ROANOKE, Va. – As the countdown to the 2023 Military Bowl winds down, we continue to highlight various aspects of the matchup. The focus this time: Tulane’s defense.
While Virginia Tech should have the advantage when they are on defense with Tulane missing their star quarterback. But, when they have the ball the matchup gets tricky.
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For Tulane to rack up 11 wins they needed to do something right on defense--and it did.
Despite giving up an average of 333 yards per game, the Green Wave was stingy on the scoreboard. Only give up an average of just “under” 19 points per game, with an offense that scored a full touchdown more than that per game. The ‘Bend ... don’t break’ mentality worked just fine.
The Green Wave would lose the time of possession battle but not the game on the scoreboard--the one that matters the most.
“I’ll tell you what, they’re really well coached,” said Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen. “They’re very sound, leverage the ball well. They tackle well, they’re never out of position. There’s some positives and negatives to that. They’re gonna be in position to make plays but I think you’re going to know where they’re aligned they’re just a really solid group. They do a really nice job throughout the year. If not, necessarily stopping you from gaining yardage but kind of slowing you down from scoring right they’re a real band but don’t break tough to get over the top. Leverage the ball well so we’ll have our work cut out for us.”
The Green Wave will be missing two defensive stars in rush end Darius Hodges and star corner Jarius Monroe – both have opted out.
On Christmas Day, some members of the Virginia Tech football team visited the Armed Forces retirement home in Washington D.C. Student-athletes enjoyed donuts and games with residents and more.