2015
Tulane
College Football
Betting Preview
Schedule and Odds
Tulane opened 2014 with a double-overtime loss at Tulsa and that was a sign of how the rest of the season would go in its first year in the AAC. The Green Wave finished with three wins as the offense was one of the worst in the nation. They managed a win at Houston, which came out of nowhere, but most of their other Games weren’t too close. With a decent amount of talent returning, their over/under is set at 5 wins (at 5 Dimes), which seems like a good goal for the team to set.
The offense scored a putrid 16 points per Game last year as freshman quarterback Tanner Lee threw only 12 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Improvement should be expected going into his second season, but Tulane will try and lean on its run Game as much as possible. Sherman Badie is still only a sophomore as well and he showed plenty of promise as a freshman, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He’ll be combined with the bigger LAzedrick Thompson out of the backfield. The offensive line returns Four starters so that group should be in for a good campaign.
However, the hope is that defenses don’t stack the box against them if Lee continues to have issues. Lee’s favorite receiver (Teddy Veal, 40 receptions) is back as well as tight end Charles Jones, who is expected to play a bigger role this season to make Lee’s job a little easier. They won’t be scoring 30 points per Game any time soon, but there should be improvement.
Tulane’s defense is in the same mold as that with expected improvement due to seven starters returning and experience returning at each level. The secondary leads the group, but with a couple big names gone, the Green Wave will have to lean on some new faces. Parry Nickerson should be a stud at cornerback after six interceptions as a freshman, and he’s joined by senior safety Darion Monroe.
The front seven will be led by end Royce LAFrance and linebacker Nico Marley, who have a lot of work to do as the most experienced players on the defense. Nickerson and Marley were both All-AAC honorable mentions last year and should make the first or second team as long as Tulane can get another win or two.
Unfortunately for the Green Wave, they’ll have a rough couple Games to open the season against two ACC teams who they struggled against last year. Their AAC Schedule doesn’t start too great either with three of their first five coming on the road and their two home Games coming against UCF and Houston. If they can grab a win in one of those contests, more than three wins should inevitable because they close the year with Four winnable Games, and a good reason why their over/under is at 5.
Tulane should surpass last year’s total, but expecting a bowl Game is probably too wishful, unless Tanner Lee makes leaps and bounds in his second season at quarterback. But with a decent amount of returning starters, this team at the least shouldn’t be as big of a walkover as last year.
2015 Tulane Football Schedule
Sept. 3 vs. Duke
Sept. 12 at Georgia Tech
Sept. 19 vs. Maine
Oct. 3 vs. UCF
Oct. 10 at Temple
Oct. 16 vs. Houston
Oct. 24 at Navy
Oct. 31 at Memphis
Nov. 7 vs. Connecticut
Nov. 14 at Army
Nov. 21 at SMU
Nov. 27 vs. Tulsa