Tulane University
UAB
Tulane Tops UAB, 59-55
Oct 23, 2004 | Football
Oct. 23, 2004
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Lester Ricard set a Tulane single-game record with six touchdown passes and also had 417 passing yards to lead the Green Wave to a 59-55 upset of Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.
Ricard drove Tulane (2-4, 1-3 Conference USA) 78 yards for the winning score, which came on a 12-yard pass over the middle to Chris Bush with 27 seconds left. Bush got into the end zone by spinning out of a tackle after making the catch a couple yards short of the goal line.
UAB (5-2, 3-1) was able to drive to the Tulane 45 in the final seconds, but Darrell Hackney's last two passes fell incomplete as time ran out.
Hackney, who finished 23-of-38 passing for 448 yards and two touchdowns, seemed to have saved UAB's hopes for a first-ever 4-0 start in Conference USA on the Blazers' previous drive. He converted a fourth-and-13 play with a pass over the middle to Roddy White with about three minutes left. Two plays later, Hackney hit Bradly Chavez for a 29-yard gain to the Tulane 6. Then Norris Drinkard ran in his third touchdown of the day to put UAB up 55-52 with 1:43 to go.
But UAB had struggled to stop Ricard all day, and he only needed 1:13 to put Tulane back ahead on a drive that included passes of 17 yards to Damarcus Davis, 16 yards to Bush and 14 yards to Roydell Williams.
Williams finished with 11 catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns, surpassing 100 yards for a third-straight game.
His second TD was his best, as he converted a screen into a 22-yard score by faking out one tackler, spinning away from a second and carrying a third across the goal line.
Williams' final TD came on Ricard's rollout and 24-yard loft to the right corner. That gave Tulane a 52-48 lead and came one play after UAB's Reggie Lindsey - who had 108 yards on kickoff and punt returns - uncharacteristically mishandled a punt with a little more than five minutes left to give Tulane new life.
Bush finished with seven catches for 97 yards and two TDs, while Davis had four receptions for 86 yards and one score.
Roddy White led all receivers with 253 yards on 10 receptions, one a 28-yard touchdown catch. Chavez had 106 yards on four catches, but dropped what seemed to be a certain touchdown pass over the middle on a third down play that led to one of UAB's two punts.
Alabama-Birmingham rushed for 201 yards. Dan Burks ran for 90 yards and a score, while Corey White ran for 63 yards and a score and Drinkard finished with 51 yards.
Tulane's lone rushing touchdown came on a 6-yard run by Forte in the fourth quarter.
The combined 114 points scored was a record for a game involving Tulane.
