Game 7, Year 15 (2024 season): #3 Florida Gators at #16 Tulane Green Wave
#3X
20 -- 6-1 (4-1)
#16
24 -- 6-1 (3-1)
RB Tony Tompkins' game-winning 3-yard touchdown run with 0:17 remaining capped off an 11-play drive that may have saved the Green Wave's season.
New Orleans, LA -- Ten months ago, Tulane QB Obi Clemons watched the final seconds tick off the Georgia Dome clock after having had one of his worst performances of his life in last season's 36-17 SEC Championship Game loss to eventual national champion Florida. This past Saturday night was a different story however, as the 5-foot 11 former 3-star recruit from Sulphur, Louisiana capped off a career performance by leading the 16th ranked Green Wave on a remarkable game-winning drive on the way to knocking off #3 ranked Florida 24-20 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In what was a stark contrast to his 148-yard, no touchdown and four interception performance last year versus the ferocious Gators defense, Clemons finished this night 20 of 31 for a career-high 362 yards and a touchdown, helping his team overcome a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit while possibly putting them right back into BCS contention.
QB Obi Clemons was smart and efficient Saturday night and finished the game 20 of 31 for 362 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions.
The night got off to a poor start for the Wave, who came in reeling following a 47-24 upset loss to Auburn last week, their first SEC home loss since returning the the power conference 10 years ago. After giving up an early field goal to the Gators, RB Tony Tompkins' fumble on Tulane's very first offensive play from scrimmage was recovered by Gators freshman FS Wesley Allen and seemingly set the stage for Florida to take control early. Thankfully, the turnover would only lead to another field goal by PK Joey Wells, and the Green Wave came out of the early bad sequence only down 6-0.
Tompkins would make amends on his team's very next possession. To conclude a long 13-play 81-yard march that lasted 4:55, his 9-yard touchdown run on a 4th and 1 gave the Wave a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter. That lead would be short-lived however.
On its ensuing possession, Florida would regain its lead when QB Cameron Romero found TE Steven Watson in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. The 9-play 81-yard drive gave the Gators a 13-7 lead very early in the second quarter, and that would remain the score through halftime.
After PK Aaron Larson made up for a missed 51-yard second quarter field goal by connecting on a short 27-yard attempt in the third quarter to cut the Green Wave's deficit to 13-10, the stage was set for an entertaining final quarter.
Romero's 3-yard touchdown pass to a diving WR Joel Miller concluded an 11-play drive that lasted 3:20 and provided the Gators with cushion, making the score 20-10 with 8:33 remaining. Romero finished the night 16 of 22 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, but Clemons would eventually out-duel him.
Versatile RB Michael Brown Jr. continued to create matchup problems all over the field as he has all season long, and finished the day with 6 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown.First, Clemons would lead a quick 5-play drive which ended with a 46-yard touchdown pass to true freshman RB Michael Brown Jr. on a screen pass that made the score 20-17 with 6:55 to play. Brown Jr., who also saw a good bit of action from the slot wide receiver position during the contest, finished with a game-high 6 receptions for 155 yards as he continues to prove himself as one of college football's most versatile offensive weapons.
"We wanted to get the screen game rolling in this one, with how great those pass rushers of theirs are," said Wave offensive coordinator Curtis Byrd, whose offense surrendered 7 sacks, including 4 to Florida star DE Phil Horn.
Following Brown Jr.'s big play, the Gators were now in a position where they'd have to lean on their other star, RB Marcus McBride, leading by only three points with just under seven minutes to play. On an otherwise quiet day for the nation's leading rusher, McBride would gash the Tulane defense for multiple first downs and penetrated into Green Wave territory with less than three minutes to go.
However, with Florida facing a 3rd and 9 from the Tulane 42-yard line, CB Jamaal Green's sack on a blitz would halt the Gators drive and forced a punt with 2:35 to play.
"The defense stepped up when needed there, and that was encouraging after last week, especially with the way Auburn ran the ball against us last week," said Green Wave head coach D. Geezy.
"(McBride) did average over 5 yards per carry, and yet I thought the defense showed great discipline and did a hell of a job of keeping him in front of them and not allowing him to break loose for any big gains. And that's a credit to the game plan and preparation by (defensive coordinator) Karl (Dunbar) and his group.
With Tulane now in possession of the football at its own 14-yard line with 2:24 down 20-17, the Green Wave's season now rested in the arm of Clemons, and he'd come through.
