# 2021 Tulane Green Wave football team

The 2021 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Green Wave played their home games at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, and competed in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by sixth-year head coach Willie Fritz.

## Preseason
### Coaching changes

Prior to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in December 2020, offensive coordinator Will Hall accepted the head coaching role at Southern Miss. Chip Long was hired to replace Hall. On December 10, Fritz announced the firing of defensive coordinator Jack Curtis. Chris Hampton was named the new defensive coordinator on December 18.
In March 2021, it was announced that Chris Watt would be the offensive line coach for Tulane.

### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Bednarik Award | Dorian Williams | LB | JR |
| Doak Walker Award | Cameron Carroll | RB | SO |
| Rimington Trophy | Sincere Haynesworth | OL | JR |
| Ray Guy Award | Ryan Wright | P | SR |
| Paul Hornung Award | Jha'Quan Jackson | WR | JR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Richard Carthon | S | SR |
| Manning Award | Michael Pratt | QB | SO |

### American Athletic Conference preseason media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021. Cincinnati, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Cincinnati | 262 (22) |
| 2 | UCF | 241 (2) |
| 3 | SMU | 188 |
| 4 | Houston | 181 |
| 5 | Memphis | 168 |
| 6 | Tulsa | 153 |
| 7 | Tulane | 132 |
| т-8 | East Carolina | 85 |
| т-8 | Navy | 85 |
| 10 | Temple | 46 |
| 11 | South Florida | 43 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 2 Oklahoma* | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | ABC | L 35–40 | 42,206 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Morgan State* | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL | ESPN+ | W 69–20 | 2,100 |
| September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Ole Miss* | Vaught–Hemingway StadiumOxford, MS (rivalry) | ESPN2 | L 21–61 | 54,198 |
| September 25 | 7:00 p.m. | UAB* | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ESPN+ | L 21–28 | 16,023 |
| October 2 | 2:30 p.m. | at East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ESPN+ | L 29–52 | 33,475 |
| October 7 | 6:30 p.m. | Houston | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ESPN | L 22–40 | 15,026 |
| October 21 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 21 SMU | Gerald J. Ford StadiumUniversity Park, TX | ESPN | L 26–55 | 22,843 |
| October 30 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 2 Cincinnati | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ESPN2 | L 12–31 | 17,012 |
| November 6 | 3:00 p.m. | at UCF | Bounce HouseOrlando, FL | ESPNU | L 10–14 | 41,030 |
| November 13 | 3:00 p.m. | Tulsa | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ESPNU | L 13–20 $^{OT}$ | 22,784 |
| November 20 | 11:00 a.m. | South Florida | Yulman StadiumNew Orleans, LA | ESPN+ | W 45–14 | 14,496 |
| November 27 | 6:30 p.m. | at Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, TN | ESPNU | L 28–33 | 27,416 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
    Schedule Source:
* ↑ Originally scheduled to be played as a home game, the game against Oklahoma was moved to Norman, Oklahoma on August 30, 2021, due to safety concerns related to Hurricane Ida. Tulane remained the designated home team despite Oklahoma hosting the game.
* ↑ Originally scheduled to be played as a home game, the game against Morgan State was moved to Birmingham, Alabama on September 2, 2021, due to safety concerns related to Hurricane Ida. Tulane remained the designated home team despite the neutral site.

## Game summaries
### No. 2 Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Sooners | 14 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 40 |
| Green Wave | 14 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 35 |
| Line | Over/under |
| OU –31.5 | 67 |
| Statistics | Oklahoma | Tulane |
| First downs | 24 | 24 |
| Total yards | 430 | 396 |
| Rushing yards | 116 | 100 |
| Passing yards | 314 | 296 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 33:22 | 26:38 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Oklahoma | Passing | Spencer Rattler | 30/39, 304 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Oklahoma | Rushing | Kennedy Brooks | 14 rushes, 87 yards, TD |
| Oklahoma | Receiving | Marvin Mims | 5 receptions, 117 yards |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 27/44, 296 yards, 3 TD |
| Tulane | Rushing | Michael Pratt | 15 rushes, 34 yards, TD |
| Tulane | Receiving | Tyrick James | 6 receptions, 93 yards |

