Green Wave Football Takes On Navy Saturday
Nov 6, 2001 | Football
Nov. 6, 2001
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TULANE AT NAVY
November 10, 2001
11:00 a.m. CST
Annapolis, Md.
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
ON THE AIR
Tulane-Navy TV
There is no television broadcast of the Tulane-Navy game.
Tulane ISP Radio Network
WTIX-FM (94.3) in New Orleans is the flagship station of Tulane's 12-station network. Jim Freeman, in his first season as the "Voice of the Green Wave," provides play-by-play while Steve Barrios returns with color commentary and Todd Graffagnini is the sideline reporter.
Market Station Frequency
Alexandria KDBS-AM 1410
*Amite WABL-AM 1570
*Baton Rouge WSKR-AM 1210
Bogalusa WBOX-FM 92.9
+Chattahoochee (FL) WTCL-AM 1580
*Lafayette KROF-AM 960
Lake Charles KEZM-AM 1310
*Morgan City KMRC-AM 1430
*New Orleans WTIX-FM 94.3
%New Orleans WTIX-AM 690
Shreveport KEEL-AM 710
^Thibodaux KTIB-AM 640
West Monroe KWJM-FM 92.7
*Also carries Coaches' Call-In Show
^Partial football schedule
%Simulcasts selected games
FACTS ON THE WAVE
2001 Record: 2-8
2001 C-USA Record:1-5
Head Coach: Chris Scelfo Alma Mater/Year NE Louisiana '85
Record at Tulane/Years: 12-21/3rd
Overall Record/Years: Same
Football SID: Donna Turner
SID Phone: 504-865-5506
SID Fax: 504-865-5512
SID e-mail: dturner1@tulane.edu
Website: www.TulaneGreenWave.com
FACTS ON THE MIDSHIPMEN
2001 Record: 0-7
Head Coach: Rick Lantz
Alma Mater/Year: Central Conn. St. '64
Record at Navy/Years: 0-0/1st
Overall Record/Years: 0-0/1st
Football SID: Scott Strasemeier
SID Phone: 410-293-4517 ext. 138
SID Fax: 410-293-8954
SID e-mail: sstrase@nadn.navy.mil
Website: www.navysports.com
THE SERIES Overall: Tulane leads 8-5-1
In Annapolis: Navy leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Tulane 50, Navy 38 (Nov. 11, 2000 in New Orleans)
First Meeting Tulane 21, Navy 21 (Nov. 5, 1949 in New Orleans)
Of Note: The home team has dominated this series, winning 10 of the 12 contests played in Annapolis (Navy 4-0) or New Orleans (Tulane 6-1-1). The teams met eight times in the 1990s with the Midshipmen prevailing five times. Five of the 14 games in the series have been decided by three points or less.Tulane fell at Annapolis 45-21 in 1999 in its last contest there.
HEAD COACH CHRIS SCELFO
In his third season as the Tulane head coach, Chris Scelfo, one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA Division I-A, has a career record of 12-21. A 1985 graduate of Northeast Louisiana University (now Louisiana-Monroe), Scelfo began his coaching career at his alma mater and made coaching stops at Oklahoma (1986-87), Marshall (1990-95) and Georgia (1996-98) before becoming Tulane's head coach. A native of New Iberia, La., Scelfo moved past Mack Brown and Buddy Teevens in Tulane victories with the win over TCU. He now ranks 14th all-time in coaching wins at Tulane, one behind the 13 posted by Claude Simons Jr. in four full seasons.
NOTING THE GREEN WAVE
Closing it Out
Tulane takes to the road for the final two games of 2001 as it travels to Navy this weekend for a non-conference battle and meets Southern Miss in the season finale Nov. 17 in Hattiesburg. The Green Wave will have played four of its last five and five of its last seven games on the road.
Chasing Price
Mewelde Moore needs 17 rushing yards to establish a new Tulane season record and break the mark of 1,178 yards set by Eddie Price in 1948. Moore joined Price as the second player in school history, and the first in 52 years, to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in a season. He now ranks second on the single season chart. The Baton Rouge native has 1,162 yards on 220 carries, an average of 5.3 yards per carry and 116.2 yards per game. He was the first player in the country to reach the 1,000-yard mark this season and his total ranks third in the nation. In back-to-back weeks versus Southern and Cincinnati, Moore recorded two of the top five rushing days in Tulane history, including the record-breaker (see below). His 10 career 100-plus yard games (in 20 games) ranks second to Price's 13.
Record-Breaking
Moore did much of the rushing damage in successive weeks versus Southern and Cincinnati with back-to-back 200-yard games. At Cincinnati, Moore broke the 31-year-old Tulane single game rushing record with 249 yards on 28 carries, picking up C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors. He also set the Conference USA and Tulane record for all-purpose yards in a game with a total of 336 rushing (249) and receiving (87) yards. He averaged 9.9 yards every time he touched the ball and 8.9 yards per rush (a new Tulane record).
