08-20-2017, 04:01 PM
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#1612
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Game 9, Year 15 (2024 season): #11 Tulane at #4 Alabama
 RIVALRY GAME: THE TIDAL WAVE PARTY
#11  10 -- 7-2 (4-2)
X#4  20 -- 9-0 (6-0)
Tulane senior OLB Chuckie Coley, a junior college transfer in his third season with the Wave, walks off the field dejected knowing that he will leave Tulane without a single SEC championship ring.
#11 Tulane unable to muster much offense for most of the night, falls 20-10 in a frustrating evening at Tuscaloosa | #4 Alabama controls the clock with a dominate rushing attack and defense picks up 9 sacks as Tide virtually eliminates Green Wave from SEC and national championship picture | Former Tulane RB Deuce Monroe has a strong performance, relishes in knocking his old squad out of title contention | Wave will host Arkansas in two weeks with pretty much nothing left to play for but pride
Tuscaloosa, AL -- December 11th, 2021 is the last time the Tulane was able to call themselves champions of any sort, nearly three full years ago. Unfortunately for the Green Wave, barring a miracle, that championship drought will continue for at least another season following a frustrating 20-10 loss to #4 Alabama Saturday night at Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide defense, who has not allowed a single opponent to score more than 10 points this season, was its usual stingy self last night, holding the Green Wave to its lowest offensive scoring output in three seasons and with no points until there was less than four minutes remaining in the game. QB Bryce Allen, in his first game back since week 1, was sacked 8 times, and the Tide got a monster performance from its ground game en route to virtually eliminating the Wave from SEC title contention.  Alabama star RB Cameron Miller slashed through the Green Wave defense for 127 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on the night.
The game got off to a terrific start for Bama. Taking the game's opening possession on a 10-play 83-yard drive, the Tide got on the board first when senior RB Cameron Miller bulldozed his way in for a 2-yard touchdown that gave his team an early 7-0 advantage. And he wasn't done just yet.
Later in the first half, on a drive set up by Allen's interception thrown to Alabama MLB Jason Young, Miller found pay-dirt again. This time, the Heisman candidate shredded through the defense for a 20-yard touchdown that increased the Crimson Tide's lead to 14-0. Miller, who gashed the Green Wave defense for 200 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns last year and 167 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2022, finished this game with 127 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns before exiting early in the third quarter with an injury and not returning.
"We've had problems versus the run all year long and any time you're going against a team as talented as they are in the offensive backfield and with such a great line, you have to be disciplined with your gap control and we weren't," said first year Tulane defensive coordinator Karl Dunbar, who was Alabama's defensive line coach the past 8 seasons.
"We have a lot of work to do in getting better up front, both assignment wise and we need some bigger bodies for when we're playing against these teams with 300+ pound lineman across the board."
With Miller down with what CBS sideline reporter Allie LaForce described as a minor lower leg sprain, in came a familiar face for Tulane fans - former Green Wave and now redshirt sophomore Alabama RB Deuce Monroe. Monroe, who transferred from Tulane to Alabama following his freshman season in 2022, typically is used by Alabama as its #2 back behind Miller and #4 wide receiver and top return man. He would be the bellcow back for most of the second half, something Tulane coaches were reluctant to do and played a role in his decision to leave New Orleans.
Monroe, who caught an 11-yard reception from the slot on just the second play of the game during Alabama's aforementioned opening touchdown drive, would thrive as the lead back in the second half. The Boaz, Alabama native with reported 4.28 speed finished the game with 15 carries for 91 yards along with three receptions for 16 yards to go along with a couple of nifty punt returns and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to put a dagger in his former team.
 Former Green Wave RB Deuce Monroe did a ton of damage to his former team and finished the night with 168 all-purpose yards, including 91 yards on the ground.
"There's been a lot of things said out of that camp since I left and I kept it all in mind for tonight; it drives me. It felt good to get this win and it felt even better to be able to really be the workhorse back against them, something they said I wasn't capable of; just wait until next year when Cam is gone and see what I do."
After giving up a field goal in the third quarter that increased their deficit to 17-0, the Green Wave finally got to work offensively in the fourth quarter.
PK Aaron Larson, who missed a 48-yard field goal during the final seconds of the first half, got the Wave on the board by hitting a 37-yard field goal with 3:52 remaining to make the score 17-3. The points were the first given up by the Alabama defense in nearly a month, and Tulane was not done just yet.
