Tulane Hosts SMU in AAC Title Game

The 17th-ranked Tulane Green Wave (11-1) are looking to win back-to-back American Athletic Conference titles on Saturday against the 25th-ranked SMU Mustangs (10-2). This is the last year that the Mustangs can win an AAC title as they are moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next year.

Missing Link

SMU sophomore Preston Stone has been the starting quarterback for the Mustangs all year. Stone is out after breaking his leg against Navy last Saturday. Quarterback Kevin Jennings is expected to start in his place.

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Stone threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns with six interceptions. Jennings will attempt to file the hole that Stone will leave. Jennings has 224 passing yards and three touchdowns this season.

Strength in Numbers

The good news is that SMU doesn’t just rely on one guy. The team has six rushers with over 100 yards when excluding Stone. Jaylan Knighton leads the way with 645 rushing yards followed by LJ Johnson Jr. with 542.

The Mustangs also have eight players with over 300 receiving yards. SMU doesn’t have one true top target with four of them are over 400 yards.

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SMU’s defense has 40 sacks and 10 interceptions. Elijah Roberts creates pressure and leads the team with 8.5 sacks and is backup by Isaiah Nwokobia who has three picks.

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Defending Champs

Quarterback Michael Pratt has lead the Green Wave to 11 wins with the teams only loss coming at the hand of the Ole Miss Rebels (10-2) in week two. Pratt has 2,168 passing yards and 21 touchdowns with four interceptions.

Powerhouse Makhi Hughes leads the team in rushing with 1,246 tards and seven touchdowns. He has rushed for over 100 yards in seven of his last eight games. He is coming off of a season-high 166 rushing yards against the UTSA Roadrunners (8-4).

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Down the field, you can find Chris Brazzell II and Lawrence Keys III who lead the lead in receiving yards with 670 and 599, respectively.

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Tulane’s defense has caused 22 turnovers over 15 interceptions and seven fumbles. Lance Robinson and DJ Douglas make for a dangerous pair with four and three picks, respectively.

What to Watch For

To beat the Mustangs, Tulane will need to slow down their offense, which sounds easier than it is. SMU averages 480.1 yards per game and 41.8 points compared to Tulane’s 397.8 yards and 27.9 points per game.

The Green Wave should be able to limit the Mustangs’ run game, as they allow only 86 rushing yards per game. Tulane will have to attack fast and hope that SMU’s offense takes some time to find its footing with Jennings at the helm, otherwise it may become a track race that the Green Wave may struggle to keep up in.

Tulane will host SMU at Yulman Stadium Saturday at 4 p.m.