Leading a methodical 11-play 86-yard march, Clemons threw one precision pass after another while also using his scrambling ability to get a couple of first downs, before finally scrambling his way down to the Florida 2-yard line with 0:21 remaining. Tompkins would do the rest, slashing through the defense for the game-winning 3-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 24-20 lead with 0:17 to go. Tompkins finished the night with 16 carries for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns, however it was Clemons's heroics that stole the spotlight.
The Green Wave defense sacked Florida QB Cameron Romero 4 times on Saturday, none bigger than dime CB Jamaal Green's on a 3rd and 9 with 2:35 remaining.
"I thought he did an outstanding job of taking what the defense gives him and not trying to do too much while also taking advantage of the big play oppourtunities downfield when they presented themselves," said Byrd of Clemons.
The Gators would get one last chance to pull out a miracle, and penetrated all the way to the Green Wave 45-yard line with 0:03 to go. However, Romero's hail mary pass attempt would get batted away on the game's final play, sending Tulane students and fans pouring onto the field in celebration of the big upset, an upset that perhaps saved the Green Wave's season.
"There's no doubt about it, if we lose tonight, our chances of winning the conference, much less a national title, are over," said Geezy.
"We needed this win badly against what we felt is an incredible Florida squad. Anytime you can beat the defending national champs, and be the first team to do so, it's special. Not to mention with how bad they beat us in last year's SEC title game.
"You never know though; we may very well see these guys again at some point down the road."
Tulane (6-1) will host Kentucky (3-4) next week at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Green Wave defeated the Wildcats 42-7 last season at rainy Lexington.
A Tulane fan looks on in disbelief after witnessing the Florida's final hail mary attempt fall incomplete, clinching a win for the Green Wave along with the defending national champion Gators' first loss since the 2022 season.
Box Score
1st
: 26 yd FG by Wells 6:51 -- 0-3
: 33 yd FG by Wells 5:49 -- 0-6
: 9 yd TD run by Tompkins (Larson kick) 0:54 -- 7-6
2nd
: 6 yd TD pass from Romero to Watson (Wells kick) 7:09 -- 7-13
3rd
: 27 yd FG by Larson 2:53 -- 10-13
4th
: 3 yd TD pass from Romero to Miller (Wells kick) 8:33 -- 10-20
: 46 yd TD pass from Clemons to Brown (Larson kick) 6:55 -- 17-20
: 3 yd TD run by Tompkins (Larson kick) 0:17 -- 24-20
Game Statistics
#16 Tulane
#3 Florida
2024 Tulane Green Wave Schedule/Results
Next Game:
3-4 (0-3) at #12 6-1 (3-1)
Photo Gallery
QB Obi Clemons, making his first start since last season, led the pregame huddle for Tulane.
Much-maligned Florida freshman safety Wesley Allen does the "Gator Chomp" in celebration of his recovery of a Tony Tompkins fumble just moments into the game.
Tulane senior DT Sammie Jenkins had one of the finer games of his career, coming up with several key stops in the running game along with this first half sack.
Gators RB Marcus McBride, the nation's leading rusher, had difficult breaking loose versus the Green Wave defense, but he did manage to deliver this nasty stiff arm to DB Jonathan Smith in the first quarter.
Tulane had no answer for Gators senior DE Phil Horn, who would finish the night with a career-high 4 sacks.
Florida CB Dave Williams and DE Johnny Stephens celebrate Williams' third quarter sack, which was one of 7 on the night for the Gators defense.
Tulane was very creative with its deployment of RB Michael Brown Jr. Saturday night as the versatile true freshman took several snaps from the slot, including this one that resulted in a 53-yard third quarter gain.
Florida QB Cameron Romero faced heavy pressure from a trio of Wave defenders before delivering a 3-yard touchdown strike in the fourth quarter.
6-6 true freshman WR Adam Lawson celebrates a spectacular fourth quarter catch in which he out-leaped Florida SS Ian Leslie (#22) on a jump ball for a big 3rd and 25 conversion in the second half.
Clemons leaps to high-five a fan as he runs into the tunnel following his team's season-saving victory.
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#3X
20 -- 6-1 (4-1)#16
24 -- 6-1 (3-1)RB Tony Tompkins' game-winning 3-yard touchdown run with 0:17 remaining capped off an 11-play drive that may have saved the Green Wave's season.
