--- Fresh off our dominating win over Memphis, it was time to continue the tour of punishment with a trip to Tulane, a team quite possibly worse than the Tigers. Tulane’s only good area was passing offense, ranked #38 in the nation with 244.0 yards/game. Other than that, their rushing offense was poor, their defense overall was just pathetic. Rushing defense was their highest defensive category, coming in at #81 nationally, giving up 189.5 yards/game. Passing defense and total defense were both ranked in the hundreds.
While this looked to be a game that we could practically sleepwalk through, the Green Wave was probably hoping for that. With trap game written all over this one, we had to come out strong and rack up points early to avoid the potential trap. The Green Wave couldn’t even get any love in the media, as one publication this week declared Tulane one of the worst teams in college football. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A touchback on the opening kickoff got Tulane underway from their 25 yard line. Tulane’s opening drive lasted all of one play, as the first down pass attempt by Randy Palmer was intercepted by cornerback Jonathan Chambers, giving us the ball at Tulane’s 30 yard line, just 13 seconds into the contest.
Will Oliver got our offense drive started with a three yard rush, the Tulane defense not about to just hand us free yards. Another rush by Oliver resulted in a two yard gain to leave third and 5. Dropping back to pass on third down, Brad Stephens hit Joe Vaughn along the left sideline on an out route, Vaughn catching the pass near the ten and racing towards the goal line, the cornerback saving the touchdown with a tackle from behind at the one yard line for a 24 yard gain on the play, setting us up with first and goal from the one. Oliver took the handoff on first down and plowed into the end zone standing up for a one yard touchdown, giving us an early 7-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first quarter.
It almost went from bad to worse for the Green Wave, as a fumble on the kickoff return nearly resulted in another turnover, cornerback Lenny Hollins managing to dive on top of the ball before our players could, saving Tulane and starting their drive at their 22 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Palmer was finally able to make a completion, finding Wayne Temple over the middle for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. A deep bomb to Brad Williams went for a gain of 38 yards and Tulane was knocking on the door from our 17 yard line. Our defense proved nearly helpless against the Green Wave passing game, as Palmer completed his third straight pass, this time to Tyler Scott for 13 yards to set up first and goal at our four yard line. A first down rush by Antwaun Pope picked up four yards, the defense managing to bring him down just shy of the goal line, leaving second and goal, the ball just inches away from the end zone. Despite needing less than half a yard, Pope couldn’t get the job done, as the defense blitzed through and tackled him for a three yard loss to leave third and goal at the three yard line. Third time would prove to be the charm however as Pope finally managed to punch it in for a three yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 5:54 left in the first quarter.
No return on the following kickoff started us from our 25 yard line, looking to recapture the lead. Oliver started the drive with four yards on the ground. Receiving the handoff on second down, Oliver was able to break out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage and spin away from a second tackle attempt on his way to a gain of 9 yards and a first down at the 38. Despite the slow start on the ground, Oliver was finally starting to find holes in the defense, rushing for a 5 yard gain, followed by a pickup of 11 yards to move the chains to the Tulane 46 yard line. Eric Silva came in on first down, spinning his way off a defender after crossing the line of scrimmage but unable to regain his balance on the play, his momentum however carried him forward for a 7 yard gain to leave second and three, which Oliver would cover with a 6 yard rush to give us a first down at the 33 yard line. Looking to catch the defense cheating, we came out with play action pass on first down, the pass to Robert Harper good for a 24 yard gain to give us first and goal from the 8 yard line. Turning back to the running game, Oliver never had a chance for a serious gain as he was quickly overwhelmed by defenders, picking up one yard on the play. Coming out in the shotgun on second down, Stephens dumped off a quick pass to Eric Hayden at the goal line, completed for a 7 yard touchdown to give us a 14-7 lead with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return got Tulane back on the field at their 20 yard line. It was a bit of a rough start to this drive as Pope was tackled for a three yard loss on the first play. He would make up those lost yards with a 7 yard rush to leave the Green Wave with third and 6. This time however, Tulane wouldn’t find the end zone as the third down pass from Palmer was incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. A fair catch by Hayden on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 29 yard line.
