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.

2021 Tulane Green Wave football
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	2–10 (1–7 American)
Head coach	Willie Fritz (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Chip Long (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Hampton (1st season)
Home stadium	Yulman Stadium (capacity: 30,000) Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Legion Field
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Cincinnati y$^		8	–	0					13	–	1
No. 17 Houston y		8	–	0					12	–	2
UCF		5	–	3					9	–	4
East Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	5
Tulsa		5	–	3					7	–	6
SMU		4	–	4					8	–	4
Memphis		3	–	5					6	–	6
Navy		3	–	5					4	–	8
Tulane		1	–	7					2	–	10
South Florida		1	–	7					2	–	10
Temple		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Cincinnati 35, Houston 20
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

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.^[1] On December 10, Fritz announced the firing of defensive coordinator Jack Curtis.^[2] Chris Hampton was named the new defensive coordinator on December 18.^[3]

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^[4]	Dorian Williams	LB	JR
Doak Walker Award^[5]	Cameron Carroll	RB	SO
Rimington Trophy^[6]	Sincere Haynesworth	OL	JR
Ray Guy Award^[7]	Ryan Wright	P	SR
Paul Hornung Award^[8]	Jha’Quan Jackson	WR	JR
Wuerffel Trophy^[9]	Richard Carthon	S	SR
Manning Award^[10]	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.^[11] 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 Stadium Norman, OK^[a]	ABC	L 35–40	42,206
September 11	6:00 p.m.	Morgan State*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL^[b]	ESPN+	W 69–20	2,100
September 18	7:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Ole Miss*	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 21–61	54,198
September 25	7:00 p.m.	UAB*	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPN+	L 21–28	16,023
October 2	2:30 p.m.	at East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN+	L 29–52	33,475
October 7	6:30 p.m.	Houston	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPN	L 22–40	15,026
October 21	6:30 p.m.	at No. 21 SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPN	L 26–55	22,843
October 30	11:00 a.m.	No. 2 Cincinnati	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPN2	L 12–31	17,012
November 6	3:00 p.m.	at UCF	Bounce House Orlando, FL	ESPNU	L 10–14	41,030
November 13	3:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	L 13–20 ^OT	22,784
November 20	11:00 a.m.	South Florida	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPN+	W 45–14	14,496
November 27	6:30 p.m.	at Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNU	L 28–33	27,416
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[14][15]

1. 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.^[12]
2. 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.^[13]

Game summaries

No. 2 Oklahoma

Oklahoma at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 2 Sooners 14 23 3 0 40 Green Wave 14 0 8 13 35 Date: September 4, 2021 Location: Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK Game start: 11:07 a.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 57 minutes Game attendance: 42,206 Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: SW 14 MPH Referee: Michael Vandervelde TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch (play–by–play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), and Kris Budden (sideline reporter)

Scoring summary 1 11:15 TULN Cameron Carroll 6-yard pass from Michael Pratt (Graham Dable kick) (8 plays, 55 yards, 3:08) TULN 7–0 05:59 OU Spencer Rattler 1-yard rush (Gabe Brkic kick) (11 plays, 75 yards, 5:16) TIE 7–7 04:44 TULN Jaetavian Toles 15-yard rush (Graham Dable kick) (4 plays, 75 yards, 1:15) TULN 14–7 02:38 OU Caleb Williams 1-yard rush (Gabe Brkic kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 2:06) TIE 14–14 2 10:00 OU Kennedy Brooks 1-yard rush (Gabe Brkic kick) (9 plays, 84 yards, 4:53) OU 21–14 08:59 OU Gabe Brkic 26-yard field goal (4 plays, 2 yards, 0:49) OU 24–14 07:58 OU Gabe Brkic 51-yard field goal (4 plays, 0 yards, 0:53) OU 27–14 03:01 OU Mario Williams 6-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (Gabe Brkic kick) (7 plays, 78 yards, 3:03) OU 34–14 00:00 OU Gabe Brkic 56-yard field goal (3 plays, 2 yards, 0:30) OU 37–14 3 03:31 TULN Michael Pratt 4-yard rush (Duece Watts two-point conversion rush) (11 plays, 42 yards, 3:44) OU 37–22 01:01 OU Gabe Brkic 55-yard field goal (7 plays, 37 yards, 2:30) OU 40–22 4 11:28 TULN Cameron Carroll 5-yard pass from Michael Pratt (two-point conversion rush attempt failed) (8 plays, 47 yards, 2:23) OU 40–28 02:18 TULN Will Wallace 5-yard pass from Michael Pratt (Merek Glover kick) (8 plays, 80 yards, 2:45) OU 40–35

See also: 2021 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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
	Rushing	Kennedy Brooks	14 rushes, 87 yards, TD
	Receiving	Marvin Mims	5 receptions, 117 yards
Tulane	Passing	Michael Pratt	27/44, 296 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Michael Pratt	15 rushes, 34 yards, TD
	Receiving	Tyrick James	6 receptions, 93 yards

References

1. "Fritz Tabs Chip Long as Tulane's New Offensive Coordinator". Tulane Athletics. December 8, 2020.
2. Symonds, Tom (December 10, 2020). "Tulane fires defensive coordinator Jack Curtis". crescentcitysports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
3. "Fritz Welcomes Back Chris Hampton as Tulane's New Defensive Coordinator". Tulane Athletics. December 18, 2020.
4. "2021 Bednarik Award Watch List: Kyle Hamilton, Kayvon Thibodeaux top names to watch". July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
5. "2021 Doak Walker Watch Release" (PDF). July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
6. "2021 Rimington Trophy Watch List". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
7. "Ray Guy Award". July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
8. "2021 Paul Hornung Award watch list released". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
9. "2021 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
10. "Allstate Sugar Bowl announces Manning Award Watch List". August 5, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
11. "Cincinnati Chosen as Favorite in American Preseason Media Poll". theAmerican.org. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
12. Kelley, Kevin (August 30, 2021). "Oklahoma at Tulane football game moved to Norman due to Hurricane Ida". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
13. "Tulane moves second home game vs. Morgan St. to Birmingham". usatoday.com. September 2, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
14. "2021 Tulane Football Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
15. "Tulane Football Announces 2021 Schedule". Tulane Athletics. Retrieved February 20, 2021.