So Much "Mo"
Mewelde Moore is much more than one of the most successful running backs in Tulane history. Moore is also the Green Wave's leading RECEIVER on the season with 53 catches. His nine catches for 168 yards at Army was the highest yardage total by a Tulane player this year, ranked 13th in school history and established a new record for receiving yards by a running back. With 248 all-purpose yards, Moore blew away Tulane's all-time record for single season all-purpose yards, set by Michael Pierce in 1988. He also set the Conference USA single season mark for all-purpose yards. With1,854 yards rushing, receiving and returning this year, Moore ranks fourth in the country in all-purpose yards per game.
Perfection
Tulane kicker Seth Marler was named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2001 Lou Groza Award last week as he remains perfect on the year. Marler has moved within two three-pointers of the Tulane career record for field goals with 46. The junior has made all 15 of his field goal attempts in 2001 to lead the nation in percentage, and he is 33-of-33 on extra points. Marler has made 17 consecutive threes dating back to the final game of last season, including three of over 50 yards and four from 40-plus yards out. Marler connected on a 51-yard boot versus TCU and made a career-record 53-yarder versus East Carolina, the second-longest in Tulane history. He moved past longtime NFLer Eddie Murray into second place on the Wave charts, two behind record holder Brad Palazzo.
Ramsey's TD Streak
Tulane QB Patrick Ramsey owns the nation's longest current streak of consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass, as the senior has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 30 straight games played, every game in which he has started during his Green Wave career. The Ruston, La. native has tossed at least two touchdown passes in seven of the Wave's nine games this season with 19 total. With 69 career touchdown passes, he trails Tulane record holder Shaun King by just one.
Major Award
Even with all the records, Patrick Ramsey earned possibly the greatest honor of his career last week when he was named one of eight Division I-A National College Scholar-Athletes by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. Ramsey, the first Tulane player to win the award in its 42-year history, will win an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will be honored at the Foundation's 44th Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, Dec. 11, 2001. The award is based on superior academic performance, outstanding football ability, strong leadership and citizenship. A double major in accounting and finance, Ramsey will graduate from Tulane in December with a gpa of over 3.4.
And Then There Was One
Patrick Ramsey took over the all-time lead in passing yards by a Tulane quarterback with 177 yards in the UAB game and now has 8,593 for his career. Earlier this season, Ramsey added the school's career records for pass completions and pass attempts to his list. Just about the only Wave passing records he hasn't broken yet is touchdown passes. Ramsey is Tulane's all-time leader in 300- and 400-yard passing games and leads the Tulane career lists in most of the per game averages. He owns the Top 6 single game completion marks and 11 of the top 12 games in single game pass attempts. In all, he has broken 27 records during his stellar Tulane career.
League-Wide
Patrick Ramsey also ranks as one of the top passers in Conference USA history. Ramsey ranks second on the C-USA charts in career passing yards with 8,593 yards, just ahead of fellow senior David Garrard of East Carolina's 8,331. His 743 completions are third as are his 1,273 passing attempts. Ramsey's 69 career touchdown passes are second all-time in C-USA history behind Chris Redman of Louisville, who threw 84 TDs from 1996-99.
Mitchell's Tackle Totals Soar
Tulane free safety Adrian Mitchell, a junior from Alexandria, is quietly having a banner year in terms of tackles. After registering a team season high 16 stops, including 13 solos, at Army, Mitchell added 12 tackles versus Louisville and has 111 total stops and 81 solo, on the season. Not only does Mitchell lead Tulane in tackles, he ranks fourth in Conference USA in that category. His 81 solo stops are the highest by any Conference USA player, and the most by any Tulane player since the 1987 season, when Richard Harvey earned 82. He needs four solo tackles this season to move onto the school's single season charts. With a pair of games remaining, Mitchell has a chance to compile the most tackles by a Tulane player since 1995, when Derrick Singleton totalled 126 stops.
Laying it on the Line
Four senior starters on the Green Wave offensive line enter the homestretch of their careers along with 11 senior classmates. The four -- tackles Corey Sewell and Chrys Bullock, guard Charles Caldwell and center Torie Taulli -- have combined to make 115 career starts. Sewell is the longevity leader of the group. The LaPlace, La. product will line up for his 45th consecutive career start Saturday versus Navy, having started every game of his Tulane career beginning in his rookie season of 1998. Taulli has 31 career starts and has started every game in the last three years except one. Caldwell missed last week's game with a back injury but still has 25 career starts while left tackle Chrys Bullock got the starting call for the 15th time last week. The "youngsters" on the 2001 line are junior guard Seth Zaunbrecher and sophomore utility man Brendon Drysdale.