Oliver was able to pick up four yards on the first down carry, followed by a four yard gain to leave third and two. Keeping the rock in Oliver’s hands, he was able to pick up the first down, busting through a large gap for a 13 yard gain to move the chains to the 49 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Silva would be final play as the clock ran out, bringing the first quarter to an end, our lead 14-7.
Opening up the second quarter, we faced second and four from the Tulane 45 yard line. Oliver was able to sneak through a hole and get a downfield block on his way to a 12 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 33. The defense was more than ready for us on first down, Oliver quickly brought down for a loss of one yard on the play. Lining up under center on second down, Stephens dropped back to pass, finding Carl Barnes over the middle for a 14 yard pickup and a first down at the 20. Looking to keep the air assault going, Stephens hit Hayden on a comeback route for a gain of 13 yards, giving us first and goal at the 7 yard line. Handing the ball off to Oliver on first down, he was able to drive forward for a gain of four yards, followed by Silva taking the ball and plowing through the line around the right tackle for a three yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-7 with 7:03 left in the first half.
An 18 yard kickoff return gave Tulane the ball at their 18 yard line, the Green Wave looking to close up the gap. Palmer came out on-target this time around, hitting Williams for a 7 yard gain, followed by an 11 yard strike to Scott to get a quick first down at the 36 yard line. It would all be for naught as Pope took the first down handoff, fighting his way towards the 45 yard line, before he was stripped of the ball, middle linebacker Anthony Clement recovering the fumble and giving us back possession at the Tulane 44 yard line.
Heading back out on offense after the recovered fumble, Oliver took the ball on first down for a gain of 6 yards, followed by a three yard rush to leave third and one. Oliver would get the first down and then some, rushing for 6 yards to move the chains to the 29 yard line. Stephens tried to thread a ball downfield to Hayden, but the safety was able to step up in front of a diving Hayden and knock the ball down, leaving second down. Throwing up a pass over the head of the middle linebacker, Ryan Lewis was able to get open after the safety moved outside to cover Vaughn, Lewis catching the pass inside the 10 and finally brought down at the one yard line for a 28 yard gain to give us first and goal. Oliver had nowhere to run on first down as five different defender burst through the line, tackling him for a one yard loss to push us back to the two. Oliver tried to punch it in again, but was again instantly swarmed and tackled for no gain to leave third and goal at the two. Looking to spread out the defense on third down, we came out in shotgun, Stephens keeping the ball himself on a QB power play, but despite being able to turn the corner around the right tackle, the defense was able to bring him down for no gain, leaving us stranded at the two yard line. The 19 yard field goal by Derek Glover was good, expanding our lead to 24-7 with 3:21 left until halftime.
A touchback on the kickoff gave Tulane possession at their 25 yard line. Palmer again got the Green Wave off to a positive start, connecting with Scott for 19 yards and a first down at the 44 yard line. It would all go downhill from there however, as an incomplete pass intended for Matt McNeal was then followed with an interception by cornerback Andy Malone, giving us back the ball at our 44 yard line with 2:54 remaining.
Handing the ball off to Oliver on first down, he managed to gain four yards on the play. Coming out on shotgun on second down, Stephens found Vaughn for an 18 yard gain, moving the chains to the Tulane 34 yard line. The play didn’t come without a price though, as Vaughn was sidelined for the rest of the game with a strained back. A pass over the middle to Silva went for 7 yards, before the middle linebacker broke up a pass intended for Jason Johnson to leave third and three. Putting our drive into the hands of Oliver, he was brought down for no gain by the blitzing middle linebacker, bringing our drive to an end. The 43 yard field goal by Glover was good to give us a 27-7 lead with 1:19 left before halftime.
