12-23-2017, 08:09 AM
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#1859
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Game 4, Year 16 (2025 season): #16 LSU Tigers at #6 Tulane Green Wave
 RIVALRY GAME: THE BATTLE FOR THE RAG
#16  30 -- 3-1 (1-1)
#6x  33 -- 4-0 (3-0)
PK Aaron Larson drilled the game-winning 32-yard walk-off field goal as time expired, capping off a perfect 4 for 4 day and helping his team earn an emphatic victory Saturday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
McBride, Larson's late heroics help Tulane absorb rival LSU's best shot and escape with a thrilling 33-30 victory | Redshirt sophomore signal caller directs clutch 5-play drive to set up game-winning field goal as time expires as Green Wave KO's Tigers for a 9th straight time | RB Tompkins to continues to show off his versatility, finishes with a career-high 152 receiving yards despite rough-sledding on the ground versus LSU's vaunted defensive line | Team now shifts its focus to next week's trip to The Swamp to face Top 10 ranked Gators squad
New Orleans, LA -- #6 Tulane fell behind 14-3 early versus #16 ranked arch-rival LSU, its largest deficit to their in-state foes in nearly a decade. But an 87-yard touchdown pass from QB Jimmy McBride to WR Grant Brady to close out the first quarter was just one of several big plays Tulane was able to get before getting even more big plays down the stretch on their way to escaping with a thrilling 33-30 win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in a Saturday night thriller that came down to the wire.  True freshman WR Grant Brady has scored a touchdown in every game thus far in his career, including this 87-yard score that cut Tulane's deficit to 14-10 on the final play of the first quarter.
LSU, who has not defeated Tulane since the 2016 season, had not led the Green Wave by double digits since that game 9 seasons ago, when they took a 31-10 lead on their way to eventually winning 31-27 at Tiger Stadium. That distinction would change early in Saturday's contest as the Tigers opened the game up with an 11-play 80-yard drive that culminated with a touchdown pass from true freshman QB Rob Mason to junior RB Kenton Yates from 5 yards away that gave their team an early 7-0 advantage.
The Green Wave would answer with a field goal and subsequent defensive stop, however a special teams mistake would enable Mason and the Tigers to strike again.
This time, the former 4-star prospect that was heavily pursued by Tulane during last year's recruiting period connected with TE Alex Gray for a 7-yard touchdown to open up a 14-3 first quarter lead. The play was set up by a muffed punt by Wave senior running back sensation Tony Tompkins that gave the Tigers the football deep in Wave territory. Mason would finish the game 17 of 30 for 201 yards to go along with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
"Rob is a special player and someone we really liked as a prospect," said Tulane head coach D. Geezy, who ran his career record versus rival LSU to 11-3. "He was very poised all evening long and did not play like a freshman. We're not looking forward to having to deal with him for the next few seasons."
As one would expect however, the 14-3 deficit did not make Geezy's team fold.
McBride's aforementioned 87-yard touchdown pass to the big play machine Brady cut their team's deficit to four, making the score 14-10 on the final play of the first quarter. Later, in the second quarter, Tompkins' 62-yard pass reception on a screen pass set up a 19-yard field goal by PK Aaron Larson to cut the LSU lead to 14-13 before Larson would later connect on a career-long 50-yard field goal that gave the Wave a 16-14 lead they'd eventually take into the halftime locker room.
 Junior DT Rodney Justice and the LSU defensive line was stellar all evening and finished with 5 sacks as a unit, including this sack-fumble caused by Justice that resulted in a turnover.
LSU senior DE Cole Whitaker's interception off a wide receiver screen pass attempt to WR Adam Lawson would get returned for a short 6-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers the lead back at 22-16 following a successful two-point conversion run by Yates, literally seconds into the third quarter. Whitaker finished the game with 7 tackles and 1 sack to go along with the pick six in what was a big day for the Tigers' vaunted defensive line.
Later, following an ultra-athletic 53-yard reception along the sideline by Tompkins, the Wave found themselves deep in Tigers territory once again, with a chance to re-take the lead. However, LSU junior DT Rodney Justice's strip sack of McBride two plays later would end up being recovered by DT Tyrone Hollis, giving their team the ball back and thwarting the scoring threat. Justice was dominate throughout the game and finished the contest with 3 sacks.
"Their line pressure showed up on film and showed up in tonight's game. They were really impressive," said Wave first year offensive coordinator Joe Roberts.
"They did a great job of containing us in the running game and making us one dimensional, something we always strive to avoid. Outside of one 12-yard run, Tony was pretty much held in check and they were able to tee off on us in the passing game. That D-line of theirs was really about as good as advertised, maybe even better than expected."
Following Justice's forced turnover, LSU drove deep into Tulane territory, however CB Tyler Harrison's interception would halt the Tigers' chance to increase its six point lead. 10 plays and 78 yards later, FB J.J. Williams' 1-yard plunge into the end zone gave the Wave the lead back at 23-22 early in the fourth quarter.
