UMass at Tulane 9/3/22 - College Football Picks & Predictions

The UMass Minutemen will hope to improve off of a horrible season when they open the year at Yulman Stadium against the Tulane Green Wave. UMass won just one game last season, a home contest against UConn, but finished 1-11 and weren’t particularly close in any of those games. Tulane also had a rough last year, they finished 2-10 with wins over Morgan State and South Florida. 

Tulane will return junior Michael Pratt at quarterback, he’s in his third year in the program but will need to take a big step forward. Pratt completed 57.6% of his passes for 2,381 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. Tyjae Spears will look to improve from last season, he had over 1,000 total yards and nine touchdowns last year.

Tulane’s defense had a ton of problems last season they allowed 34 points per game and were unable to stop the pass or the run in most games. The Green Wave allowed over 400 total yards four times, including 612 and 707 in losses to Ole Miss and SMU.

UMass was easily one of the worst teams in college football last season and scored just 16.3 points per game last season. Five different quarterbacks took snaps, and they manage just 150 yards and less than a touchdown per game. Runningback Ellis Merriweather will be back to lead the offense, he had 1,303 total yards and six touchdowns last season. 

The Minutemen allowed 43.1 points per game last season, the most in college football, and there isn’t much of a reason to believe that turns around. They forced just under a turnover per game, and they struggled to stop the run or pass allowing 486.6 yards per game last season.