Tulane vs Southern Miss: Wave Has Quarterback Questions

The Tulane Green Wave will travel to Hattiesburg, MS, for a showdown against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Tulane received bad news before their Top-25 matchup against Ole Miss. Star quarterback Michael Pratt could not play for the Green Wave due to his injury in Week 1 against South Alabama.

After falling apart in the second half, Tulane lost to Ole Miss, 37-20. It’s unclear if Pratt can take the field against Southern Miss. With Tulane sitting at -11.5 against the spread, the Green Wave could give Pratt another week of rest and roll with backup quarterback Kai Horton.

On the other hand, Southern Miss lost to Florida State, 66-13, in last week’s matchup. The team struggled to find much offense, couldn’t get many stops on defense, and added 13 penalties in that game.

That’s inexcusable.

Does Tulane have enough in the tank to earn a cover against the Golden Eagles on Saturday?

Here’s our Tulane vs Southern Miss preview for Week 3 of the college football season.

Will Southern Miss Recover From Last Week’s Rout?

Last weekend, the Golden Eagles never stood a chance against the Florida State Seminoles. They went into half, down 31-3, and lost 66-13 in the game.

Southern Miss was worn down fast. By the second half, they physically ran out of steam. But the same thing happened to the LSU Tigers in Week 1. So if there’s any silver lining, that’s it.

Frank Gore Jr. only got 11 carries for 31 yards. He averaged 2.8 carries in the game. Meanwhile, Rodrigues Clark, another Southern Miss running back, added 86 yards on 15 carries. He only had a long rush of 14 yards, so he was more consistent in the run game for Southern Miss against Florida State.

The Golden Eagles started the game with eight straight passes. They didn’t give Gore the ball until late in the first quarter on a one-yard rush on second-and-15.

Meanwhile, the passing game didn’t do anything, either. Billy Wiles went just 11-for-34 with 154 yards passing. He averaged 4.5 yards per pass and had one interception.

However, on defense, Southern Miss made Florida State a battle. The Golden Eagles forced a three-and-out on the second drive and earned a turnover-on-downs in the third series against Florida State.

The coverage was solid, and the pass rush did its thing. Even in the run game, Southern Miss didn’t look that bad. They were just physically outmatched. That will happen when you face a top-four team in the NCAA football rankings.

Tulane Needs Michael Pratt!

Michael Pratt was a game-time decision for the Tulane Green Wave before their game against Ole Miss. However, he didn’t take the field, leaving Kai Horton in the fire at quarterback.

Horton went 15-for-37 and threw for 231 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His QBR was just 18 in that game.

Horton’s a sophomore who is in his third season with Tulane. He’s completed just 36 of 79 passes, earning just a 45.6% completion percentage. Horton has averaged just 6.1 yards per catch and four touchdowns with four interceptions.

A whole game week of preparation should help Horton. But he’s not Michael Pratt. Pratt is a junior quarterback with four touchdowns and no interceptions to begin the season.

Last year, Pratt threw for over 3,000 yards and added 27 touchdowns with only five interceptions. In his career with Tulane, he’s thrown for nearly 7,500 yards and has added 20+ touchdowns in every season.

Pratt even outdueled Caleb Williams in the Cotton Bowl last year. He didn’t dominate statistically but helped Tulane beat USC, 46-45, with two touchdowns, no interceptions, with 234 yards passing and another 83 yards on the ground.

Tulane turned the ball twice against Ole Miss and lost the turnover battle. The Green Wave usually wins the turnover battle. His injury update will be something to keep an eye out for. Any significant news can change the college football odds for this game.

At this time, the line for Tulane has adjusted from -10.5 to -11.5. We saw some –12.5s come in for Tulane, but that’s been bet back down to -11.5.

Tulane vs Southern Miss Preview

As mentioned above, Tulane is currently at -11.5, with the total at 52.5 for its game against Southern Miss.

Tulane’s quarterback situation is something to monitor. But there have been no updates yet. Tulane will likely wait until game day to release any information. However, it’s just Week 3. Tulane won’t want to rush Pratt back, who is dealing with a knee injury. Those are dangerous in football.

Therefore, we believe Kai Horton will get the start for Tulane. Horton’s first season start came against a top-25-ranked Ole Miss team. But the Tulane offensive line hasn’t impressed. We also don’t think Tulane has a lot of consistent playmakers. The Green Wave has guys that can make a big play down the field. But for example, Makhi Hughes has only rushed for 4.3 yards per carry through two games.

Lawrence Keys III has nine receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown. But he’ll be no good if Horton can’t get him the ball consistently.

On the other hand, Southern Miss needs to tackle better. The Golden Eagles have missed so many tackles in the season’s first two games. The loss to Florida State was expected. They hung around defensively until they were worn down.

Tulane won’t wear down Southern Miss like the Seminoles did. Better yet, Southern Miss probably has better coverage and pass rush defensively than Tulane.

Meanwhile, Tulane’s run defense has held teams to 82 yards per game. That run defense is excellent and better than the Golden Eagles run defense. But again, Southern Miss will compete in the passing game.

Don’t Sleep On Southern Miss!

It’s easy to look at last week’s Golden Eagles NCAA football scores and think they’re not a good football team. But they are! Southern Miss just ran into a dominant Florida State team that would be projected to make the College Football Playoff if the season ended before Week 3.

This Tulane vs Southern Miss preview is harder without knowing who will start for Tulane at quarterback. Michael Pratt is a terrific quarterback. But there are no updates, just like last weekend. We waited until game time to see if Pratt was available.

It’s Week 3. They won’t rush him back for a game against Southern Miss.

Tulane will likely win this game. But we’ve got Southern Miss covering the -11.5 points.

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