Tulane University
Northwestern State
Green Wave Edge Northwestern State In Overtime, 27-24
Sep 6, 2003 | Football
Sept 6, 2003
By BRETT MARTEL
AP Sports Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - J.P. Losman hit Mewelde Moore on three scoring passes - the last one in overtime - as Tulane squeezed out a 27-24 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday night.
Losman was 29-of-48 for 353 yards and four touchdowns, but Tulane (1-1) lost two fumbles and Losman threw an interception as the Green Wave struggled to put away Division I-AA Northwestern State (1-1).
The Demons set up a 37-yard field goal to win the game in the closing seconds of regulation, but backup kicker Josh Storrs, brought in after starter Tommy Hebert had missed two field goals, kicked the ball short after apparent trouble with the snap.
Moore finished with three touchdowns and 116 yards receiving for Tulane. He rushed for 100 yards, marking the second time in his career he had more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the same game.
The Demons had a strong showing, gaining 490 total yards, 229 on the ground.
Davon Vinson threw for 264 yards and a touchdown while running for another score. Derrick Johnese ran for 98 yards and Shelton Sampson 90.
Derrick Doyle caught five passes for 104 yards, including a 53-yard gain that set up Northwestern's second touchdown - a 10-yard pass to Mark Morris - which tied the game at 21 with 2:41 left.
The Demons then got the ball back on their own 20-yard line with 49 seconds left and drove all the way to the Tulane 20 before Storrs' miss.
Tulane had taken a 21-14 lead after Losman rolled out and found Tristan Smith in the end zone for a 15-yard score.
Tulane needed less than two minutes to strike first as Losman found Moore in the left flat and Moore turned the play into a 32-yard score. Losman was 5-for-6 for 74 yards passing on the drive.
Northwestern pulled within 7-3 on a 29-yard field goal by Tommy Hebert. But Hebert would miss push wide field goal attempts of 37 and 39 yards later in the first half, and his first miss set up Tulane's second scoring drive.
Losman connected with Moore downfield for a 28-yard touchdown to give the Green Wave a 14-3 lead with 10:34 left in the second quarter. Losman completed 4 of 5 passes on that drive for 65 yards, including a 37-yarder to Chris Bush, and had thrown for 225 yards at that point in the game. Bush finished with 105 receiving yards.
A roughing-the-kicker penalty on a Northwestern punt allowed the Demons to keep the ball on an eventual scoring drive in third quarter. Storrs hit a 45-yard field goal to make the score 14-6
Northwestern tied the game at 14 on a methodical 12-play, 96-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard plunge by Vinson and 2-point conversion on a pass to Mark Morris.
In the only overtime session, Northwestern settled for a 24-yard field goal by Hebert before Tulane won on the TD pass to Moore.
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