Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

And your run game puts my numbers to shame, bud. Screw Marriner's 2K in my 'chise, you had multiple guys getting 1500 or more last year, or whatever it was. 5000 yards as a team is absolutely mind-boggling.

Actually, neither of them topped 1500 yds. Adam Barnes did get close though. In case you missed it:

QB Adam Barnes: 1478 yds, 13 TD
HB T.C. Pickens: 1212 yds, 11 TD
HB Eric Foreman: 1133 yds, 13 TD
QB Cam Jackson: 589 yds, 7 TD
FB Bobby Willis: 240 yds, 10 TD

Yeah, our running game was INSANE. Then again, the AAC was a weak conference last season. I don't expect to top those numbers in the ACC. Speaking of which...

Anywho, yes the ACC is a power conference. I just can't take them seriously as a power conference, and I can't wrap my finger around why. FSU is the only team with any big-boy bowl success lately IRL, so maybe that's it.

Well if it makes you feel any better, half the league is rated 90 OVR or above. Unfortunately, BC isn't one of them. They were an 87 OVR team last year, but all their talent graduated. Right now, they're projected as an 83. Here's how the conference looks overall:

Notre Dame: 99 OVR
Clemson: 97
Tulane: 95
Virginia Tech: 95
Florida State: 93
North Carolina: 93
Miami (FL): 93
Georgia Tech: 91

NC State: 89 OVR
Syracuse: 87
West Virginia: 87
Wake Forest: 83
Boston College: 83
Pittsburgh: 81

Virginia: 75
Duke: 69

Clemson has been running the league for the past few years, while VA Tech has usually been the 2nd or 3rd best team. North Carolina's had a few good years, and Syracuse has had a football renaissance of sorts. Miami has been inconsistent (I blame Al Golden), while Florida State has under-performed greatly. And Virginia has completely fallen off a cliff since winning the ACC in 2015. Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good conference. Don't ya think?

[HARLEE23]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Also add on Georgia Tech who thumped Mississippi State this year in the orange bowl who was ranked number 1 for a good portion of the year. I was happy to see that result.

But hopefully you can continue your domination on the ground. Nothing feels better than dominating the ground game in my opinion! Just knowing you can push yourself at will against another team is the best feeling

[BookWork123]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Been reading for a while now and am enjoying every little bit of this thread. Hope you post more soon!

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Tulane opens 2020 with 58-pt drubbing of UConn
Barnes totals 5 touchdowns, offense scores school-record 72 points

NEW ORLEANS - The Green Wave kicked off the 2020 season in as perfect fashion as you could ask for. They destroyed the UConn Huskies yesterday as expected, and in doing so broke a few school records. For the first time ever, Tulane scored 70 points in a game. They had been close a few times under Coach Kaelyn Willingham, but yesterday they finally topped the mark. Coach Willingham said after the game, "I know some may think we ran the score up on 'em, but we took advantage of an opportunity. We crossed that off the bucket list, now we're on to other things."

Tulane beat UConn 72-14, and looked darn good in the process. The team posted 486 yards rushing, and 665 yards total. They forced a school-record 8 turnovers, including 5 interceptions of UConn QB Mike Bobo. Bobo did throw for 344 yards, but looked uncomfortable in the pocket at many times in the game. Adding insult to injury, he was also sacked 6 times. The Tulane secondary was beaten on plenty of occasions, but the pressure they put on Bobo kept him off-balance. On the flip side, Tulane QB Adam Barnes had a big game. The senior threw 3 first-quarter touchdowns to give the Wave an early 21-7 lead, 2 of those TDs going to TE Joe Johnson. Barnes also added 2 touchdowns on the ground, giving him 5 total for the game. He had a combined 309 offensive yards, but most importantly, NO TURNOVERS. It was only the third game in his career that he had a turnover-free outing. Barnes was aided by a strong rushing attack, with T.C. Pickens having 125 yards & 1 TD, and Eric Foreman having 119 yards & 1 TD. Even WR Joe Fernandez earned a rushing TD out of the Wildcat formation. The running game was forceful, which allowed the passing game to be proficient. The Wave receivers played well in their first outing, and are expected to improve going forward.

