Green Wave To Play Tigers
Oct 11, 2004 | Football
Oct. 11, 2004
Listen to the game | | Gameday Central
2004 Statistics | 2004 Depth Chart
2004 TULANE FOOTBALL
Game 5 -- Tulane (1-3, 0-2) at Memphis (4-1, 1-1) -- Oct. 16, 2004
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (62,380) -- 1 p.m. (CDT)
GREEN WAVE FACTS
2004 Record: 1-3
2004 C-USA Record: 0-2
Head Coach: Chris Scelfo
Alma Mater/Year: UL-Monroe/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 27-37/6th
Career Record/Years: Same
President: Dr. Scott Cowen
Athletics Director: Rick Dickson
Ticket Office Phone: 504-861-WAVE
Website: www.TulaneGreenWave.com
2004 SCHEDULE & RESULTS
TIGERS FACTS
2004 Record: 4-1
2004 C-USA Record: 1-1
Head Coach: Tommy West
Alma Mater/Year: Tennessee/1976
Record at Memphis/Year: 21-20/4th
Career Record/Years: 56-55/9th
President: Dr. Shirley Raines
Athletics Director: R.C. Johnson
Ticket Office Phone: 901-678-2331
Website: www.gotigers.com
2004 SCHEDULE & RESULTS
SERIES FACTS
Games Played: 25
Series Record: Memphis leads 13-11-1
First Meeting: Sept. 25, 1954, Tie 13-13
Last Meeting: Oct. 25, 2003, UM 41-9
In Memphis: Memphis leads 8-2
Current Streak: 2 by Memphis
Scelfo vs. Memphis: 1-3
TULANE HEAD COACH Chris Scelfo
Now in his sixth season as the head coach of the Tulane Green Wave, Louisiana native Chris Scelfo owns a career record of 27-37 to rank tied for sixth all-time at Tulane in coaching victories. The only coach in Tulane history with two bowl victories, Scelfo began his head coaching career at the 1998 Liberty Bowl. He has sent eight of his Green Wave players to the NFL, including a pair of first-round draft choices at quarterback in Patrick Ramsey (Redskins) and J.P. Losman (Bills). Scelfo's last three teams have posted graduation rates of 89, 82 and 79 percent, respectively and more than 60 Green Wave football players have earned their degrees in the last four years. A 1986 graduate of Northeast Louisiana (now University of Louisiana-Monroe), Scelfo spent the 1996-98 seasons as the assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Georgia and won a Division I-AA national championship as an assistant coach at Marshall, where he worked for six years (1990-95). The Thundering Herd also claimed three I-AA runner-up finishes during his time at Marshall. Scelfo was a three-year letterwinner at center at ULM where he served as team captain in 1985.
NEWS & NOTES
Back-to-Back
Tulane plays back-to-back road games for the first and only time this season as the Green Wave travel to Memphis for this Conference USA matchup after falling 27-25 to ECU in Greenville last week. The game also marks the first time Tulane has played in back-to-back weeks since the first and second games of the season (vs. Mississippi State and Florida A&M on Sept. 4 and 11).
Heartbreaker
East Carolina's Cam Broadwell kicked a 30-yard field goal with 12 seconds left on the clock to give the Pirates a 27-25 win over the Green Wave last Saturday in Greenville. Broadwell's kick came after Tulane's Lester Ricard engineered a four-play, 60-yard TD drive that put Tulane on top 25-24 with 1:51 left in the game. The Wave scored a pair of special teams touchdowns in the game, on a blocked punt and a fumble return on a kickoff, and came back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to take the lead before succumbing in the end.
Long-Time Foes
Along with Southern Miss, Memphis is Tulane's longest-standing Conference USA rival as the two teams will play for the 26th time Saturday in Memphis. Since Tulane tied the series at 11-11-1 with a win in the Superdome in 2000, Memphis has won the last two games to claim a 13-11-1 edge in all-time meetings. The Wave and Tigers have played in 24 of the last 28 seasons, including every year from 1980-90 and from 1994-2000. Since C-USA play began in 1996, Memphis owns a slight 4-3 advantage.