A 17 yard kickoff return set Tulane up at their 17 yard line. The Green Wave would end up getting a free gift on first down, a pass interference penalty gave Tulane 15 free yards and a first down at the 32 yard line, 1:05 left. After a dropped pass by Scott, Palmer was able to hook up with Temple for 24 yards, moving the chains to our 43 yard line, Tulane taking their first timeout with 55 seconds to go. After a dropped ball by Temple, Palmer hit Scott down the right sideline for a gain of 12 yards, moving the ball to our 31 yard line, their second timeout called with 44 seconds remaining. Following an incomplete pass on first down, Palmer was able to find Scott again, this time for a 28 yard gain over the middle to give Tulane first and goal at our three yard line, 36 seconds to go. Pope would only need one play to punch it in on the ground for a three yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 27-14 with 28 seconds left until halftime.
A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line, 20 seconds remaining. With all three timeout, we decided to take one shot deep over the middle, Johnson managing to snag the ball off the shoulder pads of the safety for a 33 yard gain to give us first down at the Tulane 42. Calling timeout with 14 seconds left, we looked to at least move into field goal range. The first down pass intended for Johnson was broken up, leaving second down with 11 seconds to go. A third pass to Johnson on an out route was complete for a 14 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 29 yard line, just 6 seconds left. The 46 yard field goal by Glover was good, increasing our lead to 30-14 with two seconds remaining.
A touchback on the kickoff ran the final seconds off the clock, taking us into halftime with a 30-14 lead.
Opening up the second half, a 22 yard return by Hayden got us started from our 24 yard line to begin the third quarter. Oliver took the ball on first down, able to break free from a tackle on his way to a 7 yard gain. Keeping the ball with Oliver on second down, he was able to pick up five yards on the play, moving the chains to the 35 yard line. Letting Oliver continue to do his thing, he rushed for 10 yards on the first down carry, held just short of the marker to leave second and inches. Silva would come in on second down for a two yard gain to pick up the first down at the 47 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, Stephens was just barely able to avoid being sacked and fired off a pass to Hayden, who, with a perfectly timed cutback, was in position to haul in the pass for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the Tulane 34 yard line. Taking a shot at the power option on first down, Stephens ended up keeping the ball as he turned the corner, picking up 7 yards on the play. Tossing the ball the opposite way on second down, Oliver managed to gain 5 yards and a first down at the 22 yard line. Pulling out a screen pass on first down, the throw to Hayden was blown up for a three yard loss. Even worse left guard Kyle Alford was knocked out of the game with a strained tricep, leaving our offense staggering from the blow. Harper would get us back on track though with a 12 yard reception to leave third and inches at the 12. Oliver took the handoff, but the outside linebacker blitzed through and blew up the play, tackling Oliver for a one yard loss to leave fourth and one at the 13. The 30 yard field goal by Glover was good, increasing our lead to 33-14 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.
No return on the kickoff gave Tulane the ball at their 25 yard line. Palmer got the drive started with a three yard dump pass to McNeal, followed by a 13 yard completion to Williams for a first down at the 41 yard line. Palmer then took the ball on the ground on first down, rushing for 8 yards on the play. Palmer would continue to do all the work himself, getting 5 yards on the ground on second down to move the chains to our 46 yard line. The drive started to unravel from there however, as a dropped pass by Temple was followed by Palmer being sacked for a three yard loss, leaving Tulane facing third and 13. A 5 yard completion to Temple wouldn’t be enough as Tulane was left with fourth and 8 after the play. Tulane opted to punt the ball away, the kick sailing into the end zone for a touchback to set us up at our 20 yard line.
Oliver took the first down handoff, picking up 5 yards on the play, followed by a gain of 7 to get the first down at the 32 yard line. Throwing up a bomb down the left sideline to Lewis, he was able to haul in the pass, but the faster safety was able to chase him down, tripping him up at the Tulane 15 yard line for a 53 yard play. Receiving the ball on first down, Silva was only able to get one yard on the play, before being stood up for no gain to leave third and 9. Throwing a quick pass to Barnes, he fought his way through two defenders to the first down line for 9 yard gain, but the refs marked him short, leaving us with fourth and inches at the 5 yard line. Settling for another field goal, the 22 yard kick by Glover was good, increasing our lead to 36-14 with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
No return on the kickoff got Tulane back on the field at their 25 yard line. It was a poor start for the Green Wave, as Scott dropped the ball on a first down pass, followed by a false start penalty that left Tulane facing second and 15. A 5 yard rush by Pope and an incomplete pass later, Tulane was punting away on fourth and 10. A fair catch by Hayden on the 42 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 33 yard line.
