2023 Cotton Bowl Preview

The 2023 Cotton Bowl features the 11-2 Tulane Green Wave against the 11-2 USC Trojans. Here is the 2023 Cotton Bowl preview.

Tulane Green Wave (11-2)

Tulane won 11 games to make their first bowl game since 2020. They defeated Kansas State, Houston, East Carolina, Memphis, SMU, Cincinnati and UCF, who all made bowl games. Both of their losses, to Southern Miss and UCF.

The offense scores 35.2 points per game, ranked 21st in the FBS. They average 236.8 passing yards (ranked 58th) and 197.1 rushing yards per game (ranked 31st).

Michael Pratt is an experienced quarterback for the Green Wave. He has passed for 2,776 yards, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions on 64.5 percent completion. Seven pass catchers have at least 200 yards on the season. Shae Wyatt and Deuce Watts have been the leading receivers with 692 and 574 yards respectively. Watts has eight touchdown catches, while Wyatt has seven.

The top running back for the Green Wave is Tyjae Spears, who has 1,376 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the year. Pratt has helped out at the quarterback position with 395 yards and 10 touchdowns. Shaadie Clayton-Johnson and Iverson Celestine each have over 300 rushing yards on the season.

Their defense only gives up 20.5 points per game, which ranks 23rd in the country. They allow 188.5 passing yards (ranked 18th) and 153.8 rushing yards per game (ranked 75th). Dorian Williams and Nick Anderson both have over 100 tackles this season. Williams and Darius Hodges are tied for the team-lead with five sacks. Williams has seven passes defended and two interceptions and so too does Jarius Monroe.

USC Trojans (11-2)

USC won 11 games to make their first bowl game since 2019. They have wins over Fresno State, Oregon State, Washington State, UCLA and Notre Dame, who each have records of at least .500. Their two losses both came to Utah, in the regular season and in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The Trojans score 41.1 points per game, ranking them third in the country. They pass for 325.7 yards (ranked fifth) and rush for 174.2 yards per game (ranked 51st).

Heisman-winner Caleb Williams is the quarterback for the Trojans. He has passed for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns and four interceptions on 66.1 percent completion. Wiliams is battling a hamstring injury, but says he will play if healthy. If he can’t go Miller Moss will start in his place if he can’t go after passing for 159 yards. Eight players have 200 receiving yards on the season, but top target Jordan Addison has opted out of this game. Tahj Washington will be the top receiver playing in the game with 676 yards and six touchdowns.

Travis Dye led the team in rushing with 884 yards, but will miss the game with a knee injury. Austin Jones and Raleek Brown have taken over the running back role with 644 and 166 rushing yards respectively. Williams also has helped out with 372 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Trojans concede 27.9 points per game, ranking 82nd in the FBS. They allow 266.5 passing yards (ranked 113th) and 148.6 rushing yards per game (ranked 63rd). Shane Lee and Max Williams lead the team with 75 and 74 tackles respectively. Tuli Tuipulotu has led the team with 12.5 sacks. Mekhi Blackmon has been a standout in the secondary with 12 passes defended and three interceptions.

Prediction

Tulane has a great defense, but if Williams is playing, it will be hard to stop the Trojans. USC has been putting up points all year long and should be able to do so in the Cotton Bowl.

USC Trojans 45 Tulane Green Wave 30

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