A Year Ago...
A Memphis team that would eventually head to the New Orleans Bowl handed Tulane its fourth straight loss, 41-9, in the Superdome last Oct. 25th. The Tigers dominated the young Green Wave, which was playing its third set of defensive linemen, as DeAngelo Williams ran for 195 yards and two TDs while Tulane QB J.P. Losman managed just 105 yards passing and threw a pair of INTs while being pressured throughout the game. Tulane's bright spot was running back Mewelde Moore, who ran for a season-high 159 yards on 29 carries.
Conference Matters
The Green Wave is 24-31 (.436) in Conference USA play over the last eight seasons after posting a 3-5 mark in league games in 2003. Tulane went 1-3 in its C-USA home games a year ago and was 2-2 on the road. Tulane will meet eight of its 10 C-USA comrades in 2004, skipping South Florida and Cincinnati for the second straight year.
Versus the League
The Green Wave has an all-time record of 48-69-2 (.429) against the teams that currently make up Conference USA. Here is the list of Tulane's records versus its conference brethren, both all-time and as league members.
Team All-Time C-USA
Army 6-5-1 3-3
Cincinnati 11-3 5-1
East Carolina 2-6 2-5
Houston 4-5 4-3
Louisville 2-8 2-4
Memphis 11-13-1 3-4
Southern Miss 7-19 2-7
TCU 3-8 1-2
UAB 2-2 2-2
Ch-ch-ch-Changes
Tulane, with the 1998 C-USA football crown to its credit, and Memphis, are two of six football-playing members of Conference USA that will remain with the league next season when the latest round of conference-hopping continues. The league will bid farewell to football members Army, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida and TCU while adding Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP. Next season, Conference USA will consist of 12 schools competing in all sports and will hold its first football championship game. Tulane will play in a division with Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UTEP and Houston and will play crossover opponents Southern Miss, UCF and Marshall next year so this meeting between the Wave and Tigers will be the last for at least two seasons.
Longevity
Now in his sixth season at the helm of the Tulane program Chris Scelfo is the longest-tenured coach at Tulane (in seasons) since Andy Pilney, who coached the Wave for eight years from 1954-61. In addition to Pilney, only Hall-of-Famer Clark Shaughnessy (1915-20, 1922-26) with 11, has more seasons than Scelfo's six and the New Iberia, La. native is only the fifth mentor all-time to coach six seasons at Tulane. Scelfo, the 36th head coach in Tulane football history, already ranks third all-time in games coached with 64 and needs just two wins to move into the school's top five in coaching victories.
Schedule Change
The Tulane-Louisville game scheduled for Sept. 18 in New Orleans and postponed when the city was evacuated that week in preparation for Hurricane Ivan, will be played as the final game of the regular season for both teams, on either Dec. 3rd or 4th in the Louisiana Superdome. The last time Tulane's regular season stretched into December was 1993, when the Green Wave concluded the year Dec. 4 at Hawaii.
The Lost Week
Tulane missed nearly a week of practice Sept. 13-18 when much of New Orleans, including the Tulane campus, evacuated due to Hurricane Ivan. With the University and dorms closed for the week and the Tulane-Louisville game postponed, many of the Green Wave players and coaches left town as well. The Green Wave reported back to New Orleans Sept. 19 for a Sunday practice to begin preparations for the Sept. 25 meeting with Southern Miss.
He's Back
Held to one catch for 32 yards through the first three games of the season, Tulane senior Roydell Williams showed why he is one of the premiere receivers in Conference USA Saturday with eight catches for 140 yards at East Carolina. A preseason all-league choice after catching a career-high 66 passes for 1,006 yards a year ago, Williams caught a 40-yard bomb from Richard Irvin to record his 14th career catch of 40 or more yards. Williams, who did not make a catch in the Mississippi State game, missed the Florida A&M game entirely and made his only catch of the season (prior to the ECU game) versus Southern Miss.
