Oklahoma

Tulane Green Wave Seek Bounce Back Win on Road at Oklahoma Sooners

Published

3 months ago

September 9, 2024

Tulane Green Wave Seek Bounce Back Win on Road at Oklahoma Sooners

The Tulane Green Wave can’t dwell on what happened against Kansas State. A trip to Oklahoma is just a few days away.

The Green Wave (1-1) travel to the Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) for a 2:30 p.m. central game on ESPN. Tulane will get a second massive showcase on the biggest network in sports against a power conference team it is capable of beating.

Yep, that’s the only logical assumption after last week — the Green Wave may be underdogs, but they certainly have a chance.

Tulane had every chance to beat Kansas State on Saturday, losing by seven points. The brilliance of their young quarterback, Darian Mensah, was overshadowed a bit by his late fumble, which led to Kansas State’s go-ahead touchdown. But he showed great poise in a game where he was under immense pressure and that bodes well for the rest of the season.

On the other hand, Oklahoma is coming off a 14-12 win over Houston. Sooners coach Brent Venables said they should have lost. And if you watched the game, you’d have to agree with him. The Sooners were able to avert an embarrassing loss against a former Big 12 comrade.

But what happens now? Are the Sooners in trouble? Does that close call jolt them from an early-season funk? No one can be sure until Saturday.

Tulane has been to Norman before and the Green Wave nearly beat the Sooners in their last meeting three years ago. And one could argue that this Sooners team is not as good as the one Tulane nearly beat in 2021.

Here is a preview of the Green Wave and the Wildcats.

Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Time: 2:30 p.m. CT

TV: ESPN

Radio: KVDU 104.1 The Spot (flagship)

Coaches: Tulane — Jon Sumrall (1-1 at Tulane, 24-5 career as head coach); Oklahoma — Brent Venables (18-10 at Oklahoma and overall).

Fun fact: Oklahoma joined the SEC this year. Tulane was a member of the SEC from 1932-65. The Green Wave won three SEC titles in 1934, 1939 and 1949. So, college football fans live in a world where Tulane has more SEC titles than Oklahoma.

All-Times Series: Oklahoma leads series, 2-0

Last meeting: Oklahoma def. Tulane, 40-35 (Sept. 4, 2021).

Series notes: Yes, the two teams have only met twice. The 2021 game was supposed to be in New Orleans, but Hurricane Ida forced the game to be moved to Norman.

Last Week: Tulane lost to Kansas State, 34-27; Oklahoma def. Houston, 14-12

About Tulane: No one in New Orleans was happy with the ending to the Kansas State game, but there’s an awful lot for the Green Wave to build on.

It’s clear the decision to start Mensah, a redshirt freshman, was the right one as he built on his performance against Southeastern Louisiana in a big way against K-State. The defense built on the opportunistic brand of ball it played in the season opener.

Perhaps most importantly, Tulane proved that even it lost great players like quarterback Michael Pratt, the Green Wave is still capable of competing with power conference competition. Yes, Tulane is not undefeated anymore. But the Sumrall era is off to a good start.

About Oklahoma: This is year three for Venables and the locals in Norman are starting to get a smidge restless. After years of winning Big 12 titles and making the College Football Playoff under Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley, the Sooners failed to reach the Big 12 Championship game in the first two years under Venables.

Now, Oklahoma moves into the SEC, where right now it appears to be “just another team.” That is not Oklahoma’s standard. Things only got more complicated for Venables after his Sooners barely beat Houston on Saturday.

Imagine the embarrassment had the Sooners lost to a Big 12 team, and a second-year Big 12 team at that? Venables has some things to prove.

Next Up: Tulane travels to Louisiana on Sept. 21. Oklahoma opens SEC play at home against Tennessee on Sept. 21.

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Oklahoma

‘So what? Now what?’: Alabama players react to loss to Oklahoma

Published

3 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

‘So what? Now what?’: Alabama players react to loss to Oklahoma

No. 7 Alabama football should have defeated unranked Oklahoma. But the Crimson Tide didn’t.