Oliver took the ball on first down for a 10 yard gain and a quick first down at the 43 yard line. That would be the last play as the clock hit all zeroes, bringing the third quarter to an end, our lead 36-14.
Opening up the fourth quarter, Oliver picked up where he left off with a 6 yard rush, before being stood up for a one yard gain to leave third and three. Putting the ball into the hands of Silva, he was just barely able to get four yards on the play, moving the chains to the Tulane 46 yard line. Oliver came back into the game on first down, breaking off a 5 yard rush on the play, followed by a one yard rush by Silva. We would get a major helping hand on the play by the defense however, as a facemask penalty on middle linebacker Byron Reed gave us 15 free yards and a first down at the Tulane 26 yard line. Silva was able to avoid a tackle in the backfield on first down, picking up four yards on the carry, followed by a second four yard gain to set up third and two. Silva wouldn’t be able to get the job done, tackled for a one yard loss to leave fourth and three from the 18. The 35 yard field goal by Glover was good, giving us a 39-14 lead with 6:02 left in the game. That field goal also gave Glover the record for most field goals in a game, with 6 successful kicks.
A 15 yard kickoff return got Tulane back in action at their 22 yard line, looking to make up a 25 point deficit with little time. It wasn’t the greatest of starts to the drive as Temple dropped the first down pass, but he would recover on second down and catch the ball from Palmer for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 41. The drive would end up stalling out there as three straight incomplete passes intended for Scott left the Green Wave treading water. A 9 yard return on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 18 yard line, just 5:16 left on the clock and looking to put this one away.
Oliver got the drive started with a three yard rush, followed by a gain of four to leave third and three. Oliver would try to escape outside the left tackle on third down, but was tripped up from behind before he could cross the first down line, only gaining one yard on the play and leaving us punting on fourth and two. A three yard return on the 46 yard punt gave Tulane the ball at their 31 yard line, 4:03 remaining.
This time the Green Wave were able to get off to a positive start, as Palmer hit Temple for a 17 yard strike and a new set of downs at the 47 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Palmer finally connected with Scott for 11 yards, moving the chains to our 42. After another incomplete pass on first down, Palmer was forced to scramble to avoid a sack, picking up four yards on the play to leave third and 6. That would turn into fourth and 6 as Palmer’s pass intended for Temple sailed long and out of bounds. The Green Wave attempted to go for it on fourth down, the pass intended for Pope broken up at the last moment by Chambers, forcing the turnover on downs at our 37 yard line with 3:03 remaining.
Taking over after the turnover on downs, it was time to chew up some clock, just three minutes away from victory. The Tulane defense wasn’t ready to give up yet, tackling Oliver for a one yard loss on the first down handoff. Oliver still could find no joy on the ground this drive, only getting two yards on the next play to leave us facing third and 9 with 2:06 left on the clock. Silva could only get one yard on the third down play, leaving us punting on fourth and 8 with 1:29 left to play, but the clock still running as Tulane accepted defeat and didn’t bother to use one of their three timeouts. A 6 yard return on the 39 yard punt left Tulane starting their drive at their 27 yard line, 1:11 left to play.
Despite the guaranteed loss, the Green Wave offense wasn’t about to just roll over however, as Palmer still came out firing, connecting with Scott for a 21 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. Pope would try to gain some yards on the ground, but a blitz by the defense resulted in Pope being tackled for a loss of four yards, Tulane calling their first timeout with 58 seconds to go. Two incomplete passes intended for Temple left the Tulane offense sitting with fourth and 14 from their 44 yard line. Finally raising the white flag, Tulane punted away, no return on the 45 yard kick giving us the ball at our 11 yard line with 45 seconds to go.
Stephens would drop to a knee two times to run the clock out and seal the 39-14 victory.
