Oklahoma-Tulane Preview: Three Keys to the Game

NORMAN — Oklahoma obviously has a little work to do before SEC play comes to town next week.

First up, though, is beating Tulane.

The Green Wave (1-1) has talent and depth. They nearly beat Kansas State last week in New Orleans. The same program nearly won in Norman three years ago. They were 12-2 in 2022, and 11-3 last year. 

But most of Oklahoma’s problems comes Saturday will stem from Oklahoma, not Tulane.

The No. 15-ranked Sooners are a 13 1/2-point favorite, but that spread seems sketchy after last week’s 16-12 near-debacle with Houston, in which OU was favored by 27 1/2.

Brent Venables’ squad spent the week trying to get key players healthy — namely wide receiver Nic Anderson, center Branson Hickman and right tackle Jake Taylor. If those three are able to make their return to the field when the game kicks off at 2:30 p.m., life will become a little easier for offensive coordinator Seth Littrell and quarterback Jackson Arnold.

Aside from the obvious — getting people healthy and staying healthy for next week’s SEC opener against Tennessee — here are three keys to the game:

In two games against FCS Southeastern Louisiana and Big 12 contender Kansas State, Tulane ranks in the top 60 in the nation in total offense (32nd), rushing offense (43rd), passing offense (34th), passing efficiency (8th), scoring offense (33rd), total defense (59th), passing defense (35th), scoring defense (56th) and time of possession (46th). 

They’re also 27th nationally in third-down conversion percentage, meaning they know how to stay on the field, and they’re 35th in third down conversion defense, meaning they know how to get off the field.

For an Oklahoma offense that ranks 131st nationally in third down offense and 107th in time of possession, this could be huge.

OU may be favored by two touchdowns, but against a complete team like Tulane, the Sooners would be wise to play like they’re two-TD underdogs.

The Green Wave isn’t coming into Norman scared or intimidated or even impressed, and they’re going to try to turn this thing into an all-day fist fight.

Tulane is a decidedly triple-threat offense: Quarterback Darian Mensah ranks 26th in the nation at 273.5 passing yards per game and running back Makhi Hughes is 30th nationally at 93.5 rushing yards per game.

But the Green Wave’s best player is a former Sooner: wide receiver Mario Williams ranks ninth in the nation with 126 receiving yards per game.

Williams is a former Rivals 5-star prospect from Plant City, FL, who committed to OU over Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, USC and others.

Of course, he only played one season for the Sooners — he caught 35 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman — before following Lincoln Riley to USC. He didn’t fully enjoy his two seasons in Troy, even though he caught 40-631-5 in 2022 and 29-305-2 in 2023.

Williams isn’t some scrappy Group of 5 wideout who wins with guile and guts. He’s an elite athlete, a blue blood talent with game-breaking skills. 

So far this season, Williams is averaging 25 yards per catch. Last week against K-State, he had six catches for 128 yards while Mensah passed for 342 yards and two TDs and Hughes ran for 128 yards and a touchdown.

Tulane is a lot better than Houston. If Oklahoma is going to avoid a tense fourth quarter, the Sooner defense is going to have to have its best game of the season so far, generating pressure (and maybe takeaways) from Mensah, and corralling Hughes while not letting Williams run wild.

Brent Venables proudly says Oklahoma leads the nation in field position (this website says OU ranks third, just behind Tennessee) with a net 20.6.

That could end up being the winning metric against Tulane.

The Green Wave is good at converting third downs, and they’re good at possessing the football. For OU to win Saturday, they might have to dominate field position again and make Tulane’s dangerous offense go cross country.

Using the same metrics as above, Tulane ranks 31st in net starting field position. 

Much of OU’s success comes from takeaways against Temple (especially one that started at the 6-yard line and a punt that was fumbled and returned for a touchdown), but punter Luke Elzinga and kickoff man Zach Schmit have been strong components as well.

Elzinga is averaging 43.9 yards per punt, but he’s flipped the field with three 50-yarders and has dropped six of his 12 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

Schmit, meanwhile, has placed nine of his 13 kickoffs into the end zone, and opponents are taking over at the 23 on average after Schmit’s kickoffs.