Streaking
Despite missing a game with an injury and seeing limited time in other contests this year, Tulane receiver Terrell Harris extended his streak of consecutive games played with a pass reception to 27 last week versus Louisville. Harris' streak stretches back to the fourth game of the 1999 season at Syracuse.
On the Other Hand
On the opposite side of the line, Tulane is currently starting and playing as many as three freshmen at one time after consecutive starts by tackle Wallace Mateen and end Brandon Rottmayer with significant playing time for end Jay Ashton. Ashton had his best day of the season versus Louisville with seven tackles, including four solos, a pair of tackles for loss and two fumbles forced. He also tallied one and a half sacks. The Monroe product has made at least one tackle in nine of Tulane's 10 games this year. Mateen had his top numbers of the year last week with six total tackles and a caused fumble.
"Fresh" Starters
A total of 10 members of the 2001 signing class have started games for Tulane this season. The 10 -- four on offense and six on defense -- have combined to make 31 starts, including 22 on defense. DT Wallace Mateen has now started each of the Wave's last four games to tie LB Brandon Spincer and SS Tra Boger for the rookie lead with five starts on the year. Mateen's fellow defensive linemen Brandon Rottmayer (3) and Jay Ashton (2) as well as nickel back Darren Sapp (2) are the other freshmen defenders to start games this season. Receiver Carl Davis leads the offensive rookies with four starts. Tight end Bobby Hoover has started three games while Laine Sambrooks and Tristan Smith have started one game apiece. The Green Wave started a total of six true freshmen on offense and defense versus TCU while five freshmen made starts in the UAB and Army games.
Third And...
Tulane leads Conference USA in third down conversions as the Green Wave offense is converting 43 percent of its third down tries on the season. On 165 third downs this season, Tulane has made a first down 71 times and is one of only three C-USA teams converting over 40 percent of its third downs. Partly as a result of that success, the Green Wave leads the conference in number of first downs with 228. In fact, Tulane has made 56 more first downs than any other team in Conference USA.
Drastic Turnaround
The Green Wave continues to lead Conference USA in fewest penalties, as well. The Green Wave is averaging just 4.2 fouls per game for 34.4 yards per game. Against Army, Tulane had just one flag thrown on it to mark its season low for penalties. A year ago, TU was among the most-penalized teams in C-USA as it averaged more than nine flags per game and lost nearly 87 yards per contest. Tulane had 10 or more penalties called on it in six games last season. In 2001, Tulane has had five or less penalties in 10 of its 11 games to date.
Open Date Slate
In a quirk of scheduling, seven of the Green Wave's 2001 opponents will have or have had at least two weeks (or more) to prepare for the Wave, including each of their last two foes. Three of Tulane's early opponents did not play in the week prior to the game with Tulane: BYU, which was the first game for both teams, LSU, which played Tulane in its season opener, and UCF, which had an unexpected open date due to the postponement of its contest with ULL on Sept. 15. In addition, Cincinnati and TCU had the week prior to the Tulane game off.
Great Grad Rates
Tulane student-athletes, and Tulane football players, were near the very top of the DIvision I-A lists when the NCAA released its annual graduation rate report last month. The graduation rate for ALL Tulane student-athletes who entered the school in 1994-95 was 75% as opposed to a 70% graduation rate for the overall student body. On the football side, Tulane's graduation rate of 89% topped every school in Conference USA, every school in Louisiana and nearly every school in the nation.
Honored
A trio of Tulane players have earned Conference USA honors this year, while Mewelde Moore also earned Offensive Player of the Week recognition from the Louisiana Sportswriter's Association following the Southern game. Moore was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week after his record-breaking day at Cincinnati. Following the win over TCU, Green Wave QB Patrick Ramsey shared C-USA offensive honors while LB Wesley Heath became the first Tulane player to be named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week in the last three seasons, since Meldon Barnes was honored after the final game of 1998.
On The Watch
Four Tulane players have been named as candidates for five national awards. Senior quarterback Patrick Ramsey was named one of just 20 candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation's top senior quarterback. Ramsey has also been named to the Watch List for the Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award and is Tulane's nominee for the National Scholar-Athlete Award. Junior kicker Seth Marler - a semifinalist last year who is enjoying a "perfect" season so far in 2001 - is on the list for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's top kicker. Running back Mewelde Moore is one of just three sophomores on the Watch List for the Doak Walker Award while senior punter Casey Roussel is on the Watch List for the Ray Guy Award given to the nation's top punter.
