No. 23 Tulane beats UTSA 29-16, clinches spot in AAC title game

No. 23 Tulane was known for its explosive offense during its triumphant 2022 season that included an American Athletic Conference title and a 46-45 Cotton Bowl victory over USC.

On Friday, Tulane leaned on its defense in a 29-16 victory over UTSA that clinched a return to the AAC title game.

In the win, Tulane’s defense forced five turnovers and got two pivotal fourth-down stops in the fourth quarter to put an end to any hopes of a UTSA comeback. The Green Wave intercepted UTSA quarterback Frank Harris on the Roadrunners’ first two offensive possessions.

Later on in the first half, Tulane forced a fumble and got another interception on a fake punt try from UTSA. Those turnovers allowed Tulane to build a 23-10 halftime lead and it never look back. In the second half, Tulane forced another UTSA fumble — this time deep in Green Wave territory. And on the next possession, UTSA turned it over on downs in the red zone.

All the while, the Green Wave couldn’t get much going on offense other than a heavy workload from freshman running back Makhi Hughes, who finished with a career-high 166 rushing yards on 26 carries. Veteran quarterback Michael Pratt went just 9-of-22 through the air, but he tossed two touchdown passes, both of which went to freshman Chris Brazzell, and added 50 rushing yards.

Thanks to their opportunistic defense, those efforts on offense were enough for the Green Wave to pull out another huge victory.

Tulane will now host AAC title game, likely vs. SMU

With the win, Tulane finished the regular season with an 11-1 overall record — the program’s best since it went 11-0 back in 1931. And with an 8-0 mark in conference play, the Green Wave will host the AAC title game for the second consecutive season. Tulane will likely meet SMU in the conference championship game provided the Mustangs take care of business at home versus Navy on Saturday.

Tulane entered the weekend as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the country. That means if the Green Wave win the AAC title, they will go back to a New Year’s Six bowl game for the second consecutive season.

Now in its eighth season under head coach Willie Fritz, Tulane is 23-3 combined over the past two seasons after going 2-10 in 2021. Fritz was a hot name during the coaching carousel last season, but opted to stay at Tulane. Will he turn down other suitors again?

UTSA's seven-game winning streak came to an end with the loss. The Roadrunners, in their first season in the AAC, were previously undefeated in conference play after going 1-3 in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Now 8-4, UTSA could still reach the AAC title game if SMU loses to Navy on Saturday. If SMU loses, the AAC would use a composite average of selected computer rankings to determine the second spot between the Mustangs and Roadrunners. However, that average heavily favored SMU entering the weekend.

And like Fritz, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor's name has been a popular one in coaching rumors. Traylor led the Roadrunners to a combined 23-5 record with two Conference USA titles over the past two seasons before the program transitioned to the AAC. He's now 38-14 overall in his four seasons on the job.