AAC Game of the Week: Ole Miss at Tulane

A year ago, Tulane was the biggest surprise in college football, going from a 2-10 team in 2021 to 12-2 and winning the American Athletic Conference title last season. That was the biggest turnaround in NCAA history.

Now the expectations are high for the Green Wave. Ole Miss is expected to be competitive in that minefield of a division, the SEC West. 

Both have offenses that can generate points quickly, having combined for 110 points last week. 

Ole Miss at Tulane, 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Records: Ole Miss (1-0), Tulane (1-0)

BetMGM Line
Ole Miss -7.5 (-110)
Over/Under (64.5)

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Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin (85-47 overall, 24-13 at Ole Miss)

Tulane: Willie Fritz (198-114 overall, 44-45 at Tulane).

Sept. 18, 2021 – Ole Miss won 61-21 in Oxford. 

A nearly two-hour weather delay didn’t hurt the Ole Miss offense. Another interesting tidbit was that neither team scored in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss outgained Tulane 707-305 and had a 41-14 advantage in first downs. 

Ole Miss’s QB was Matt Corral, now with the New England Patriots. He threw for 335 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions and rushed for 68 yards (5.2 avg.) and four scores.

Tulane’s Michael Pratt was not yet the dominant player he is today. Pratt completed 10 of 18 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran for 37 yards on 11 carries.

Tulane would finish 2-10 that season while Ole Miss went 10-3.

It’s a chance for both nationally ranked teams to earn a quality win. Both teams are ranked in the Top 25 of USA Today’s Coaches Poll, with Ole Miss 20 and Tulane 22.

Tulane is the defending AAC champion and is looking to earn its second straight New Year’s Six bowl bid after beating USC, 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl. This also very well could be the best team that the Green Wave face in the regular season, and they will want to show that they can beat a quality SEC team.

In addition, Pratt, among others would likely want to give a payback for the trouncing that the Green Wave suffered in 2021. 

Ole Miss, coming off an 8-5 season, would like to gain some momentum before beginning its SEC schedule. After hosting Georgia Tech next week, the Rebels open SEC play by visiting Alabama on Sept. 23.

For Ole Miss:

The Rebels opened with last week’s 73-7 trouncing of visiting Mercer. Senior receiver Tre Harris had six receptions for 133 yards and four touchdowns. He became the first Ole Miss player to catch four touchdowns in a game. Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who began his career at USC, completed 18 of 23 for 334 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. 

On Monday, Kiffin announced that Dart has won the starting quarterback job. Also on the roster are transfer quarterbacks Spencer Sanders of Oklahoma State and Walker Howard of LSU. All three played in the win over Mercer.

The Rebels rushed for 143 yards (4.3 avg.) and three touchdowns. True freshman linebacker Suntarine Perkins led Ole Miss with nine tackles. 

For Tulane:

The Green Wave opened with an impressive 37-17 home win over South Alabama. That’s a South Alabama team that won 10 games last year and was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt West Division in the preseason poll, behind only defending champion Troy. Pratt completed 14 of 15 passes for 294 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 39 yards on 11 carries. 

Jha’Quan Jackson had three receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while Lawrence Keys III added four receptions for 96 yards and a score. The Green Wave also rushed for 142 yards (3.7 avg.). Valentino Ambrosio kicked three field goals of 29, 30 and 27 yards. Redshirt sophomore Corey Platt Jr. led the defensive effort with 15 tackles, while also recording a sack.

Pratt hadn’t emerged the last time Tulane faced Ole Miss, but he has become among the better quarterbacks in the country. Over his career, he has thrown 72 touchdown passes.

Tulane +7.5

Both teams have plenty of offensive weapons, but being home and having the more accomplished quarterback favors Tulane. One thing that will help Tulane is that it played a strong team last week in South Alabama, while Ole Miss warmed up with FCS Mercer.

It would not be surprising if Tulane won this game, so getting 7.5 points makes the Green Wave the choice.