After getting a stop on Alabama's next possession, Allen found true freshman WR Adam Lawson on a 9-route for a quick-strike 73-yard touchdown that made the score 17-10 with 1:37 remaining. Allen, who had not played since week 1, finished with night with 332 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Meanwhile Lawson, who has had a somewhat quiet rookie campaign with the Green Wave as their #3 receiver, finished the game with a career-high 5 receptions for 160 yards with the team's top two receivers being blanketed most of the night by a pair of projected top 5 NFL draft prospects, Alabama senior cornerbacks Lewis Jones and CB Quinton Bentley.
Unfortunately for the Green Wave, it would be their last time with the football. Wave star DB Jonathan Smith was able to recover the ensuing onside kick, however officials ruled that he touched it just prior to it going the required distance of 10 yards, giving the ball back to Bama.
Behind the running of Monroe, the Crimson Tide would run out the remainder of the clock before getting a somewhat controversial field goal as time expired, putting a bow on a their 9th straight win to start the season.
"I thought the field goal at the end was unneccessary, but hey, I get it," said Geezy.  The Alabama defense was as great as advertised and sacked Tulane quarterbacks a whopping 9 times on the night, including a pair by Tide DT Patrick Williams.
"We saw what happened to USC last year; style points matter in college football. That said, we'll remember that move."
All night long, the Tulane offense struggled mightily against the Alabama defense, which has given up a whopping total of only 54 points all season to its opponents. The Crimson Tide sacked Allen and QB Obi Clemons a total of 9 times on the night and collected three interceptions - 2 off Allen and 1 off Clemons, who briefly replaced the ineffective Allen early in the fourth quarter before being taken back out after an ugly series.
"We gave up 9 ******* sacks tonight which is very disappointing. Those sacks along with our inability to run the ball kept us in third and longs all night long" said Geezy, whose offense was without its top RB Tony Tompkins, who suffered a likely season-ending shoulder injury during last week's win over Kentucky.
"It felt like we could never get ahead of the sticks until the game's final five minutes. It was 3rd and 10+ all night and by the time we started producing, it was too late."
Now eliminated from conference title contention, barring an unlikely three-way tie scenario with Alabama and LSU, Tulane (7-2) will have a week 11 bye before hosting Arkansas (4-4) next week at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The team hopes that the time off will give them time to get over their second consecutive loss in Tuscaloosa.
"I think they're the best team in the nation, and I believe they proved that tonight," said Geezy.
"I was proud of our effort. This is a tough environment and we really just sort of ran into a buzzsaw today. Hats off to Nick (Saban) and his program.
"Of course we're disappointed that we're now going to lose the SEC title for a third straight year, but we'll heal from this and move forward as a program."
RB Deuce Monroe celebrates after the Crimson Tide knocked off the Green Wave and essentially eliminated his former team from both SEC and national title contention.
Box Score
| Tulane Green Wave at Alabama Crimson Tide | | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |  #11 Tulane Green Wave 7-1 (4-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |  #4 Alabama Crimson Tide 8-0 (5-0) | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
1st
: 2 yd TD run by Miller (Holley kick) 6:30 -- 0-7
2nd
: 20 yd TD run by Miller (Holley kick) 4:19 -- 0-14
3rd
: 20 yd FG by Holley 5:52 -- 0-17
4th
: 37 yd FG by Larson 3:52 -- 3-17
: 73 yd TD pass from Allen to Lawson (Larson kick) 1:37 -- 10-17
: 48 yd FG by Holley 0:00 -- 10-20
Game Statistics
#11 Tulane
Code:
* - IMPACT Player
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