The Wave held a 41-7 lead early in the 3rd, when SS Bruce McDaniel intercepted Mike Bobo, and took the ball 15 yards to the house. Tulane rattled Bobo all day, and it showed in the Husky's first career start. He didn't have any help in the running game, as RB Andy Pierce was held to 58 yards on 17 carries. He did score both of UConn's TDs, but that was the bulk of his contribution. As a unit, Tulane allowed just 21 net yards rushing. The secondary was beaten on plenty of occasions, much to the disappointment of Coach Willingham. Their lack of experience showed, as the Husky receivers were able to get free & make plays. Especially WR Dan Gibbs, who posted 7 catches & 152 yards on the day.

The Green Wave hit the road next week to South Bend, IN for their first ACC conference game. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost their first game yesterday to Florida State, in a 45-14 shellacking. This is their home opener, and they'll look to put up a much better performance. The Irish were projected to be one of the top teams in the ACC this season, and are seen as Tulane's top competition in Group B. Willingham spoke about Notre Dame during post-game after beating UConn.

Willingham: "They're a tough team. Coach [Brian] Kelly's got a well-coached unit, they just had a bad outing today. I'm sure they'll be better next week. We gotta bring our A-game, so we'll celebrate today's win briefly, then get right into Notre Dame prep."

The UConn victory extends Tulane's winning streak to 23 games, dating back to 2018. Can they extend the streak to 24 against the Irish? Next week's game will be the first-ever "ACC Game of the Week", broadcast live on NBC. Kickoff is scheduled for 8PM EST.

Connecticut Huskies at Tulane Green Wave
Aug 29, 2020 1 2 3 4 OT F CONN (0-1, 0-0 NEAC) 7 0 0 7 - 14 #10 TULN (1-0, 0-0 ACC) 21 13 31 7 - 72 Top Performers PASS: Adam Barnes (TULN) - 11/14, 164 yds, 3 TD RUSH: Adam Barnes (TULN) - 11 rush, 145 yds, 2 TD REC: Dan Gibbs (CONN) - 7 rec, 152 yds	Team Stats Comparison CONN TULN First Downs 20 24 3rd Down Efficiency 4/13 (30%) 4/10 (40%) 4th Down Efficiency -- 1/2 (50%) Total Offense 365 665 Passing Yards 344 179 Rushing Yards 21 486 Penalties-Penalty Yards 4-30 2-15 Turnovers 8 0 Time of Possession 15:32 28:28
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING CONN TULN 9:30 (CONN) TD: A. Pierce, 2 yd run (XP) 7 0 6:21 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 7 yd pass to J. Johnson (XP) 7 7 5:16 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 15 yd pass to J. Johnson (XP) 7 14 0:53 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 61 yd pass to T. Pickens (XP) 7 21 SECOND QUARTER SCORING CONN TULN 8:41 (TULN) FG: S. Foster, 31 yds 7 24 5:02 (TULN) FG: S. Foster, 31 yds 7 27 1:35 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 4 yd run (XP) 7 34 THIRD QUARTER SCORING CONN TULN 10:30 (TULN) TD: T. Pickens, 57 yd run (XP) 7 41 10:21 (TULN) TD: B. McDaniel, 15 yd INT return (XP) 7 48 8:41 (TULN) FG: S. Foster, 21 yds 7 51 5:23 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 14 yd run (XP) 7 58 3:10 (TULN) TD: J. Fernandez, 7 yd run (XP) 7 65 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING CONN TULN 6:52 (CONN) TD: A. Pierce, 2 yd run (XP) 14 65 1:08 (TULN) TD: E. Foreman, 1 yd run (XP) 14 72

[thesportsguru11]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Holy crap....

Insert a disappointed comment from RT right about here.....

[BookWork123]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Very complete win to start the season on both sides! Excited to see how you do in ACC play! Roll Wave!

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Week 1's Top Results

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

A Look Around The Nation

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

A Look Around the ACC

September 1, 2020
12:00PM

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Adam Barnes, QB, Tulane
164 pass yds, 145 rush yds, 5 total TD

Micah Rosario, SS, Tulane
9 tackles, 2 TFL, Sack, 2 INT

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN

GAME PREVIEW -- Tulane and Notre Dame meet in their 1st-ever ACC match-up. Notre Dame lost its inaugural ACC game last week, a 45-14 loss to Florida State. They'll look to rebound in their home opener against a Tulane team that proved last weekend how dangerous they can be. The Green Wave destroyed UConn 72-14, posting their largest single-game point total in school history. They put up nearly 500 yards rushing, but they'll struggle to reach that number against a tough Notre Dame front 7. Still, the Wave have enough horses in the stable to run the ball, bringing forth QB Adam Barnes and RBs T.C. Pickens & Eric Foreman. The Irish bring forth a talented back of their own in Kevin Montoya, and he'll look to get going against a Tulane D that struggled a bit against UConn. It's the ACC's 1st-ever "ACC Game of the Week" live on NBC, and it should be a great contest in South Bend.

