CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Saturday, Dec. 2 4 p.m. ET Yulman Stadium (40,000/UBU Speed Series 5M)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Television ABC Roy Philpott, Roddy Jones and Taylor McGregor
Satellite Radio SiriusXM 384 (SMU feed); 113 (Tulane feed)
SMU Radio KTCK-FM 96.7 (flagship) Tulane Radio KVDU-FM 104.1 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 30th meeting between SMU and Tulane in a series that dates to 1943 … SMU holds a 15-14 series lead and had won the last seven meetings until Tulane’s 59-24 victory last season at Yulman Stadium … SMU is making its first appearance in The American Championship, while Tulane is playing in The American Championship for the second consecutive year … This year’s game marks the ninth time in as many years that The American Championship is carried live on ABC … The American champion has gone on to earn a New Year’s Six bowl appearance in each of the last six seasons … This year’s championship game is one of six in Championship Week between two top-25 teams (along with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC championship games).
SMU MUSTANGS vs. TULANE GREEN WAVE
25/24 SMU 10-2, 8-0 American
Head Coach Rhett Lashlee (Arkansas ’08) 16-8, second season
Notes
SMU is making its first appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game after the Mustangs went 8-0 in conference play as part of a 10-2 regular seaosn … The Mustangs went 8-0 in conference games for the first time in program history … SMU has won 11 conference championships in its history and is looking for its first title since the 1984 Southwest Conference crown … SMU takes an eight-game winning streak into Saturday’s championship game … The Mustangs have gone 10-0 when scoring at least 30 points this season … SMU is the only team in NCAA FBS that has eight playes with at least 300 receiving yards … SMU is one of three schools to rank in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense (No. 1 Georgia and No. 5 Oregon are the others) … The Mustangs are fourth in FBS with a school-record 40 sacks … SMU tied an American Athletic Conference record with 18 players on the league’s all-conference teams … The Mustangs suffered a setback in their 59-14 win against Navy in the regular-season finale as QB Preston Stone left the game in the second quarter with a fractured fibula … Stone has registered 275 passing yards and three touchdown passes in the first quarter alone against Navy and finishes his season with 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns against six interceptions … Three of the five starters on the offensive line — OT Marcus Bryant, OG Justin Osborne and OG Logan Parr — earned first-team all-conference honors, while C Brandon Hickman was on the second team and OT Hyrin White was an honorable mention choice … RB Jaylan Knighton has rushed for 645 yards and six touchdowns … WR Jake Bailey has a team-high 34 receptions for 450 yards, while TE RJ Maryland has 29 catches for 462 yards and seven touchdowns … DE Elijah Roberts has a team-high 8.5 sacks, good for second in The American, while LB Kobe Wilson leads the way with 63 tackles … S Isaiah Nwokobia has three interceptions … K Collin Rogers earned first team all-conference honors after he led all American kickers in scoring (9.2 ppg), while P Ryan Bujcevski averages 4.54 yards per punt … WR Roderick Daniels Jr. averaged 10.1 yards on punt returns and 24.7 yards on kickoff returns and has 703 all-purpose yards.
17/18 TULANE 11-1, 8-0 American
Head Coach Willie Fritz (Pittsburg State ’83) 53-46,
Eighth season at Tulane 207-115
25th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Tulane is looking for its second consecutive American Athletic Conference title as the Green Wave becomes the second team to host the conference championship game in back-to-back years, joining UCF in 2017-18 and Cincinnati in 2020-21 … Tulane stands at No. 17 in the Associated Press poll this week after the Green Wave capped an 8-0 season in conference play with a 29-16 win against UTSA last Friday … The Green Wave is looking for its 11th conference title, spanning five conferences … Tulane is 23-3 in its last 26 games … The 23 wins since 2022 trail only Georgia (27) and Michigan (25) nationally … Tulane will take a 10-game winning streak in road games into the 2024 season … Head Coach Willie Fritz earned American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year … Fritz ranks fifth among active FBS coaches 208 career victories (tied with Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz) … Tulane’s only loss this season was a 37-20 decision to Ole Miss in Week 2 in which QB Michael Pratt did not play … Pratt was named The American’s Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the second consecutive Green Wave player to win that award (RB Tyjae Spears in 2022) … Pratt has thrown for 2,168 yards and 21 touchdowns and leads The American in pass efficiency (164.9) … Tulane is 10-0 in Pratt’s starts this season … Freshman RB Makhi Hughes, who earned American Rookie of the Year honors, leads The American in rushing, and leads all FBS freshmen at 103.8 yards per game … Hughes has rushed for 1,246 yards and seven touchdowns on 232 carries and has six 100-yard games … WR Lawrence Keys III and WR Jha’Quan Jackson have missed the last three games due to injuries … WR Chris Brazzell has team highs with 41 receptions and 670 yards and has added five TD catches … DE Darius Hodges has a team-high 7.5 sacks, while DE Patrick Jenkins has 5.5 sacks and a team-high 11 tackles for loss … CB Lance Robinson is tied for The American lead with four interceptions … K Valentino Ambrosio is second among American Athletic Conference kickers in scoring at 7.9 points per game … P Will Karoll has averaged 43.3 yards per punt … RB Shedro Louis has averaged 31.2 yards on kickoff returns with a touchdown.
