When Tulane takes the field at AT&T Stadium for Monday’s Cotton Bowl, it will be playing in its biggest postseason game since the 1940 Sugar Bowl.
The Green Wave was just 2-10 last season and has made a remarkable turnaround to win 11 games, capture the American Athletic Conference title, and represent the Group of Five in a New Year’s Six bowl game.
“Really means a lot to us,” said Tulane head coach Willie Fritz as he met with reporters upon his team’s arrival in Dallas. “This is something we had a goal of being able to play in these types of games, big games like the Cotton Bowl … And we’ve had some good seasons.”
It did not help that Tulane spent much of the 2021 season on the road because of Hurricane Ida, but players insist that experience has helped them this season.
“When you see that and go through adversity, like here and there, and guys aren’t complaining, sticking to the plan and sticking to what our coaches tell us every single day, that’s special in itself. When you see that, you know it’s going to be a special year,” remarked sixth-year senior offensive lineman Joey Claybrook.
“Last year, we dipped back a little bit,” Fritz added. “We had a tough year with COVID and also with Hurricane Ida and all those things. The guys have bounced back and had a sensational year. Just proud and thankful to be here.”
“It was brutal,” wide receiver Shae Wyatt told reporters after Thursday’s practice. “We kept our composure. In the spring we just worked and focused on what we can do better. And, you know, this season, it was just — we just formulated everything that we had built up from last season and we’re just happy to show it to you guys.”
Tulane started this season 3-0 with a win over Big 12 Champion Kansas State. The Green Wave has also defeated teams like Houston, Memphis, SMU, and Cincinnati and avenged a regular-season loss to Central Florida in the AAC Championship.
All that has led Tulane to its first New Year’s Six game since the current format was introduced in 2014.
“They’re fantastic,” said USC head coach Lincoln Riley during his arrival press conference. “Honestly, I got to coach against them first game last season. So no surprise to see the job that they’ve done. Willie’s one of the best coaches in the country. He’s proved it over and over and, obviously, done a phenomenal job with the group.”
Tulane played Riley’s Oklahoma squad to start its 2-10 season and only lost to a top-10 Sooners team by five points.
Fritz has been a college head coach since 1993 and has held his current post since 2016. Until last season, the Green Wave had gone to three consecutive bowl games, and it still has not lost to any other teams based in Louisiana during his tenure. He also helped Tulane end a 20-year absence in the top 25 rankings back in 2019.
While this is Tulane’s best season since 2002, the players and coaches all know the significance of playing a high-profile bowl game against a blue-blood program like the University of Southern California and are emphasizing the enjoyment of the experience and a chance to seize an opportunity.
“We want to enjoy ourselves. There’s no question about that,” said Fritz. “We want to experience everything the Cotton Bowl has to offer, which is a lot. But we also want to make sure when it’s time to practice, meet, you know, the guys are locked in, focused in. Because we want to play our best ballgame. And when we take on USC, we’re going to have a great challenge ahead of us. And we’re looking forward to it.”
“From the jump, there hasn’t been a lot of people who believed in us. And we proved them wrong again and again. And this is just another opportunity to do that. We’ve done it before, and now we’re here to do it again,” offensive lineman Sincere Haynesworth told reporters on Thursday.
“Coach [Willie] Fritz has done a good job of keeping the guys focused on the task at hand. I think that’s part of the reason why it’s been somewhat of a nameless, faceless opponent week in, week out, and just focusing on what we do best and executing at a high level and so forth,” said offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda in a media session on Thursday.
“But having said that, not every game is the same either,” he continued. “So I think they understand that and recognize it as an opportunity. They’re excited about it. I think their approach has been exactly the same in terms of their focus in practice and understanding that all the hype and the fact that we’re in this game doesn’t really make any difference unless you play well.”
When the game kicks off on January 2, Tulane will be getting its chance to elevate its program and win its 12th game of the season for just the second time in school history.
“Everybody at the university and our football program’s very thankful for everything the Cotton Bowl has done already and is going to do this week,” Fritz said. “And we’re very, very excited about the opportunity.”