A Thousand Times
Tulane's game with UAB earlier this season (a 34-27 loss) was the 1,000th in school history. Tulane played its first game Nov. 18, 1893 versus the Southern Athletic Club, game No. 500 was a 27-13 win over eighth-ranked Auburn in New Orleans on Oct. 29, 1955. In its 109th season, the Wave's all-time record is 454-510-38.
Turnover Tales
In its 10 games this year, Tulane has forced 24 turnovers to surpass its 11-game total of 2000. The Green Wave picked up its 15th fumble of the season in the Louisville game to go with nine interceptions. A year ago, Tulane totalled 11 interceptions and recovered 11 fumbles. Tulane forced five turnovers each in wins over TCU and Southern for its season high. In the UAB game, Tulane turned four turnovers into 24 points. Tulane has also scored twice on interception returns this season. On the year, Tulane has scored 92 points off of opponent turnovers while opponents have scored just eight touchdowns and one field goal off of Tulane turnovers.
Targeting the Tight End
Green Wave tight end Bobby Hoover continues to be a viable part of the passing offense as the freshman caught a pass in his seventh straight game Saturday versus Louisville. Hoover has more catches -- 13 -- than Tulane TEs made in the last three seasons combined. In fact, Hoover's total of 13 catches is more than Tulane tight ends have made in any of the previous four seasons. Tulane tight ends caught three passes in 2000, four in 1999 and five in both 1998 and 1997. In 1996, Tulane tight ends Cory Geason and Kevin Cunane accounted for 26 catches.
Spreading It Out
Patrick Ramsey hit 10 different receivers with passes in the UCF game. That is the most Tulane receivers to catch passes in a game since Sept. 2, 1995, when 10 players caught passes from QB Aley Demarest in the season-opening loss to Maryland in the Superdome. That's a string of 66 games since a Tulane QB "spread it around" as much. Ramsey's receivers in the game included two players who caught their first passes of the year - WR Chris Bush and RB Gee Reshard, and two more who caught their second passes of the season in WR James Dunn and TE Bobby Hoover.
It's Been A While
With his 64-yard punt return for a touchdown versus Southern, Tulane's Lynaris Elpheage became the first Green Wave player since 1988 to return a punt for a score. Elpheage was six years old when TU's Mitchell Price scored on a 59-yard return vs. Chattanooga on Sept. 3, 1988. That's 149 games between punt return touchdowns for the Green Wave.
Key Catch for KC
Tulane fullback Kris Coleman made his first catch of the season count when he hauled in a pass from Patrick Ramsey at the 12-yard line and dragged a TCU defender the rest of the way into the end zone to get Tulane on the board. Coleman's catch was the first of the year for the sophomore and just the second of his career. He came back to make a 21-yard catch and run later in the game while also rushing for 12 yards on three carries.
Offensive Youth is Served
While much has been made of the lack of seniors on the Green Wave defense, the Cincinnati game pointed up the youthfulness of the Tulane offense. Of the 12 players that caught a pass or rushed the ball for Tulane at Cincinnati, 10 were freshmen or sophomores, including EVERYONE who caught a pass and the top four rushers. Sophomores Mewelde Moore, James Dunn and Kris Coleman and freshman Tristan Smith combined for 34 carries for 288 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Moore, Smith and Dunn, along with freshmen Bobby Hoover and Carl Davis and sophomore Roydell Williams caught 24 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
Captain My Captain
Five Tulane players were named permanent team captains for 2001 at the end of preseason drills in Hammond, La. Offensively, quarterback Patrick Ramsey was selected a captain for the second consecutive season. He is joined as an offensive captain by former Archbishop Shaw High School teammates Terrell Harris (WR) and Torie Taulli. Defensively, a pair of juniors were selected to lead the team. Defensive end Floyd Dorsey and strong safety Terry Fontenot earned the selection from their teammates.
Coaches' Call-In Show
Head Coach Chris Scelfo will be the featured guest on the Tulane Coaches' Call-In Show every Monday from 7-8 p.m. beginning August 20th. Jim Freeman and Tulane AD Rick Dickson will co-host the show, which will take place live at Superior Grill on St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans.
Chris Scelfo TV Show
The Chris Scelfo Show will air weekly in New Orleans on WDSU-TV every Sunday night at 11:05 p.m., and on Cox Cable Mondays at 8 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. The show will also air on Comcast Sports South. Check local listings for those weekly times.
TulaneGreenWave.com
Tulane game broadcasts and Call-In Shows, as well as Coach Scelfo's portion of the weekly Conference USA Coaches' Teleconference, can be heard on the internet through Tulane's official athletic department website, www.TulaneGreenWave.com. The site is the stop for all the latest information on Tulane Athletics, including player features, Ask the Coach and AD, statistics and game reports.
