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.