Oklahoma had only won one SEC game all season. It wasn’t even bowl eligible before Saturday.

Then, the Alabama offense failed to score a touchdown and sputtered for much of the night. The Crimson Tide defense couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s rushing attack when the game was still close.

Alabama turned the ball over three times, with three Jalen Milroe interceptions.

As a result, the Crimson Tide fell 24-3 to the Sooners on Saturday at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.

“There is no excuse,” linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “None. Everybody saw it. Whoever was watching the game. We lost, and we’ve got to take it on the chin and keep learning from that.”

Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) gave up 325 yards, with 257 yards, on the ground to Oklahoma and two touchdowns. Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5) had the nation’s 90th ranked scoring offense entering the game.

“Our job was to out-execute those guys, and we fell short tonight,” Campbell said.

Meanwhile, the Alabama offense tallied only 234 yards, with 164 through the air and 70 on the ground, to score only a field goal.

Milroe, who gashed LSU on the ground two weeks ago, couldn’t get anything going with his legs with only seven yards on 15 carries.

“They had a great game plan for us,” offensive lineman Tyler Booker said. “We’ve just got to get a hat on a hat. We have to execute better.”

The Alabama players who took part in interviews postgame showed a clear and intentional interest in moving on quickly from the result and performance in Norman.

“So what? Now what?” Booker said. “Can’t do anything about what just happened. What we can do is make sure we prepare our tails off.”

Next up is a matchup with Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium to close out the regular season. Alabama won’t make the SEC Championship Game, but it might not yet be eliminated from the playoff just yet. The Allstate playoff predictor on Saturday night gave the Crimson Tide a 31% chance to still make the postseason.

“Got a big game next week,” Booker said. “Got to put all of our focus and energy there. Can’t do anything about what just happened. We’ve got to put all of our focus and energy into next week.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

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Oklahoma

Live Updates: No. 7 Alabama Football at Oklahoma

Published

11 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Live Updates: No. 7 Alabama Football at Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla.–– Alabama has one final road test to pass in the regular season if it wants to compete for an SEC title and make it back to the College Football Playoff.

The No. 7 Crimson Tide plays at Oklahoma on Saturday night in the first matchup as conference foes in the SEC. BamaCentral will have coverage all night from Norman. Follow along for updates.

BE SURE TO REFRESH YOUR BROWSER FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

(latest updates at the top)

Who: Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (5-5, 1-4)

When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium

TV: ABC/ESPN+

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).

Series: Oklahoma leads 3-2-1

Last meeting: Alabama defeated the Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff 45-34. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns while the Crimson Tide rushed for 200 yards across 42 carries between Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris and Najee Harris.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dominated Mercer 52-7 at home behind three touchdowns from Jalen Milroe and two touchdowns from Ryan Williams. The Alabama defense forced three more turnovers as they’ve now forced 16 in the last five games, making life challenging on opposing offenses.

Last time out, Oklahoma: The Sooners were off this past week, but went to Missouri two weeks ago and lost 30-23 after losing a fumble for a touchdown in the game’s final minutes. Oklahoma’s played five conference games and only won at Auburn this season.

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Oklahoma

Staff predictions: Our picks for No. 7 Alabama at Oklahoma

Published

19 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Staff predictions: Our picks for No. 7 Alabama at Oklahoma

After falling twice away from home already this season, No. 7 Alabama will look to avoid a potential trap game in its final road trip of the regular season. The Crimson Tide (8-2, 5-2 in the SEC) will visit Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday inside Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

This will be the seventh matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma. The Sooners hold a 3-2-1 advantage in the series, but the Tide won the most recent meeting, recording a 45-34 victory in the 2018 Orange Bowl. Alabama is currently a 14-point favorite for Saturday’s game, according to the Caesars Sportsbook.

Here’s how Tide Illustrated’s staff thinks the game will play out.

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