[BookWork123]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Hey KSW! Love the work on Tulane, but I fear I may have to stop reading it for ONE reason...I'm a Penn State fan.






Just kidding man! Keep up the great work!

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Hey KSW! Love the work on Tulane, but I fear I may have to stop reading it for ONE reason...I'm a Penn State fan.






Just kidding man! Keep up the great work!

Well, we do have Penn State on the schedule coming up in future years, so...maybe a conflict of interest?

Ah well. Thanks for following man!

[BookWork123]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

No problem! It's hard not to, with how interesting it is!

[kswgrad2012]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

Tulane wins ACC opener in 31-27 thriller
Barnes amasses 461 yards, 3 touchdowns in win

SOUTH BEND, IN -- In a game where the running game was stuffed, in a game where the defense was bend-but-don't-break, in a game where Adam Barnes had to rely on his arm and not his legs, the Tulane Green Wave took home a 31-27 victory to begin their inaugural ACC campaign. Tulane marched into the hostile confines of Notre Dame Stadium, a place of history & lore, a place they hadn't played at since 1971, and took down the Irish for the first time EVER. The Green Wave were 0-8 all-time against Notre Dame, dating back to the 1940s. But yesterday's victory was truly one to savor. If you ask Coach Willingham, he'd say it was one of the biggest wins ever.

Kaelyn Willingham: "Not gonna lie, I thought that win was one of the biggest wins in school history. The fact that we went into a hostile environment, against a historic college football blue-blood, in our first ACC conference game, and WON...I think that's gotta go in the history books."

Adam Barnes put on a show in the game, amassing 461 total yards & 3 touchdowns, and accounting for nearly all of Tulane's offensive output. The Fighting Irish did a good job of stifling the Green Wave's rushing attack, holding them to 212 yards. 100 of those yards came from Barnes, who was the only player who could consistently move the ball with his legs. Notre Dame forced Tulane to air it out, and they were surprised by the outcome. Adam Barnes threw for a career-high 361 yards in the game.

Notre Dame got the evening started with a TD on their first drive. Junior QB Andrew Wilson led the Irish downfield, completing his first 3 passes. He got knocked out of the game, however, and had to be helped off the field. Freshman Ryan Jenkins came off the bench and finished the drive, hitting FB Austin James in the flat for a 7-yd TD. Tulane came out on offense after the kickoff and were stuffed on their first two plays. On 3rd-and-long Adam Barnes took the ball in shotgun and looked downfield. He saw Joe Fernandez streaking downfield and hit him; the play went for an 82-yard touchdown. 7-7 just like that.

Andrew Wilson was diagnosed with a concussion and sat out the remainder of the game. Luckily for Notre Dame, they didn't need him, as Ryan Jenkins did more than enough to keep them competitive. Jenkins found TE Andrew Newton in the back of the endzone on the ensuing possession, giving Notre Dame a 14-7 lead after one. The second quarter was rather defensive, as both defenses put on their Big Boy pants and made plays. Neither team could run the ball at all, but both teams made plays in the air attack. Adam Barnes made the biggest play of the game to this point right before the half. Down 17-10, Coach Willingham sent out his offense in a 5-wide formation. Barnes faked the inside run, dropped back, found HB Eric Foreman racing down the middle, and hit him wide open. Nobody caught the speed demon, and Foreman jetted to the endzone. Notre Dame was prepared to take a seven-point lead into the locker room, but instead Tulane tied the game with 0:00 left, and headed into halftime with all the momentum.

Adam Barnes' arm was a cannon, launching passes to the tune of 361 yds & 3 TDs.

The third quarter provided more of the same, as the defenses gave up plays but not too many. The Wave got the ball to start the second half and again were stuffed on their first two plays; on third down Barnes looked downfield and this time found Chris Davis streaking down the right sideline. This time, the deep ball went for a 71-yd touchdown. Tulane took their first lead of the game at 24-17, and held on to it for much of the half. In the midst of all these big plays were turnovers. Ryan Jenkins made some great plays, but he also made some bad mistakes. He was picked off in the first half by Rob Bryan, ending what would've been a scoring opportunity. He was picked off again in the second half, this time by freshman FS Tim Dean. Adam Barnes got the ball back and looked to pull away from Notre Dame, when he was intercepted in the endzone. CB Daniel McLaughlin stole the ball from Chris Davis, and kept the Irish in the dogfight.

