Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

[xboxxerx]

Looking forward to it ksw. Still following.

[kswgrad2012]

Surprising Shootout Ends in Wave Loss

The LSU Tigers knew the Tulane Green Wave had played them close the last few meetings. They thought they had their best team yet, and that a close matchup with the lowly team from New Orleans was simply unlikely. Instead they found themselves in a shootout that would find them barely escaping with a win for the third straight time.

The Green Wave found themselves in a jam for much of the game, falling behind 35-14 after three quarters. But Kaelyn Willingham has taught this team to have fight, to not give up until the clock hits zero. His team would take this message to heart, putting up a 28-10 fourth quarter rally and finding themselves in a 45-42 slugfest that would see both teams put up over 800 yards through the air. Tulane QB Devin Powell would have his first 300-yard passing game as the Green Wave would abandon their run-heavy attack; the Wave would amass 127 yards on just 32 running plays. Meanwhile Powell would complete 17 of 22 passes for 344 yards and FIVE passing touchdowns. JUCO Sophomore WR Aaron Gandy would amass 158 yards and a TD on just 3 catches in his debut; WR Justin Atkinson would have 2 TD catches in his debut. Even the new CB Charlie Smith would get in on the passing action, having 4 catches for 44 yards and a TD. Smith would have a great day playing defense AND offense.

The Green Wave head home for their home-opener versus defending AAC champ UCF, then they have a bye. The Tulane-UCF matchup would feature the two teams with the best conference records in The American last season, at 7-1.

Tulane Green Wave at LSU Tigers
Aug 30, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tulane Green Wave (0-1)	0	7	7	28	42
#8 LSU Tigers (1-0)	14	14	7	10	45

Team Stats Comparison
	TULN	LSU
Total Offense	471	450
Rushing Yards	127	88
Passing Yards	344	362
First Downs	18	12
Punt Return Yards	6	27
Kick Return Yards	129	104
Total Yards	606	581
Turnovers	0	0
3rd Down Converstion	6/11 (54%)	6/9 (66%)
4th Down Conversion	2/2 (100%)	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-3-0 (100%)	3-2-1 (100%)
Penalties	1-0	4-40
Posession Time	22:33	13:27

Tulane Green Wave PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Devin Powell 17/22 344 5 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Devin Powell 19 50 2.6 1 Rob Kelley 5 10 2.0 0 Devon Breaux 4 26 6.5 0 Bryan Higgins 4 44 11.0 0 Fred Roach 2 7 3.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Justin Atkinson 5 70 14.0 2 Charlie Smith 4 68 17.0 1 Aaron Gandy 3 148 49.3 1 Devon Breaux 1 28 28.0 0 Rob Kelley 1 17 17.0 0 Bryan Higgins 1 1 1.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jamie Baker 7 0.0 0 0 Jordan Batiste 6 0.0 0 0 Terrence Thomas 6 0.0 0 0 Willie Ross 5 1.0 0 0 Fred Arnold 4 0.0 0 0 Darion Monroe 4 0.0 0 0 Shaun Powers 4 1.0 0 0 Charlie Smith 3 0.0 0 0

LSU Tigers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Stephen Rivers 17/19 362 6 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kenny Hilliard 19 81 4.2 0 Henry Goode 3 19 6.3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Travis Lewis 7 78 11.1 1 Paul Turner 5 144 28.8 3 Travin Dural 2 106 53.3 2 Thomas Edwards 1 5 5.0 0 Brian Banks 1 22 22.0 0 Kenny Hilliard 1 7 7.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jerqwinick Sandolph 8 0.0 0 0 Bryan Hancock 7 0.0 0 0 Kwon Alexander 7 1.0 0 0 Ronnie Feist 6 0.0 0 0 Lamar Louis 6 0.0 0 0 Danielle Hunter 5 0.0 0 0 Corey Thompson 5 0.0 0 0

 

[kswgrad2012]

AAC Game of the Week

Matchup Preview | September 5, 2015
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UCF Knights (0-0, 0-0 Away)		Tulane Green Wave (0-1, 0-0 Home)
Game Notes UCF looks to kick off its conference championship defense against the team they beat out last season to gain it. The Knights travel to the Big Easy to take on a Green Wave team hungry for a victory after the loss to archrival LSU in a shootout early this week. Tulane looks to win their home opener, as Coach Kaelyn Willingham wants his team to get the season off to a much faster start than last season, where they opened 0-3 before beginning conference play. This American conference-opening "Game of the Week" features the two teams with the highest conference records from last season, both finishing 7-1. PREDICTION: UCF 28, Tulane 20

[kswgrad2012]

Another Shootout, Another Loss…

The Green Wave defense has had its work cut out for it early in the season, as the team found itself of the losing end of another shootout, this time losing 42-35 at the hands of the UCF Knights. The Knights would jump out to a 21-0 lead early as the Green Wave searched for answers on both sides of the ball. The Wave would pull back though, this time with the running game instead of the pass.

