Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"
As Vince Lombardi would put it, "What the hell's going on out there?!?"
You thought getting whipped by Syracuse was bad? Try losing to Memphis. That’s right, MEMPHIS.
The Tulane Green Wave suffered yet another surprising defeat this week, this time in the hand of the Memphis Tigers. In a game where the Tigers started their backup QB, who hadn’t gotten reps in nearly a year. Will Gross, the usual starter, was out, so Perry Sanders stepped in and saved the day. The Tigers came into the game as huge underdogs. All Sanders did was break the Memphis single-game record for passing yards in a game, throwing for 476 on the day. It’s the second time in this short season that Tulane has allowed an opposing QB to break their school’s single-game yardage record. Coach Willingham is clearly displeased.
While the offense did fare better this week than last, Willingham is still displeased with that as well. The offensive line play has been horrendous, preventing the running backs from making plays. It’s causing QB Devin Powell to take more hits than wanted. And with backup QB Trevor Knight out 2 weeks nursing abdominal pain, Powell’s had to shoulder the load yet again.
The game got started off rather fast pace. Memphis jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, sparred by deep passes by Perry Sanders. Then the Tulane offense settled down and got a few drives going. Tulane lead 21-14 after one. Then things went downhill. The offense struggled to keep drives going, going scoreless for 2 quarters. Memphis capitalized, scoring 2 more touchdowns to make it 28-21. A field goal would make it 31-21 Memphis after three.
Tulane tried to get it going in the fourth, stringing together a few more drives, but could never pull to a tie. They’d add a field goal to make it 31-24, but Memphis responded with another deep-play touchdown, putting the lead at 14. Tulane would score again but it would be too late. Final score: 38-31 Memphis. Devin Powell would go down late in the game with what doctors are calling a mild concussion, so 3rd-string QB Bryan Higgins would have to come in and pinch hit. He did well down the stretch, completing all 7 of his passes, including one for a score, but the offensive line gave him no help. Needing a 4th down conversion with 1:27 left, Higgins couldn’t even get the play off as he had a defender in his face right after the snap, effectively ending the game. Tulane could’ve hoped for a stop on defense, but of course a bad defense gives up 27 yards on an obvious 3rd-and-17 pass play.
Powell should be good to go for next week @ Houston. Coach Willingham says to expect a different style of attack in that game, as they head into their first Bye. We’ll see if that new style will take the monkey off their backs going forward.
What is Going On???
As Vince Lombardi would put it, "What the hell's going on out there?!?"
You thought getting whipped by Syracuse was bad? Try losing to Memphis. That’s right, MEMPHIS.
The Tulane Green Wave suffered yet another surprising defeat this week, this time in the hand of the Memphis Tigers. In a game where the Tigers started their backup QB, who hadn’t gotten reps in nearly a year. Will Gross, the usual starter, was out, so Perry Sanders stepped in and saved the day. The Tigers came into the game as huge underdogs. All Sanders did was break the Memphis single-game record for passing yards in a game, throwing for 476 on the day. It’s the second time in this short season that Tulane has allowed an opposing QB to break their school’s single-game yardage record. Coach Willingham is clearly displeased.
Willingham: This is getting ridiculous. I mean this is getting out-of-hand. Three games, 1400 passing yards given up? I’ve never heard of that.
While the offense did fare better this week than last, Willingham is still displeased with that as well. The offensive line play has been horrendous, preventing the running backs from making plays. It’s causing QB Devin Powell to take more hits than wanted. And with backup QB Trevor Knight out 2 weeks nursing abdominal pain, Powell’s had to shoulder the load yet again.
Willingham: We’re gonna be making changes. We got a Bye week coming up, so we’re gonna capitalize. I mean to play the way we’re playing right now, we’re an awful football team. Just bad.
The game got started off rather fast pace. Memphis jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, sparred by deep passes by Perry Sanders. Then the Tulane offense settled down and got a few drives going. Tulane lead 21-14 after one. Then things went downhill. The offense struggled to keep drives going, going scoreless for 2 quarters. Memphis capitalized, scoring 2 more touchdowns to make it 28-21. A field goal would make it 31-21 Memphis after three.
Tulane tried to get it going in the fourth, stringing together a few more drives, but could never pull to a tie. They’d add a field goal to make it 31-24, but Memphis responded with another deep-play touchdown, putting the lead at 14. Tulane would score again but it would be too late. Final score: 38-31 Memphis. Devin Powell would go down late in the game with what doctors are calling a mild concussion, so 3rd-string QB Bryan Higgins would have to come in and pinch hit. He did well down the stretch, completing all 7 of his passes, including one for a score, but the offensive line gave him no help. Needing a 4th down conversion with 1:27 left, Higgins couldn’t even get the play off as he had a defender in his face right after the snap, effectively ending the game. Tulane could’ve hoped for a stop on defense, but of course a bad defense gives up 27 yards on an obvious 3rd-and-17 pass play.
Powell should be good to go for next week @ Houston. Coach Willingham says to expect a different style of attack in that game, as they head into their first Bye. We’ll see if that new style will take the monkey off their backs going forward.
Comment