12-QB Bryce Allen(sr) 134.8 20 35 332 1 2
8-QB Obi Clemons(rs-jr) 85.6 2 5 5 0 1
Rushing ATT YDS TD
12-QB Bryce Allen(sr) 9 -27 0
27-RB Greg Pierce(rs-sr) 5 9 0
10-RB Michael Brown Jr.(fr) 3 11 0
8-QB Obi Clemons (rs-jr) 2 -19 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
10-RB Michael Brown Jr.(fr) 6 86 0
13-WR Adam Lawson(fr) 5 160 1
6-WR *Brandon McIntyre(sr) 4 69 0
11-WR *Jason Mason(sr) 3 29 0 (2 kr, 43 yds)
1-TE Ronnie Parsons(jr) 3 35 0
45-TE Carl Booker(rs-jr) 1 4 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
47-OLB Chuckie Coley(sr) 8 8 0 2 0 0
42-SS Jo Jo Price(rs-fr) 5 4 1 1 0 1
26-CB D.J. Keyes(sr) 3 3 0 0 0 1
4-SS Jonathan Smith(jr) 2 2 0 1 0 0 (3 pr, 1 yd)
58-DE Mike Miller(rs-fr) 1 1 0 1 1 0
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
49-PK Aaron Larson(so) 1 2 37 48 1 1
Tulane Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 357
Rushing Totals: 19 att -26 yds 0 tds
Sacks Allowed: 9
3rd down conversions: 2-11 (18%)
4th down conversions: 1-3 (33%)
Offensive Turnovers: 3
Penalties: 5 for 45 yards
#4 Alabama
Code:
* - IMPACT Player
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
9-QB Brad Hill(rs-jr) 121.1 14 21 160 0 1
2-RB Deuce Monroe(rs-so) 0.0 0 1 0 0 1
Rushing ATT YDS TD
22-RB *Cameron Miller(sr) 15 127 2
2-RB Deuce Monroe(rs-so) 15 91 0 (2 kr, 38 yds | 3 pr, 23 yds)
Receiving REC YDS TD
2-RB Deuce Monroe(rs-so) 3 16 0
85-TE Darren Dukes(sr) 3 28 0
88-WR Pedro Young(so) 3 37 0
11-WR Adam Bell(jr) 2 32 0
5-FB Greg Simon(fr) 1 14 0
15-WR *Matt Thompson(sr) 1 26 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
55-OLB Cole Bell(jr) 9 7 2 2 2 0
43-SS Michael Robertson(rs-sr) 5 3 2 0 0 1
63-DT Patrick Williams(jr) 4 3 1 3 2 0
59-OLB Barry Roach(rs-so) 3 3 0 2 1 1
23-CB Jonathan Rogers(rs-jr) 3 2 1 2 1 0
10-MLB Kevin Fuqua(jr) 2 2 0 1 1 0
58-MLB Jason Young(rs-sr) 2 2 0 0 0 1
89-DT Dominique Mason(so) 1 1 0 1 1 0
72-RE Anthony Kelly(jr) 1 1 0 1 1 0
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
86-PK Max Holley(rs-so) 2 3 49 59 2 2
Alabama Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 385
Rushing Totals: 34 att 225 yds 2 tds
Sacks Allowed: 1
3rd down conversions: 2-9 (22%)
4th down conversions: 0-0 (0%)
Offensive Turnovers: 2
Penalties: 4 for 40 yards
Photo Gallery
Alabama QB Brad Hill gets his troops hyped up with some pregame pep talk.
Just like each of the past two seasons, Crimson Tide RB Cameron Miller gave the Tulane defense fits, finishing with 127 yards and 2 touchdowns on the evening in just over two quarters of action.
QB Bryce Allen, despite wearing a restrictive brace on his throwing arm and playing against the best defense in college football, threw for 332 yards.
Alabama OLB Barry Roach had a big game, picking up a sack along with this second half interception.
Jay Bonner (#55) and the Green Wave offensive line had no answers for the Crimson Tide's ferocious pass rush and let their frustrations show late following one of 9 sacks given up on the night.
With Alabama boasting one of the best secondaries in the history of college football, Tulane was forced to rely a lot on RB Michael Brown Jr. in the passing game as he finished with 6 receptions for 86 yards.
Former Tulane RB Deuce Monroe hurdled over Green Wave DB Jonathan Smith on his way to finishing with 91 rushing yards on 15 carries versus his former team.
Alabama sophomore DT Dominique Mason, a player once heavily recruited by Tulane, joined in on the sack party in the fourth quarter, causing a fumble during this rare Tulane red zone trip that eventually resulted in a field goal.
One positive to come out of the night for the Green Wave offense was the breakout performance of 6-6 WR Adam Lawson as the true freshman finished the game with a career-high 5 receptions for 160 yards and 1 touchdown.
Despite a gutsy performance, senior QB Bryce Allen exited Bryant-Denny Stadium for the final time in his career with an 0-2 record.
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Last edited by Deegeezy; 09-01-2017 at 07:24 PM.
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