Elite Company
Williams' day versus East Carolina put him in some elite company in the Tulane record book. With 140 yards, the second-highest single game total of his career, Williams passed the 2,500-yard mark and now ranks third all-time in receiving yards with 2,553, behind only Marc Zeno (3,725) and JaJuan Dawson (3,048). His 172 catches are fifth all-time as he needs 18 grabs to pass former teammate Mewelde Moore and move up to third on that list. Williams' ninth 100-yard receiving day is fourth at Tulane all-time while his 24 TD receptions are tied for third. He needs one scoring catch to tie Zeno for second on the all-time list and seven to match Dawson's 31 as the all-time leader.
Izzy Is...
Green Wave sophomore Israel "Izzy" Route made a pair of excellent special teams plays at East Carolina, causing two fumbles and scoring his first collegiate touchdown on the second play to spark Tulane at the start of the second half. After Tulane's first possession of the game ended in a punt, Route caused the ECU return man to fumble, and the ball was recovered by the Wave. Then, on the first play of the second half, Route's tackle separated the return man from the ball, which he then picked up and brought back 14 yards for the touchdown.
Bubba on the Block
Tulane also got its first touchdown on a punt block return since 1999 when Bubba Terranova broke through on East Carolina's first punt of the game. Terranova was untouched on the play and nearly caught the ball with his stomach to score the TD as well, but Gabe Ratcliff earned possession and got the score. Although Alton Widemon blocked a punt versus Houston last year, the last blocked punt returned for a TD by Tulane was on Nov. 11, 1999 versus SMU when Mitch Mouton scored on an 11-yard return after Glenn Lemoine's block.
Great Touch
Sophomore Chris Beckman, who was named to the Watch List for the 2004 Ray Guy Award, has shown not only the strong leg he displayed in his freshman season, but also great touch. While Beckman's 43.2-yard punting average ranks second in the league and 23rd nationally, with eight of his 21 punts fair caught by opponents and another eight landing inside the 20, his ability to place the ball has been more critical to Tulane fortunes. Head Coach Chris Scelfo called Beckman the Wave's most consistent player through the first month of the season. His first three punts versus Southern Miss all pinned the Golden Eagles inside their own 15-yard line while only one of his five punts was returned. Versus FAMU, his two punts, one a 50-yarder, were downed at the seven and one-yard lines, respectively. Beckman also has seven 50-plus yard punts on the year.
Full Speed
Linebacker Anthony Cannon has regained the form he showed in his freshman season after playing through a series of injuries last year. The junior leads Tulane and ranks fifth in Conference USA in tackles with 40, in tackles for loss with five and in sacks with three. The speedy `backer had another highlight reel moment at East Carolina, running down ECU punt returner Travis Williams from behind to prevent a Pirate touchdown. Versus Southern Miss, he tied his career high with 16 tackles, nine solo, and added a pair of tackles for loss. The Georgia native, who has back-to-back 100-tackle seasons for the Wave, recorded a pair of sacks versus Florida A&M, forcing a fumble on the second, which Tulane converted into a score.
Sack Happy
Through four games in 2004, Tulane already has more quarterback sacks -- 16 -- than it totalled all of last year (15). The Green Wave collected three sacks versus East Carolina, including one by team-leader Anthony Cannon, whose three sacks this season equal the season high by a Tulane individual last year. Ten different players have been in on sacks for Tulane this year. Versus Florida A&M, the Green Wave defense collected 11 sacks, the highest single game total since at least 1989.
Go Ahead, Fred
Sophomore Fred Smith has provided a boost to Tulane's return units in 2004 as he ranks among the league and national leaders in both kickoff and punt returns. With 14 punt returns for 142 yards and a 10.1-yard average, Smith is already nearing the Green Wave's 2003 team total for punt return yards of 212. The Green Wave averaged just 7.1 yards per punt return a year ago to rank 96th in the country. Behind Smith, who ranks 44th individually in punt returns, Tulane is up to 59th in the nation in the category. On kickoff returns, Smith's five attempts for 151 yards rank him 10th in the country and second in Conference USA. He has teamed with Ray Boudreaux (38th in the country), Carl Davis and Israel Route to give Tulane a 24.2 team average on kick returns, which ranks third in the league and 18th in the nation. Smith, who went 100 yards for a score on his first kickoff return at the Superdome a year ago, brought his first `Dome effort this year back 54 yards versus FAMU.