Charlie Smith returns a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, putting Tulane on the board 21-7.

The excitement would get going in the second quarter, after CB Charlie Smith returned a UCF kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, putting the Green Wave on the board at 21-7. The Wave would carry this “wave” of momentum (pun intended!) throughout the rest of the game, eventually tying the game before taking a 35-21 lead. During the 35-0 run the Wave would put up 300 yards on the ground, including 84 from QB Devin Powell. They would also hold the Knights offense to under 100 yards.

Justin Atkinson catches his 3rd TD of the season.



DE Jeremy Weber gets to UCF QB Bryan Perkins for the sack.



Devin Powell takes an option play 34 yards for the touchdown.



Aaron Gandy catches his second TD of the season.

Then things get interesting. After UCF QB Bryan Perkins tosses his third touchdown of the game the score is 35-27. The Green Wave get the ball and are unable to score. The Knights get the ball with 1:00 to go in the 4th quarter. They march down the field and score with 20 seconds to go; after a two-point conversion the game’s nodded at 35. Then the unthinkable happens…

Before Tulane RB Rob Kelley returns the ensuing kickoff he is told by Coach Willingham “Don’t fumble the kickoff!” He goes out, fields the kick, and what does he do? HE FUMBLES THE KICKOFF!!! The Knights recover, and only need three plays. Perkins throws a screen, completes to RB Jared Robinson, and they leave only three seconds on the clock after taking an improbable 42-35 lead. Willingham entrusts his CB/WR Charlie Smith to field another kick return touchdown for the game, but it wasn’t meant to be. Tulane loses 42-35 to the defending American Athletic Conference champ, falling to 0-2 on the season. They head to a bye for the next week, before hosting the Memphis Tigers the week after.

UCF Knights at Tulane Green Wave
Sep 5, 2015	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
UCF Knights (1-0 (1-0 American))	21	3	0	18	42
Tulane Green Wave (0-2 (0-1 American))	0	21	7	7	35

Team Stats Comparison
	UCF	TULN
Total Offense	431	376
Rushing Yards	11	300
Passing Yards	420	76
First Downs	13	19
Punt Return Yards	21	32
Kick Return Yards	137	279
Total Yards	589	687
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Converstion	3/10 (30%)	5/11 (45%)
4th Down Conversion	1/1 (100%)	1/3 (33%)
2-Point Conversion	1-1 (100%)	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-1-2 (100%)	4-3-0 (75%)
Penalties	2-6	1-10
Posession Time	10:57	25:03

UCF Knights PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Bryan Perkins 29/39 420 5 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jared Robinson 7 25 3.5 0 Bryan Perkins 7 -11 -1.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Drico Johnson 6 110 18.3 2 R.J. Pittman 5 78 15.6 0 Amari Cooper 4 85 21.2 1 Marques Cleveland 4 51 12.7 1 Jared Robinson 4 22 5.5 0 Kevin Miller 2 13 6.5 0 James Mackeroy 2 59 29.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Richard Smith 15 0.0 0 0 Roman Goss 9 0.0 0 0 Curtis Goodwin 8 0.0 0 0 Corey Brown 7 0.0 0 0 Darren Henderson 6 0.0 1 0 Teko Powell 6 1.0 0 0 Miles Pace 5 0.0 0 0 Andy Greer 4 0.0 0 0