With the win, we improve to 8-1, 5-0 in Big East action. With the loss, Tulane falls to 2-7, 1-4 in Big East play. Up next, it’s back on the road with a huge visit to #6 Houston. The Cougars enter the game 9-0, 5-0 in Big East action. Houston started their year with a 49-0 thrashing of FCS East, then got a 35-13 win at Cal, won 41-28 at Louisiana-Monroe, beat Central Florida 38-24, beat Connecticut 38-31, won 27-24 at South Florida, whooped Stanford 49-18, got a big 38-17 win at #17 SMU and demolished Memphis 52-14.
Final Score
#24 
39,
14
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense - Another near perfect day for Stephens, going 15-18 for 272 yards and one touchdown. Rushing, it was the Oliver show, as he ended with 163 yards and one touchdown on 39 carries. Silva had 33 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Receiving, Lewis led the way with 81 yard on two receptions. Next was Vaughn, in limited play, with 42 yards on two receptions. Hayden had 36 yards and a touchdown on four catches. In all, seven receivers caught a pass today, six ended with double digit yards, Hayden was the only one to score a touchdown.
Tulsa Defense – Hit and miss today. Had a lot of great moments, including two interceptions and a recovered fumble. But they also let Tulane drive for a touchdown twice in the first half and let Tulane build up steam on offense numerous times throughout the game. Definitely a more positive than negative game for the defense, but against even a mediocre team, the defense's play today could have killed us.
Tulsa Kicking – A career, and perfect, day for Glover, ending the game going a record 6-6 in field goals, connecting on kicks from 19, 43, 46, 30, 22 and 35 yards out. He also went 3-3 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
| Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
14 |
16 |
6 |
3 |
39 |
|
7 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
| Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
| First Quarter |
| 7:30 |
|
Touchdown |
W. Oliver, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick) |
7-0 |
| 5:54 |
|
Touchdown |
A. Pope, 2 yard run (A. Robinson kick) |
TIED 7-7 |
| 2:26 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Hayden, 7 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick) |
14-7 |
|
| Second Quarter |
| 7:03 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Silva, 4 yard run (D. Glover kick) |
21-7 |
| 3:21 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 19 yard field goal |
24-7 |
| 1:19 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 43 yard field goal |
27-7 |
| 0:28 |
|
Touchdown |
A. Pope, 3 yard run (A. Robinson kick) |
27-14 |
| 0:02 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 46 yard field goal |
30-14 |
|
| Third Quarter |
| 4:25 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 30 yard field goal |
33-14 |
| 0:42 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 22 yard field goal |
36-14 |
|
| Fourth Quarter |
| 6:02 |
|
Field Goal |
D. Glover, 35 yard field goal |
39-14 |
| Tulsa |
Stat |
Tulane |
| 39 |
Score |
14 |
| 23 |
First Downs |
15 |
| 471 |
Total Offense |
300 |
| 54 - 199 - 2 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
11 - 30 - 2 |
| 15 - 18 - 1 |
Comp - Att - TD |
17 - 38 - 0 |
| 272 |
Passing Yards |
270 |
| 0 |
Times Sacked |
1 |
| 4 - 11 (36%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
1 - 7 (14%) |
| 0 - 0 (0%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 1 (0%) |
| 0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 7 - 3 - 4 (100%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
4 - 2 - 0 (50%) |
| 0 |
Turnovers |
3 |
| 0 |
Fumbles Lost |
1 |
| 0 |
Intercepted |
2 |
| 9 |
Punt Return Yards |
9 |
| 22 |
Kick Return Yards |
90 |
| 502 |
Total Yards |
399 |
| 2 – 42.5 |
Punts - Average |
5 - 45.8 |
| 1 - 15 |
Penalties |
2 - 20 |
| 23:45 |
Time of Possession |
12:15 |
| Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
 |
21+ points per game in each season |
45 |
 |
|
Win 10 games in one season |
8 |
|
|
3300+ passing yards each season |
 |
 |
|
65% pass completions over the entire contract |
60% |
|
 |
Win 6 games in one season |
 |
|
|
15+ rushing TD in each season |
|
|
 |
3200+ total offensive yards each season |
|
 |
|
3400+ total offensive yards each season |
|
 |
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