Tulane puts humiliating defeat to Auburn behind them with an emphatic 24-20 come-from-behind victory over defending national champion Florida | QB Obi Clemons directs game-winning 11-play drive for a touchdown with 0:17 remaining en route to erasing a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit and avenging last year's lackluster SEC championship game loss | Redshirt junior signal caller puts last year's disappointing outing versus Gators behind him with brilliant 362-yard passing day; RB Brown Jr. also shines | Wave will end 3-game home stand next week with bout versus Kentucky
New Orleans, LA -- Ten months ago, Tulane QB Obi Clemons watched the final seconds tick off the Georgia Dome clock after having had one of his worst performances of his life in last season's 36-17 SEC Championship Game loss to eventual national champion Florida. This past Saturday night was a different story however, as the 5-foot 11 former 3-star recruit from Sulphur, Louisiana capped off a career performance by leading the 16th ranked Green Wave on a remarkable game-winning drive on the way to knocking off #3 ranked Florida 24-20 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In what was a stark contrast to his 148-yard, no touchdown and four interception performance last year versus the ferocious Gators defense, Clemons finished this night 20 of 31 for a career-high 362 yards and a touchdown, helping his team overcome a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit while possibly putting them right back into BCS contention.
QB Obi Clemons was smart and efficient Saturday night and finished the game 20 of 31 for 362 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions.
The night got off to a poor start for the Wave, who came in reeling following a 47-24 upset loss to Auburn last week, their first SEC home loss since returning the the power conference 10 years ago. After giving up an early field goal to the Gators, RB Tony Tompkins' fumble on Tulane's very first offensive play from scrimmage was recovered by Gators freshman FS Wesley Allen and seemingly set the stage for Florida to take control early. Thankfully, the turnover would only lead to another field goal by PK Joey Wells, and the Green Wave came out of the early bad sequence only down 6-0.
Tompkins would make amends on his team's very next possession. To conclude a long 13-play 81-yard march that lasted 4:55, his 9-yard touchdown run on a 4th and 1 gave the Wave a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter. That lead would be short-lived however.
On its ensuing possession, Florida would regain its lead when QB Cameron Romero found TE Steven Watson in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. The 9-play 81-yard drive gave the Gators a 13-7 lead very early in the second quarter, and that would remain the score through halftime.
After PK Aaron Larson made up for a missed 51-yard second quarter field goal by connecting on a short 27-yard attempt in the third quarter to cut the Green Wave's deficit to 13-10, the stage was set for an entertaining final quarter.
Romero's 3-yard touchdown pass to a diving WR Joel Miller concluded an 11-play drive that lasted 3:20 and provided the Gators with cushion, making the score 20-10 with 8:33 remaining. Romero finished the night 16 of 22 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns, but Clemons would eventually out-duel him.
Versatile RB Michael Brown Jr. continued to create matchup problems all over the field as he has all season long, and finished the day with 6 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown.
"We wanted to get the screen game rolling in this one, with how great those pass rushers of theirs are," said Wave offensive coordinator Curtis Byrd, whose offense surrendered 7 sacks, including 4 to Florida star DE Phil Horn.
Following Brown Jr.'s big play, the Gators were now in a position where they'd have to lean on their other star, RB Marcus McBride, leading by only three points with just under seven minutes to play. On an otherwise quiet day for the nation's leading rusher, McBride would gash the Tulane defense for multiple first downs and penetrated into Green Wave territory with less than three minutes to go.
However, with Florida facing a 3rd and 9 from the Tulane 42-yard line, CB Jamaal Green's sack on a blitz would halt the Gators drive and forced a punt with 2:35 to play.
"The defense stepped up when needed there, and that was encouraging after last week, especially with the way Auburn ran the ball against us last week," said Green Wave head coach D. Geezy.
"(McBride) did average over 5 yards per carry, and yet I thought the defense showed great discipline and did a hell of a job of keeping him in front of them and not allowing him to break loose for any big gains. And that's a credit to the game plan and preparation by (defensive coordinator) Karl (Dunbar) and his group.
With Tulane now in possession of the football at its own 14-yard line with 2:24 down 20-17, the Green Wave's season now rested in the arm of Clemons, and he'd come through.
Leading a methodical 11-play 86-yard march, Clemons threw one precision pass after another while also using his scrambling ability to get a couple of first downs, before finally scrambling his way down to the Florida 2-yard line with 0:21 remaining. Tompkins would do the rest, slashing through the defense for the game-winning 3-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 24-20 lead with 0:17 to go. Tompkins finished the night with 16 carries for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns, however it was Clemons's heroics that stole the spotlight.