Back-to-Back for "Shaq"
Nicknamed "Shaq" after shattering a basketball backboard as a youngster, Jovon Jackson is just 13 yards shy of his single season high for yards as he gained 377 in a back-up role in 2003. Jackson has 364 yards on 73 carries this year for an average of five yards per carry and 91 yards per game. He recorded his second straight 100-yard rushing game with 112 yards on 18 carries versus Southern Miss, including a season-long 46-yard run. The junior had shredded the Florida A&M defense for 134 yards rushing and three touchdown runs to become the first Tulane player in five seasons, since the 1999 game versus SMU, to score three rushing TDs in one game. He is one of only 14 players in Tulane history to compile three career 100-yard games.
Green, Green Wave
Only three Division I-A schools have played more true freshmen this season than Tulane, where 12 members of the 2004 recruiting class have seen action. Only Idaho (17 freshmen), Duke (13) and North Carolina (13) have played more true freshmen in 2004. In addition, eight redshirt freshmen have seen action for the Green Wave for a total of 20 first-year players to have contributed this year. Of those 12 true freshmen, fullback Ade (Add-DAY) Tuyo and defensive linemen Avery Williams and Antonio Harris have started multiple games for Tulane. Other true freshmen who have made their Tulane debuts are d-linemen Frank Morton, Julian Shives-Sams, Reggie Scott and Ryan Johnson, linebacker Michael Cox, running back Matt Forté, tight end Gabe Ratcliff, offensive lineman Michael Parenton and defensive back Joe Goosby. Redshirt freshmen Aryan Barto (C), Nick Beucher (K), Kenneth Guidroz (WR), Richard Irvin (QB), Justin Wade (DL), Ray Boudreaux (RB), Scott Holt (OL) and Max Koeck (RB) have all seen their first game action as well.
Forever Young
Tulane's 2004 active roster, including walk-ons, features only 10 seniors and 17 juniors. The remainder of the 92-man roster is composed of freshmen (true and redshirt) and sophomores, for a total of 66 underclassmen, or more than two-thirds of the 2004 team. The Green Wave's 62-man travel roster to East Carolina included just 24 juniors and seniors and 17 freshmen.
Rookies
The Green Wave defensive line is once again one of the "greenest" positions on the team. A year ago, Tulane lost eight key players off the defensive line, and had to move a wide receiver and a linebacker to defensive end. In February, Tulane signed eight freshmen defensive linemen to fill the gap. Seven of those freshmen have now played and three -- Avery Williams, Antonio Harris and Ryan Johnson, have started at least one game. With Michael Roberts sidelined while continuing to rehab his foot, Tulane has NO junior or senior defensive linemen on its active roster for 2004. Second team end Michael Purcell, a redshirt sophomore, is the "old man" of the bunch.
Hail to the Chief
Tulane's most famous "Bush" - Chris - caught his second touchdown pass of the season, a 24-yard effort with 1:51 left, to give the Green Wave a 25-24 lead at East Carolina. Bush's eight catches for 161 yards are second on the team while his 20.1-yards per catch average leads the way. The senior from LaPlace, La. has caught at least one pass in Tulane's last 16 games. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career receiving yards on the TD play while his 11th career TD reception ties him for 11th on the Tulane career chart.
Two "Tight" Targets
Green Wave tight ends Bobby Hoover and Gabe Ratcliff have combined to catch seven passes this season, including four catches for 31 yards and a touchdown by the freshman Ratcliff. Hoover and Ratcliff combined for four catches versus Florida A&M, the most in a single game by Tulane tight ends since Hoover caught five passes for 50 yards versus Cincinnati in 2001. Ratcliff scored his second career TD at East Carolina by recovering Bubba Terranova's blocked punt in the end zone.
Inexperienced
Tulane's quarterbacking corps -- sophomores Ricard and Nick Cannon, redshirt freshman Richard Irvin and true freshman Scott Elliott -- entered the 2004 season with fewer career passing attempts (2) than all but two teams in the nation.
