Keys to Victory for Tulane vs UTSA

Tulane 2026 Football Schedule

Tonight in Yulman Stadium, the Tulane football team entertains Texas-San Antonio. Kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. CT.

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It's the second week in a row the Green Wave has had to battle the top team in the American Conference. The Roadrunners are unbeaten in three games for their American part of the schedule thus far, 6-1 overall. Last week, the Greenies welcomed a 2-0 in league play Memphis, who was 5-1 on the season and proceeded to dismantle the Tigers en route to a 31-17 butt whupping. Here's what the Wave needs to do to repeat that success.

#1 - Get the UTSA Quarterback off his Rhythm

This Texas-San Antonio offense is very much predicated on rhythm: three-to-five step drops by quarterback Owen McCown and quick routes by his receivers, tight ends, and running backs. The key to disrupting that is to play tight in the secondary and push the pressure at the defensive front.

You cannot expect the Tulane defense, like last week, to get six turnovers every game, even though it would be nice. Against this fast-charging offense, the Tulane D must make McCown not be able to make those snap decision he has been so good at doing. That won't be easy. McCown's father and uncle played in the NFL, so he's got that pedigree we speak about when mentioning the Tulane freshman QB. This will not be accomplished on one play. It will need to be consistent across the board, much like last week.

#2 - Run the Ball, Successfully

The Wave offensive front did an impressive job of protecting their freshman quarterback last week against what was headlined as a Memphis front that puts up a lot of pressure. Trace Johnson was sacked only once and was not pressured once, according to the official statistics. This is important, but not as important as springing those Tulane running backs loose.

Though the Green Wave has seen spurts of production in the running game, keeping the volatile UTSA offense off the field can be accomplished with a successful running game, especially with more wide runs, capitalizing on the speed of backs like Mo Turner, Jaylin Lucas, and Jamauri McClure. Runs up the middle are good (a sideways glance at Johnnie Daniels and DJ Dugar here), but it will be important to get these Tulane speedsters into space. That will open things up for those all-important up-the-gut runs.

#3 - Continue to Let the Frosh Develop at his Pace

Trace Johnson is a talented young man, who can make split-second decisions and rarely makes mistakes. However, the operative word here is "young." He's 18-years old and has a bundle of growing to do, yet his youth is outranked by his natural abilities. Much like McCown of UTSA, Johnson has NFL pedigree on his side, since his father, Doug Johnson, played seven seasons in the league, as did his coach last year, Carson Palmer.

Will Hall said this week that Trace didn't start earlier because Hall and his coaches were waiting for the team to grow up around him. Hall also said he and offensive coordinator Russ Calloway let Johnson loose as the game wore on. We believe that the team's growth is happening and continuing to happen, and that the patience the coaching staff has shown needs to continue to be the key, though we'd love to see Johnson let loose sometimes, too.

We believe you will see the youngster complete those long passes he attempted last against and with the gale force winds in Yulman Stadium. Without Mother Nature interfering, expect to see Johnson's wide receivers (we're looking at you, Fat Hill, Zycarl Lewis, and Anthony Brown-Stephens in particular) come down with a rainbow or two, which will open everything else up substantially.