Tulane Green Wave PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Devin Powell 5/8 76 2 1 Bryan Higgins 0/1 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Devin Powell 18 84 4.6 2 Rob Kelley 7 43 6.1 0 Devon Breaux 7 16 2.2 0 Marco Washington 7 46 6.5 0 Wendell Goolsby 4 43 10.7 0 J.J. Thomas 3 35 11.6 0 Fred Roach 2 15 7.5 0 Bryan Higgins 2 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Aaron Gandy 2 24 12.0 1 Devon Breaux 1 23 23.0 0 Shaun Henry 1 15 15.0 0 Justin Atkinson 1 14 14.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jordan Batiste 7 0.0 0 0 Darion Monroe 7 0.0 0 0 Charlie Smith 6 0.0 0 0 Drew Watson 5 0.0 2 0 Darrell Johnson 5 0.0 0 0 Terrence Thomas 4 0.0 0 0 Jamie Baker 4 1.0 0 0 Jeremy Weber 3 2.0 0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Charlie Smith 3 156 52.0 1

[xboxxerx]

Tough back to back losses there. Looking at those UCF game stats, you look like a run by committee. lol

[kswgrad2012]

Madness in the Top 25

There were a lot of interesting matchups in Week 2 of the 2015 season. But this weekend will undoubtedly go down as “Upset Saturday.” The most interesting game results:

ECU defeats #9 South Carolina, 20-17

Pitt defeats #3 Iowa, 24-19

#2 Notre Dame defeats #4 Texas, 38-24

Kentucky defeats #7 Louisville, 20-17

UCLA defeats #10 Virginia, 35-17

Here’s the Top 25 after the dust has settled:

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Sep 6, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	2	Notre Dame (38)	1	0	1502
2	1	Miami (FL) (21)	1	0	1447
3	5	Clemson (1)	0	0	1250
4	6	Oregon (1)	1	0	1218
5	8	LSU	1	0	1110
6	4	Texas	0	1	980
7	11	Wisconsin	1	0	967
8	12	Auburn	1	0	918
9	13	Oklahoma	1	0	870
10	14	Michigan State	1	0	821
11	15	Florida	1	0	772
12	16	Nebraska	1	0	722
13	3	Iowa	0	1	682
14	17	Ohio State	1	0	673
15	18	Oklahoma State	1	0	638
16	19	TCU	1	0	587
17	7	Louisville	0	1	586
18	10	Virginia	0	1	560
19	20	Georgia	1	0	537
20	22	Virginia Tech	0	0	419
21	NR	UCLA	1	0	368
22	23	Tennessee	1	0	368
23	9	South Carolina	0	1	360
24	24	Boise State	0	0	316
25	25	Northwestern	0	0	264

[kswgrad2012]

Quote: Originally Posted by xboxxerx

Tough back to back losses there. Looking at those UCF game stats, you look like a run by committee. lol

Basically, lol. That's how I've always played. Everyone gets involved.

[kswgrad2012]

Looking for Win #1…

After the Bye Week...

Matchup Preview | September 19, 2015
	@
Memphis Tigers (0-2, 0-0 Away)		Tulane Green Wave (0-2, 0-1 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 13.5 (#111) Points Per Game 38.5 (#24) 353.5 (#100) Total Offensive Yards 423.5 (#54) 185.5 (#72) Rushing Yards 213.5 (#54) 168.0 (#93) Passing Yards 210.0 (#64) Defensive Stats Comparison 503.0 (#118) Total Yards Allowed 440.5 (#101) 193.5 (#84) Rushing Yards Allowed 49.5 (#2) 309.5 (#117) Passing Yards Allowed 391.0 (#122) Game Notes Both teams are 0-2, both teams are currently at the bottom of the AAC, both teams are looking for wins to get their season started. The Green Wave come into the game with a high-powered offense, averaging over 200 yards a game running and throwing the ball. On the flip side Memphis is struggling this season to find an offensive identity. Both teams have struggled on the defensive side in the early going. Memphis QB Will Gross had success running the ball on the Green Wave when these two teams played last season, having over 150 yards on the ground. He'll look to have similar success this time around against mostly the same defense. The Wave secondary will look to greatly improve on their coverage skills after giving up 300+ yards in the air the first two weeks. When it comes down to it, there's clearly a talent gap. Tulane has improved on both sides of the ball, while Memphis has lost much of its talent from last season. Given last week's effort expect the Wave defensive line to get pressure on Gross, as the Tigers offensive line is weak to say the least. They also lack a top-flight receiver for a spread offense, as well as a competent defender in the front seven, which is needed to stop a run-heavy attack. Other than an experienced QB & RB, two decent safeties and a GREAT kicker, look for the talent gap to be exposed early. Don't expect this game to be close for long. PREDICTION: Tulane 35, Memphis 17