clear how important a punter is both as that role and as a holder.
The other two ended in the sole points on the day.
Outside of those drives, nearly all were three-and-out or just about that.
It felt like there was no rhythm or dance being done with playcalling with respect to the run and the pass, switching between them without any changeup.
The passing game also saw Johnson only attempt 19 passes, which stood in contrast to 40 run attempts on the evening.
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That feels like it should have led to a better time of possession, one that was distorted by the nine-plus minutes the Wave had it in the fourth quarter when things were completely out of hand and didn't matter.
The run game was ineffective , and that also played a role in the amount that Tulsa rushed the passer, as did a major point deficit that required some hero ball the Wave couldn't pull out of a hat.
Whatever the formula is, they'll need to find a way back to making magic.