### at Ole Miss

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Green Wave | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 17 Rebels | 19 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 61 |
at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS
* Date: Saturday, September 18, 2021
* Game time: *8:45 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 54,198
* Referee: Jason Autrey
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Anish Shroff (play-by-play) Mike Golic Jr. (color) Taylor McGregor (sideline)
* Pregame line: Ole Miss –14 • O/U: 77.5
*Originally scheduled to kickoff at 7:00 p.m. CST but was delayed due to inclement weather.
| Statistics | TULN | MISS |
| First downs | 14 | 41 |
| Total yards | 305 | 707 |
| Passing yards | 166 | 335 |
| Rushing yards | 139 | 372 |
| Penalties | 11–109 | 9–65 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 27:43 | 32:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 10/18, 166 yards, 2 TD |
| Tulane | Rushing | Devin Brumfield | 9 carries, 47 yards |
| Tulane | Receiving | Duece Watts | 2 receptions, 51 yards |
| Ole Miss | Passing | Matt Corral | 23/31, 335 yards, 3 TD |
| Ole Miss | Rushing | Jerrion Ealy | 15 carries, 103 yards |
| Ole Miss | Receiving | Jonathan Mingo | 6 receptions, 136 yards, 1 TD |

### at East Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Green Wave | 0 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 29 |
| • Pirates | 17 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 52 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TULN –3.0 | 64.5 |
| Statistics | Tulane | East Carolina |
| First downs | 19 | 25 |
| Total yards | 404 | 612 |
| Rushing yards | 124 | 310 |
| Passing yards | 280 | 302 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:41 | 34:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 22/36, 268 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT |
| Tulane | Rushing | Cameron Carroll | 9 car, 80 yds, 1 TD |
| Tulane | Receiving | Duece Watts | 4 rec, 79 yds |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 21/32, 288 yds, 2 TD |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Keaton Mitchell | 15 car, 222 yds, 2 TD |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Tyler Snead | 4 rec, 78 yds, 1 TD |

### Houston

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 14 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 40 |
| Green Wave | 0 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 22 |
| Line | Over/under |
| HOU –6.5 | 60 |
| Statistics | Houston | Tulane |
| First downs | 18 | 17 |
| Total yards | 435 | 308 |
| Rushing yards | 147 | 94 |
| Passing yards | 288 | 214 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:34 | 28:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Houston | Passing | Clayton Tune | 23/36, 288 yards, 3 TDs |
| Houston | Rushing | Alton McCaskill | 18 rushes, 93 yards, 1 TD |
| Houston | Receiving | KeSean Carter | 6 receptions, 69 yards |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 20/30, 214 yards, 2 TDs |
| Tulane | Rushing | Cameron Carroll | 13 rushes, 68 yards |
| Tulane | Receiving | Will Wallace | 2 receptions, 54 yards, 1 TD |

### at No. 21 SMU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Green Wave | 7 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 26 |
| • No. 21 Mustangs | 17 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 55 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| SMU –14.5 | 70.5 |
| Statistics | TULN | SMU |
| First downs | 18 | 31 |
| Total yards | 428 | 612 |
| Rushing yards | 194 | 174 |
| Passing yards | 234 | 438 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:37 | 34:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 11/22, 234 yards, 3 TD |
| Tulane | Rushing | Tyjae Spears | 14 rushes, 85 yards, TD |
| Tulane | Receiving | Jha'Quan Jackson | 2 receptions, 93 yards |
| SMU | Passing | Tanner Mordecai | 30/42, 427 yards, 3 TD |
| SMU | Rushing | Tre Siggers | 15 rushes, 81 yards, 2 TD |
| SMU | Receiving | Danny Gray | 8 receptions, 140 yards |

### No. 2 Cincinnati

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Bearcats | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| Green Wave | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| −28.0 | 61.5 |
| Statistics | CIN | TULN |
| First downs | 18 | 17 |
| Total yards | 351 | 280 |
| Rushing yards | 124 | 187 |
| Passing yards | 227 | 93 |
| Time of possession | 28:12 | 31:48 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| CIN | Passing | Desmond Ridder | 17/27, 227 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| CIN | Rushing | Jerome Ford | 18 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD |
| CIN | Receiving | Josh Whyle | 4 receptions, 79 yards, 2 TD |
| TULN | Passing | Kai Horton | 7/16, 79 yards, 2 INT |
| TULN | Rushing | Tyjae Spears | 19 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD |
| TULN | Receiving | Jha'Quan Jackson | 3 receptions, 34 yards |

### at UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Green Wave | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Knights | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Bulls | | | 0 |
| Green Wave | | | 0 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| South Florida | Passing |
| South Florida | Rushing |
| South Florida | Receiving |
| Tulane | Passing |
| Tulane | Rushing |
| Tulane | Receiving |

### at Memphis

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Green Wave | | | 0 |
| Tigers | | | 0 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Tulane | Passing |
| Tulane | Rushing |
| Tulane | Receiving |
| Memphis | Passing |
| Memphis | Rushing |
| Memphis | Receiving |