On the LSU's very next offensive play from scrimmage, the home team would get another interception off the young Mason, this one by sophomore CB J.T. Hills' deep in LSU's own territory on a pass attempt over the middle. It would lead to a 9-yard touchdown run by freshman RB Anthony Brown that increased the Green Wave lead to 30-22 with 7:18 to go and the Wave appeared to be rolling on their way to a win. But despite his back-to-back mistakes, LSU's young signal caller would bounce right back up off the mat and had other plans.  QB Jimmy McBride jump-started the Green Wave's final drive with this 15-yard scramble before connecting on a pair of clutch throws to set his team up for the game-winning field goal attempt.
After the two teams traded punts, the Tigers got the ball back, down by eight points with 4:41 remaining and the ball at their own 19-yard line. Mason would come through in the clutch for this team, directing an 11-play 81-yard drive which lasted 2:43 and culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run by Yates, who finished with 99 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns and made the score 30-28 with under two minutes remaining. Mason, who was a perfect 5 for 5 during the drive, would connect with WR Russell Stephens on the ensuing two point conversion attempt, tying the game up with just 1:58 to go in the game.
Not to be outdone, with the game on the line and his team's conference and possible national title dreams on the line, Tulane's own emerging young star quarterback made some plays of his own. A 15-yard run for a first down by McBride would precede a 21-yard pass completion to Tompkins over the middle that put the Green Wave into Tigers' territory but just outside of field goal range with under a minute remaining. Tompkins finished the game with 4 receptions for a career-high 152 receiving yards.
Then, following Williams being stuffed for a loss on a first down carry, McBride would come through again with another big play, this time connecting with fifth year senior WR Lionel Parks for a 22-yard gain, putting the ball well into field goal range at the LSU 15-yard line with less than ten seconds remaining. On the game's final play, Larson would come through with the game-winning points, drilling a chip shot 32-yard field goal attempt and sending the Tulane sideline and fans pouring onto the field in euphoria. Larson finished the game a perfect 4 out of 4 and his game-winning kick helped his team fend off what was without question LSU's best shot at ending Tulane's Battle for the Rag winning streak.
"This rivalry is heating up to say the least. Those guys really came to play and had us on the ropes," said Geezy.
"Hats off to LSU; they will be a force to be reckoned with with that quarterback for years to come. Fortunately, we did what championship football teams do and we fought through and persevered to come out with a big win tonight. I'm proud of our guys."
Tulane (4-0) will travel next week to take on #9 Florida (3-1) in Gainsville. The Green Wave defeated the then-national champion Gators in a 24-20 thriller last season at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Tulane fans rejoice after PK Aaron Larson's game winning field gave their team its 9th straight victory over its arch rivals in what was a nail-biter.
Box Score
| LSU Tigers at Tulane Green Wave | | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |  #16 LSU Tigers 3-1 (1-1) | 14 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 30 |  #6 Tulane Green Wave 4-0 (3-0) | 10 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 33 |
1st
: 5 yd TD pass from Mason to Yates (Ruffin kick) 6:12 -- 0-7
: 48 yd FG by Larson 4:31 -- 3-7
: 7 yd TD pass from Mason to Gray (Ruffin kick) 1:19 -- 3-14
: 87 yd TD pass from McBride to Brady (Larson kick) 0:00 -- 10-14
2nd
: 19 yd FG by Larson 6:23 -- 13-14
: 49 yd FG by Larson 4:17 -- 16-14
3rd
: 6 yd interception return TD by Whitaker (Yates run) 8:09 -- 16-22
4th
: 1 yd TD run by Williams (Larson kick) 8:17 -- 23-22
: 9 yd TD run by Brown (Larson kick) 7:18 -- 30-22
: 3 yd TD run by Yates (Mason to Stephens) 1:58 -- 30-30
: 32 yd FG by Larson 0:00 -- 33-30
Game Statistics
#6 Tulane
Code:
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
2-QB *Jimmy McBride(rs-so) 152.2 12 27 355 1 2
Rushing ATT YDS TD
5-RB Tony Tompkins(jr) 11 42 0 (6 pr, 41 yds, 1 fumble lost | 1 kr, 20 yds)
2-QB *Jimmy McBride(rs-so) 10 8 0
22-FB J.J. Williams(so) 5 5 1
6-RB Anthony Brown(fr) 4 20 0