A Quarterbacking Legacy
Each of Tulane's last three starting quarterbacks is currently in the NFL -- Shaun King (Tulane starter 1996-98) with the Arizona Cardinals, Patrick Ramsey (1999-2001) of the Washington Redskins and J.P. Losman (2002-03) with the Buffalo Bills. Ramsey and Losman were both first-round draft choices as the Redskins chose Ramsey 32nd in 2002 and Losman went to the Bills No. 22 in 2004. Having sent three straight starters to the NFL, Tulane ranks fifth among all Division I-A schools, behind only Michigan, Florida, Washington and Oregon (see chart).
Green Wave in the Pros
Eight former Green Wave players were on NFL opening day rosters, including two members of the 2003 team, and a pair who will remain on injured reserve this year. Tulane all-time great Mewelde Moore made his first career start last week for the Vikings after being selected in the fourth round of the 2004 draft. He responded by collecting 182 all-purpose yards (92 rushing, 90 receiving) and earning a game ball in the Vikings win. QB J.P. Losman, a first round draft choice of the Bills, broke his leg during preseason while former TU kicker Seth Marler (1999-2002) is on injured reserve with the Jaguars, the same place that DB Alphonso Roundtree (1995-98) finds himself. The New York Jets have running back Corey Sewell (1998-2001) while lineman Dennis O'Sullivan (1995-98) is now a Texan. Quarterbacks Shaun King (1995-98) of the Arizona Cardinals and Patrick Ramsey (1999-2001) of the Washington Redskins round out the group.
Key Contributors
Though the senior class is small, each of the 10 active seniors (minus the injured Tra Boger) -- FS Joey Dawson, RB Gerald Brobbey, LB Wesley Heath, LB Blake Baker, DS Lane Macaluso, OG Joe Mitchell, OT Jimmy Kosienski, WR Chris Bush, WR Roydell Williams and WR Carl Davis -- are key contributors to the team. Eight of the 10 see extensive playing time on either offense or defense, while Brobbey and Macaluso are special teams stalwarts.
Leading the Way
Following preseason practices, Tulane players elected four of their teammates to serve as captains throughout the 2004 season. Three of the four -- FS Joey Dawson, OT Jimmy Kosienski and WR Roydell Williams -- are seniors. They were joined by junior linebacker Anthony Cannon. After the graduation of Tulane's four senior captains a year ago, none of the players had served in the captain's role previously.
Line Time
With four juniors and a senior playing their third season together as starters, the Green Wave offensive line is one of the most seasoned groups on the team. The five-man unit -- senior right tackle Jimmy Kosienski and juniors right guard Donald Madlock, center Joe Traina, left guard Matt Traina and left tackle Chris McGee -- have 115 starts between them. Matt Traina and McGee have each started every game they have played in the last two years (29 and 28, respectively). Each of the five except Madlock redshirted their initial season at Tulane so the five have 15 combined seasons under their belts. The five have allowed seven sacks through the first four games of the year.
ON THE AIR
Tulane-Memphis on TV
There is no television broadcast of the Tulane-Memphis game.
Tulane Coaches' Call-In Show
Head Coach Chris Scelfo joins host Sean Kelley and other members of the Green Wave head coaching staff each Monday night during the season at Superior Grill (3636 St. Charles Ave.) from 7-8 p.m. The show can be heard on several stations of the Tulane ISP Radio Network, including Tulane flagship WTIX-AM 690.
"Tulane Football with Head Coach Chris Scelfo"
Catch highlights of the Green Wave's previous game, comments from Scelfo on the upcoming opponent, and player features, each week on the Tulane football coaches' television show. The show airs on Cox Sports Television across the state each Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday morning at 8 a.m.
Tulane Football Replays on Cox Sports TV
Every Green Wave home game will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis on Cox Sports Television. The statewide network will air the replays at 11 p.m. Saturday nights with re-airings during the week on Cox 10 in New Orleans and Cox Sports TV. Bob DelGiorno Jr. and Rich Mauti call the action.
