TheEdge

Passing offense
TCU
Though he admitted his shoulder is not at 100 percent, senior Sean Stilley will start for the first time since the North Texas game. The player with the most career passing attempts after Stilley is senior wide receiver Kevin Brown. Stilley’s health is essential. Senior Adrian Madise leads the team in most major receiving statistical categories.

Tulane
Junior J.P. Losman was a Parade All-American out of high school. He has thrown for 18 touchdowns in his first season as a starter. Eleven different receivers have scored touchdowns in Tulane’s no-huddle spread offense.

Edge: Tulane

Rushing offense
TCU
Junior Ricky Madison and true freshman Lonta Hobbs are nightmares for opposing defenses. Madison grinds out the tough yards, wearing down defenses for Hobbs, who is TCU’s breakaway threat. The $64,000 question is whether or not TCU’s option will continue to be effective since Stilley is not the running threat that Tye Gunn was.

Tulane
Junior Mewelde Moore entered the season as a Doak Walker Award Candidate. He has disappointed this season with just 816 yards on 4.1 yards an attempt. Tulane’s longest run of the year is for 22 yards.

Edge: TCU

Passing defense
TCU
TCU continues to move up in national rankings in passing defense. They are 33rd in the nation, allowing just 193.63 yards a game. Senior Jason Goss is solid in man-to-man coverage and never gets beat on deep passes. If there is a play that changes a game’s momentum, look for senior safety Jared Smitherman. TCU’s defense has combined for 30 sacks on the season.

Tulane
Junior Lynaris Elpheage is an undersized cornerback who makes super-sized plays for the Green Wave. He ties for the nation lead with seven interceptions. Senior Floyd Dorsey leads Tulane with 5.5 sacks this season.

Edge: TCU

Rushing defense
TCU
Mewelde Moore has an official Web site sponsored by Tulane’s athletic department where you can “Get to Know Mo.” Mo will get to know TCU’s defense quite often, as they allow 2.0 yards a carry. LaMarcus McDonald has 20 tackles for loss to pace TCU’s defense.

Tulane
Tulane’s rushing defense is 94th in the nation, giving up 189.7 yards a game. They are coming off a game where they allowed 355 yards rushing to a 1-7 Navy team.

Edge: TCU

Special Teams
TCU
Junior Nick Browne connected on three more field goals against Southern Miss to improve his accuracy to 91 percent this season. Joey Biasatti, a senior, is a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. He has a solid 36.0 net punting average. Dunbar averages 30.6 kickoff yards a return.

Tulane
Elpheage is equally electrifying on special teams, averaging 21.8 yards a kickoff return and 15.5 yards a punt return. Senior kicker and All-America candidate Seth Marler has disappointed, already missing four extra points and is 13 of 20 on field goals, the lowest accuracy in his four seasons. He averages 42.2 yards a punt.

Edge: TCU

Intangibles
TCU
The Frogs are just three games away from winning a C-USA championship. Tulane blew out TCU 48-22 for their lone C-USA win in 2001. TCU has not forgotten this defeat and will use it as motivation.

Tulane
Tulane: The Green Wave has won their last four games, beating those teams by a 25.8 point margin. Even though they are 3-2 in C-USA, they still can win the conference.

Prediction: TCU 34,
Tulane 24
— Jay Zuckerman