11-WR Grant Brady(fr) 1 3 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
5-RB Tony Tompkins(jr) 4 152 0
13-WR Adam Lawson(so) 3 49 0
11-WR Grant Brady(fr) 2 105 1 (3 kr, 67 yds)
80-WR Lionel Parks(rs-sr) 1 22 0
1-TE Ronnie Parsons(sr) 1 12 0
4-WR Kenny Bell(rs-jr) 1 15 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
43-MLB *Mario Young(sr) 14 11 3 4 2 0
7-FS Terrell Faulk(jr) 7 5 2 2 1 0
9-OLB Sean Williamson(so) 6 6 0 1 1 0
34-CB J.T. Hills(so) 6 4 2 0 0 1
3-CB Tyler Harrison(sr) 3 2 1 0 0 1
50-DT Micah Harris(rs-sr) 3 2 1 0 0 0
52-MLB Joey Rodgers(jr) 1 1 0 1 1 0
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
49-PK Aaron Larson(jr) 4 4 50 n/a 3 3
Tulane Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 433
Rushing Totals: 31 att 78 yds 2 tds
Sacks Allowed: 5
3rd down conversions: 2-10 (20%)
4th down conversions: 0-0 (0%)
Offensive Turnovers: 4
Penalties: 5 for 45 yards
Time of Possession: 19:27
#16 LSU
Code:
Passing RATING COMP ATT YDS TD INT
7-QB Rob Mason(fr) 121.6 17 30 201 2 2
Rushing ATT YDS TD
3-RB *Jamie Stover(rs-so) 13 70 0
22-RB Kenton Yates(rs-jr) 10 44 1 (2-pt run)
7-QB Rob Mason(fr) 5 -22 0
Receiving REC YDS TD
22-RB Kenton Yates(rs-jr) 4 55 1
3-RB *Jamie Stover(rs-so) 3 5 0
87-WR Joe Burnett(fr) 3 54 0
16-TE Alex Gray(so) 2 18 1
4-WR Glen Walker(fr) 2 37 0
10-WR Russell Stephens(fr) 2 23 0 (2-pt rec)
13-TE Lucas Rodgers(fr) 1 9 0
Defensive Leaders TAK SOLO AST TFL SCK INT
99-DT Rodney Justice(rs-jr) 7 7 0 3 3 0 (1 ff)
47-RE Cole Whitaker(rs-sr) 7 4 3 3 1 1
69-DT Tyrone Hollis(sr) 3 2 1 1 0 0 (1 fr)
96-LE Lawrence Hicks(so) 2 2 0 1 1 0
37-SS *Kevin Fine(rs-jr) 0 0 0 0 0 1
Kicking FG MADE FG ATT LONG MISSED XP MADE XP ATT
12-PK Phillip Ruffin(sr) 0 1 n/a 56 2 2
LSU Key Team Stats:
Total Offensive Yards: 290
Rushing Totals: 32 att 89 yds 1 td
Sacks Allowed: 5
3rd down conversions: 6-14 (42%)
4th down conversions: 0-0 (0%)
Offensive Turnovers: 2
Penalties: 3 for 25 yards
Time of Possession: 16:33
Photo Gallery
Tulane was decked out in their familiar all-green uniforms as they prepare to take the field and face their chief rivals.
True freshman WR Grant Brady jumped into the arms of sophomore WR Adam Lawson to celebrate Brady's career-long 87-yard touchdown reception that cut the Wave's early deficit to 14-10 in the first quarter.
A player recruited very heavily by Tulane last season, LSU southpaw QB Rob Mason was impressive in his first game versus the rival Green Wave.
RB Tony Tompkins' ascent into a viable passing game option continued on Saturday as he finished with 4 receptions for a career-high 152 yards, including this 53-yard reception near the sideline despite great coverage from Tigers CB Christian Darby.
LSU's defensive line was as great as advertised and gave the Tulane offense fits all evening long, sacking QB Jimmy McBride five times on the night.
Tulane junior FS Terrell Faulk continued his solid season, finishing with 7 tackles and this first half sack.
DE Cole Whitaker stepped in front of this wide receiver screen pass attempt to WR Adam Lawson and returned it for a short 6-yard touchdown that gave his team a 22-16 lead just seconds into the third quarter.
Green Wave WR Adam Lawson was held in check for the most of the game, but the sophomore Louisiana native was able to shake out of top LSU CB Tony Christian's grasp for this 34-yard gain in the second half that eventually led to a touchdown just a few plays later.
Outside of this 12-yard run, it was tough-sledding for Tompkins in the running game, as he finished with a season-low 42 yards on 11 carries.
Senior MLB Mario Young, a New Orleans native who reneged on a soft verbal commitment to LSU during his high school recruitment, was a thorn in the Tigers side, finishing with a career-high 14 tackles and 2 sacks on the night
LSU RB Jamie Stover missed most of the second half with a shoulder injury, however his backup Kenton Yates had success versus the Green Wave defense, finishing with 99 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, including this 3-yard score that helped LSU tie the game up at with under two minutes remaining.
The #4 receiver on Tulane's depth chart, redshirt senior WR Lionel Walker's 22-yard reception, his first catch of the season, set his team up for the game-winning field goal.
Blue chip true freshman guard Ryan Stewart-Sims celebrated with fans as he headed back to an estatic Green Wave postgame locker room.
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Last edited by Deegeezy; 11-23-2018 at 11:00 PM.
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