The Green Wave defense sacked Florida QB Cameron Romero 4 times on Saturday, none bigger than dime CB Jamaal Green's on a 3rd and 9 with 2:35 remaining.
"I thought he did an outstanding job of taking what the defense gives him and not trying to do too much while also taking advantage of the big play oppourtunities downfield when they presented themselves," said Byrd of Clemons.
The Gators would get one last chance to pull out a miracle, and penetrated all the way to the Green Wave 45-yard line with 0:03 to go. However, Romero's hail mary pass attempt would get batted away on the game's final play, sending Tulane students and fans pouring onto the field in celebration of the big upset, an upset that perhaps saved the Green Wave's season.
"There's no doubt about it, if we lose tonight, our chances of winning the conference, much less a national title, are over," said Geezy.
"We needed this win badly against what we felt is an incredible Florida squad. Anytime you can beat the defending national champs, and be the first team to do so, it's special. Not to mention with how bad they beat us in last year's SEC title game.
"You never know though; we may very well see these guys again at some point down the road."
Tulane (6-1) will host Kentucky (3-4) next week at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Green Wave defeated the Wildcats 42-7 last season at rainy Lexington.
A Tulane fan looks on in disbelief after witnessing the Florida's final hail mary attempt fall incomplete, clinching a win for the Green Wave along with the defending national champion Gators' first loss since the 2022 season.
Box Score| Florida Gators at Tulane Green Wave | |||||
| 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE | |
| #3 Florida Gators 6-1 (4-1) | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| #16 Tulane Green Wave 6-1 (3-1) | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
1st
: 26 yd FG by Wells 6:51 -- 0-3: 33 yd FG by Wells 5:49 -- 0-6: 9 yd TD run by Tompkins (Larson kick) 0:54 -- 7-62nd
: 6 yd TD pass from Romero to Watson (Wells kick) 7:09 -- 7-133rd
: 27 yd FG by Larson 2:53 -- 10-134th
: 3 yd TD pass from Romero to Miller (Wells kick) 8:33 -- 10-20: 46 yd TD pass from Clemons to Brown (Larson kick) 6:55 -- 17-20: 3 yd TD run by Tompkins (Larson kick) 0:17 -- 24-20 Game Statistics #16 Tulane Code:
[size=1] * - IMPACT Player [U] Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT [/U] 8-QB Obi Clemons (rs-jr) 173.2 20 31 362 1 0 [U] Rushing ATT YDS TD [/U] 5-RB Tony Tompkins(jr) 16 88 2 (1 kr, 23 yds | 2 pr, -1 yds) 8-QB Obi Clemons (rs-jr) 13 1 0 22-FB J.J. Williams(fr) 5 10 0 [U] Receiving REC YDS TD [/U] 10-RB Michael Brown Jr.(fr) 6 155 1 6-WR *Brandon McIntyre(sr) 4 43 0 11-WR *Jason Mason(sr) 4 81 0 13-WR Adam Lawson(fr) 3 67 0 1-TE Ronnie Parsons(jr) 2 10 0 5-RB Tony Tompkins(jr) 1 6 0 [U] Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT [/U] 56-MLB Sean Williams(jr) 9 6 3 1 0 0 4-S/CB Jonathan Smith(jr) 6 3 3 0 0 0 (1 ff, 1 kr, 15 yds | 1 pr, 5 yds) 77-DT Sammie Jenkins(sr) 5 4 1 1 1 0 47-OLB Chuckie Coley(sr) 3 2 1 1 1 0 48-CB Jamaal Green(rs-jr) 2 1 1 1 1 0 9-OLB Sean Williamson(fr) 1 1 0 1 1 0 [u] Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT [/U] 49-PK Aaron Larson(so) 1 2 28 51 3 3 [B][U]Tulane Key Team Stats:[/U][/B] Total Offensive Yards: 461 Rushing Totals: 34 att 99 yds 2 tds Sacks Allowed: 7 3rd down conversions: 5-11 (45%) 4th down conversions: 1-2 (50%) Offensive Turnovers: 2 Penalties: 4 for 35 yards [/size]
#3 FloridaCode:
