Five Reasons Why Tulane Can Beat Cincinnati on Halloween

Tulane is preparing to morph Yulman Stadium into a haunted mansion when it hosts the Cincinnati Bearcats on Halloween this Friday. The 2-5 Green Wave suffered a close and hard-fought 20-13 loss to AAC title contender UCF last Saturday, but the boys from New Orleans are tired of moral victories and thirsty for Bearcat blood.

Using a nothing-to-lose-attitude while conjuring up some voodoo magic from the ghosts of Bourbon Street, Tulane has an excellent shot at notching win No. 3 on Halloween night.

Here are five reasons why the Green Wave can beat Cincinnati on Halloween.

1. Tanner Lee is ready to trick the Bearcats

Tulane’s freshman quarterback and Week 1 starter has not played since bruising his shoulder in a loss at Rutgers on Sep. 27. The 6-foot-4 signal caller looks to trick Cincinnati’s defense on Saturday night with improved play and better decision making.

“I’ve just got to stop taking so many hits,” Lee told NOLA.com this week. “A lot of those hits are my fault—just not getting rid of the ball fast enough or trying to do too much and that’s what I used this bye week for – a lot of self-evaluation and just going through all my plays over and over again until I realize all my options and how to get out of stuff.”

Lee put up big passing numbers — 914 yards, eight TDs — before his injury, but his nine interceptions overshadowed his solid arm and contributed the Green Wave dropping games earlier in the season. Lee is poised to make a big return after watching senior Nick Montana lead the offense against UConn and UCF.

A highly-motivated quarterback is always a plus when playing a more talented opponent.

2. Badie will drive UC batty

Badie is Tulane’s most horrifying player – if you’re a Bearcats defender.

The freshman stud injured his ankle against UCF in Week 8, but told NOLA.com that he’s ready to pound the rock against the hapless Cincinnati rush defense that ranks 109^th in the FBS and 10^th in the AAC (213.71 yards per game).

Since rushing for an incredible 215 yards on 15 carries in a Week 1 loss at Tulsa, Badie’s rushing average over the last six games dipped to 83 yards per game – injuries and inconsistent play by the O-Line is the primary blame.

Badie’s biggest stat, however, is his 6.61 yards per carry average; the freshman back has a tendency lull defenses asleep before running wild for a huge gain.

“It’s nice to have somebody who can get you out of a hole when you are backed up and Sherman can run off for 30 yards and it opens up so much,” Lee told NOLA.com.

Badie also has an impressive 87 yards receiving and four total touchdowns on the season. If he has a monster game against UC, his teammates may start calling him General Sherman Badie.

3. Bearcats might ‘Legaux’ of Kiel

Cincinnati’s prominent gunslinger, Gunner Kiel, injured his ribs in a win over South Florida last Saturday, causing him to leave the game in favor of a healthy Munchie Legaux, UC’s starting quarterback last season before he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Illinois in the second game.

Former journeyman and five-star recruit Kiel is second in the AAC in passing behind ECU’s Shane Carden, throwing for 2,049 yards, and leads the conference in passing touchdowns with 20.

But as of right now, Cincy head coach Tommy Tuberville hasn’t named a starter against the Green Wave; he says both his quarterbacks will see the field.

Legaux, a New Orleans native, looked great against an average Bulls pass defense in relief of Kiel, completing 14-of-15 passes for 121 yards. Solid numbers, but abysmal in comparison to the yards Kiel has accumulated in 2014.

If the Bearcats send Kiel to the bench for most of the game on Saturday, Tulane should respect Legaux as a talented player, but not as a dangerous passer. Hopefully the Green Wave has a chance to munch on Legaux Halloween night.

4. Green Wave have more time

My favorite part of Halloween growing up wasn’t necessarily the candy, the costumes, the parties, or the haunted houses (I’m not crazy, hear me out). It was that I could stay out practically all night and find something to do.

How does this relate to the game on Saturday? The Green Wave are third in the AAC in time of possession at 30 minutes and 35 second per game. UC, because of its up-tempo spread scheme, is ninth at 27:11.

If the freshman duo of Tanner Lee and Sherman Badie can lead a ball-control, no-turnover performance against the Bearcats, the Green Wave O may, virtually, never leave the field, in turn keeping the Bearcats’ (normally) explosive offense off it.

Time of possession is a critical stat for teams with less evasive offenses to win games. Keep Kiel, Legaux, or whoever leads Cincinnati off the field for most of Halloween and you stand a chance.

5. UC gives third-down treats

If you’re a loyal follower of the AAC, you know Cincinnati has arguably the worse defense in the conference, I mean second worst – forgot about SMU.

One defensive statistic has been extra horrifying for UC fans: The Bearcats are ranked 120^th in the FBS in third-down defense, surrendering first downs to the opposition 49 percent of the time. They have allowed 51 third-down conversions on the year; tied with South Florida for last in the AAC.

Tulane must take advantage on offense of the first-down treats the consistently bad Cincinnati defense will likely hand out.