When you look at the Tulane’s 2-6 mark in Conference USA and 4-8 overall record, the initial thought is: This wasn’t a very good football team. However, the Green Wave played much better than what their record indicates, as they could have easily won up to four more games in conference play.

What killed this team was their inability to take care of the football and failure to put up touchdowns inside the red zone. Tulane will look to end a two-year run of finishing last in the conference. They should be able to do that with 14 starters back from last year. Here is a closer look at what the Green Wave will send to the field on both sides of the ball, plus my thoughts on where they will finish in the Conference USA standings.

Offense

Quarterback Ryan Griffin didn’t quite have the jump many thought he would in his second season as the starter. After completing 64 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns in 2009, Griffin connected on just 60 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns last year. A lot of that had to do with injuries to both his shoulder and wrist. The hope is that Griffin will be able to stay healthy and really show some big improvements this season.

The Green Wave couldn’t have been happier with the production they got out of running back Orleans Darkwa last year. As a true freshman, Darkwa stepped in and led the team with 925 yards and 11 touchdowns. With more carries likely coming his way in 2011, Darkwa should have no trouble topping the 1,000-yard mark this season.

While Tulane returns one of the top running backs in the conference, they lose four of their top five receiving threats from last year. The only starter back is junior Ryan Grant, who finished second on the team with 515 yards on 33 catches. This unit will really be counting on guys like sophomore Brent Comardelle and senior Joe Kemp to step in and make plays.

Up front on the offensive line, the Green Wave return senior left guard Harris Howard, junior right tackle Eric Jones and junior right guard Zach Morgan. That leaves the team searching for a new starting left tackle and center. It looks as though sophomore tackle Pat Husain and redshirt freshman Ben Stone are the leading candidates to be added to the starting mix this season.

Defense

Even though the Green Wave lose CUSA first-team defensive tackle Justin Adams, they should have one of their top defensive lines in years, with the other three starters all returning. Senior defensive end Dezman Moses led the team with six sacks last year and is expected to really have a big senior season.

Tulane should also see some big improvements at linebacker this year, as they return all three starters from last year. The unit is headlined by junior middle linebacker Trent Mackey, who led the team with 124 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2010.

Things don’t look as promising in the secondary. Tulane returns junior corner Ryan Travis and junior free safety Shakiel Smith, but have to replace first-team CUSA corner Phillip Davis and third-team CUSA safety Alex Wacha. Unless a couple of players come in and really surprise, the pass defense figures to take a huge step in the wrong direction this season.

2011 Prediction: Fifth Place in CUSA West 

While I think Tulane will be a better team than they were in 2010, I don’t think it is going to result in a lot more wins. The Green Wave don’t stack up well with the top teams in the west and have to go on the road to face Rice. They should be able to beat both Memphis and UTEP at home, which will keep them from finishing last for a third-straight year.

For more on the Green Wave’s upcoming season, check out my Tulane football predictions article. If you want to see where I have all 12 teams finishing inside the conference, take a look at my 2011 Conference USA predictions.