[size=1] * - IMPACT Player [U] Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT [/U] 11-QB Cameron Romero(rs-sr) 198.9 16 22 252 2 0 [U] Rushing ATT YDS TD [/U] 17-RB *Marcus McBride(sr) 12 68 0 11-QB Cameron Romero(rs-sr) 5 -26 0 5-RB Elliot Johnson(fr) 3 3 0 [U] Receiving REC YDS TD [/U] 81-WR Will Rhodes(jr) 4 71 0 13-WR Zach Fowler(sr) 3 54 0 85-WR Trey Jackson(jr) 2 37 0 86-TE Jamie Slaughter(sr) 2 29 0 17-RB *Marcus McBride(sr) 1 29 0 5-RB Elliot Johnson(fr) 1 5 0 84-TE/FB Steven Watson(jr) 1 6 1 87-WR Joel Miller(rs-fr) 1 3 1 3-WR Josh Jones(jr) 1 18 0 [U] Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT [/U] 22-SS Ian Leslie(rs-jr) 9 6 3 0 0 0 99-LE Phile Horn(sr) 8 6 2 5 4 0 36-FS Wesley Allen(fr) 5 4 1 0 0 0 (1 fr) 2-CB Dave Williams(so) 4 4 0 1 1 0 9-DT Jared Wayne(rs-jr) 4 3 1 2 1 0 77-DT Derek Douglas(sr) 1 1 0 1 1 0 [u] Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT [/U] 14-PK Joey Wells(sr) 2 2 33 n/a 2 2 [B][U]Florida Key Team Stats:[/U][/B] Total Offensive Yards: 309 Rushing Totals: 24 att 57 yds 0 tds Sacks Allowed: 4 3rd down conversions: 3-8 (37%) 4th down conversions: 0-0 (0%) Offensive Turnovers: 1 Penalties: 6 for 59 yards [/size]
2024 Tulane Green Wave Schedule/Results Code:
[SIZE=1]
Opponent (record) Result Tulane Player of the Game -Record-
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at #13 Boise St. (6-1) W 27-10 DB Smith 19 tk 1 sk 1 ff 1 int 1 td 1-0 (0-0)
at #11 TCU (6-1) W 28-23 QB McBride 22-31 259 yds 2 total tds 2-0 (0-0)
vs #15 Notre Dame (4-2) W 59-34 RB Tompkins 476 total yds 3 rush tds 3-0 (0-0)
at LSU (5-2) W 49-21 WR Mason 6 rec 169 yds 2 tds 4-0 (1-0)
at Vanderbilt (3-4) W 35-10 LB Williamson 9 tk 5 tfl 3 sk 5-0 (2-0)
vs Auburn (4-3) L 24-47 QB Clemons 255 total yds 3 pass tds 5-1 (2-1)
vs #8 Florida (6-1) W 24-20 RB Brown Jr. 6 rec 155 yds 1 td 6-1 (3-1)
vs Kentucky (3-4)
at #3 Alabama (7-0)
vs Arkansas (3-3)
at Ole Miss (5-2)
vs #16 Southern Miss (7-0)
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Next Game:
3-4 (0-3) at #12 6-1 (3-1) Photo GalleryQB Obi Clemons, making his first start since last season, led the pregame huddle for Tulane.
Much-maligned Florida freshman safety Wesley Allen does the "Gator Chomp" in celebration of his recovery of a Tony Tompkins fumble just moments into the game.
Tulane senior DT Sammie Jenkins had one of the finer games of his career, coming up with several key stops in the running game along with this first half sack.
Gators RB Marcus McBride, the nation's leading rusher, had difficult breaking loose versus the Green Wave defense, but he did manage to deliver this nasty stiff arm to DB Jonathan Smith in the first quarter.
Tulane had no answer for Gators senior DE Phil Horn, who would finish the night with a career-high 4 sacks.
Florida CB Dave Williams and DE Johnny Stephens celebrate Williams' third quarter sack, which was one of 7 on the night for the Gators defense.
Tulane was very creative with its deployment of RB Michael Brown Jr. Saturday night as the versatile true freshman took several snaps from the slot, including this one that resulted in a 53-yard third quarter gain.
Florida QB Cameron Romero faced heavy pressure from a trio of Wave defenders before delivering a 3-yard touchdown strike in the fourth quarter.
6-6 true freshman WR Adam Lawson celebrates a spectacular fourth quarter catch in which he out-leaped Florida SS Ian Leslie (#22) on a jump ball for a big 3rd and 25 conversion in the second half.
Clemons leaps to high-five a fan as he runs into the tunnel following his team's season-saving victory.
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