BYU is coming of one of their biggest wins in school history, by defeating Oklahoma and immediately puts BYU in the front runner spot for the BCS and an outside shot of the BCS title game. The biggest concern is a let down because Tulane is basically in the opposite spectrum then Oklahoma.
What BYU needs to do is to prevent a TCU like let down in 2005. That year TCU beat Oklahoma in Norman and then they lost the following week to SMU. BYU should not let this happen, because last year BYU had the opposite schedule that was soft and then built up to tough opponents when they face TCU and Utah. Prior to that they were not tested and it showed.
This could be a trap game, just because next week BYU plays Florida State in Provo and Tulane is a pretty weak team. However, that seems unlikely because BYU's offense has not yet broken out --in the point category-- and should against Tulane who gave up 37 to Tulsa last week.
Tulsa and BYU are similar in that they both have a high powered offense, so expect BYU to score a minimum of thirty points on Saturday. A concern BYU has is that RB Harvey Unga who suffered a hamstring injury in camp sat out the Oklahoma game, and may sit out against Tulane. There is no need for Harvey to play in this game unless he is 100 percent, because if he aggrivates the injury then he most likely will be out against Florida State. Even if Harvey Unga does not play BYU will use Manse Tonga, Bryan Kariya, or J.J. DiLuigi to share the running load.
One thing to consider is that this game is in the New Orleans Superdome which is the home of Tulane, and they do not draw all that well. I honestly expect that there will be at worst 40 percent of BYU fans, and a crowd of around 40,000 because of the BYU contigency.
BYU should have no problem passing the ball to Dennis Pita, McKay Jacobson, O'Neill Chambers, and the other wide outs when moving the ball. This pass offense has more experience then the Tulsa quarterback and will eat alive the Tulane defense.
Tulane is not a good team last year they only went 2-10 with wins over Louisiana-Monroe and SMU and this year looks to have the same record on the horizon. Bob Toledo -- former UCLA -- is the head man in Tulane and has a 6-18 record over all and has not done too much in improving the team; or even having them competitive.
The Greenwave might be more pumped since BYU is a top 10 team and bring the extra effort, but they were manhandled by Tulsa who is not ranked in the top 25. Tulane will need to try to bring pressure on Max Hall, because the Cougar line is still inexperienced and getting pressure is possibly a way for Tulane to stay in the game.
Offensively for Tulane they need quarterback GJ Kinne to improve off of his 15-20 and 211 yard performance against BYU. He had zero picks, but the problem was that drives were stalling and unable to get points. BYU does however need to stop Tulane's top receiver's: Jeremy Williams who had five catches for 139 yards and Casey Robottom who had six for 82. BYU's corners will be tested by these two wide outs and will need to keep these to receviers in front of the coverage and not get beat.
The rushing game was non-existant for Tulane and that can be a problem if they are passing most of the game then they will become one-dimensional. Also, by not being able to rush the ball Tulane will not be able to hold onto possessions longer and keeping the ball away from BYU's potent offense. Tulane's best chance to keep this game low scoring -- which is also their best chance to win-- is to rush the ball with consistency and to have extended drives.
There will be no let down and expect BYU to win this game by a couple of touchdowns.