This set us up for the finale. After the Tulane turnover the Irish had 80 yards in front of them, looking to tie the game. Ryan Jenkins hit his passes with near-precision, his wide receivers getting open with ease. The crux of the drive was Jenkins finding Andrew Newton again in the back of the endzone. Tie game, 24-24. After a Wave 3-and-out the Irish scored again; this time by way of James Wheeler's leg. The junior kicker tacked on a 40-yarder, giving Notre Dame the lead back at 27-24. TU got the ball back with under 4:00 to go, and looked to score & seal the deal. The attack was simple. Run, run, run the ball. Adam Barnes took a read-option play for 20 yards. Then Eric Foreman ran the ball for yards. Barnes converted a few 3rd downs in the air, putting the Wave in scoring position. Foreman ran for 8, then 10. One yard from the goal-line, FB Bobby Willis punched it in. The Wave were now up four, and had 1:42 to close the deal. Jenkins did his thing, leading the Irish down the field in the air. Completion after completion, Notre Dame slowly made its way to the redzone.

1st-and-goal: pass incomplete (broken up by a defender).
2nd-and-goal: pass incomplete (thrown through the back of the endzone).
3rd-and-goal: Jenkins looks left, looks right, throws, and is picked off by the safety.

Jenkins made a bad read, Bruce McDaniel leaped forward, and stole the ball from the air. Tulane ran two plays, and ran out the clock for the victory.

The final sequence of plays: Willis puts Tulane on top, Jenkins leads ND down the field, McDaniel picks off Jenkins in the endzone.

The Green Wave are off to a 2-0 start, and hope to move up in the polls after yesterday's win. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is off to an 0-2 start (not what they expected from their ACC debut). The Green Wave are off next week, and host the Virginia Cavaliers the following week. Virginia has not done well since winning the ACC Title in 2015. Still, they have some talented players. Coach Willingham said his players will get a few days to celebrate, then it's back to work. After all, it is one of the biggest wins in school history.

Tulane Green Wave at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Sep 5, 2020 1 2 3 4 OT F #8 TULN (2-0, 1-0 ACC) 7 10 7 7 - 31 ND (0-2, 0-2 ACC) 14 3 0 10 - 27 Top Performers PASS: Adam Barnes (TULN) - 15/19, 361 yds, 3 TD, INT RUSH: Adam Barnes (TULN) - 11 rush, 100 yds REC: Joe Fernandez (TULN) - 4 rec, 111 yds, TD	Team Stats Comparison TULN ND First Downs 15 24 3rd Down Efficiency 6/14 (42%) 6/15 (40%) 4th Down Efficiency 0/1 (100%) 1/1 (100%) Total Yards 573 436 Passing Yards 361 375 Rushing Yards 212 61 Penalties-Penalty Yards 3-15 1-10 Turnovers 2 3 Time of Possession 27:12 16:48
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING TULN ND 8:38 (ND) TD: R. Jenkins, 7 yd pass to A. James (XP) 0 7 7:19 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 82 yd pass to J. Fernandez (XP) 7 7 5:59 (ND) TD: R. Jenkins, 14 yd pass to A. Newton (XP) 7 14 SECOND QUARTER SCORING TULN ND 10:27 (TULN) FG: S. Foster, 33 yds 10 14 6:36 (ND) FG: J. Wheeler, 31 yds 10 17 0:00 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 83 yd pass to E. Foreman (XP) 17 17 THIRD QUARTER SCORING TULN ND 9:38 (TULN) TD: A. Barnes, 71 yd pass to C. Davis (XP) 24 17 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING TULN ND 6:47 (ND) TD: R. Jenkins, 3 yd pass to A. Newton (XP) 24 24 3:58 (ND) FG: J. Wheeler, 40 yds 24 27 1:42 (TULN) TD: B. Willis, 1 yd run (XP) 31 27

[mattrd39]

Re: Tulane Football: "From Worst to First"

I wonder if Notre Dame was set to "aggressive" zone coverage or something with the way you kept burning them deep! Three 70+ yard TDs makes things a lot easier when you're struggling to run. Big win in your debut in the ACC!