Tulane Tackles UTEP On Friday
Oct 12, 2005 | Football
Oct. 12, 2005
Complete Release, including Stats, Game Recaps and Players to Watch, attached as a PDF
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2005 TULANE FOOTBALL
Game 5: Friday, October 14, 2005; 7 p.m. (CDT)
Ruston, La.; Joe Aillet Stadium (31,000)
GREEN WAVE FACTS
2005 Record: 2-2
2004 Record: 5-6
2004 C-USA Record/Finish: 3-5/t6th
Head Coach: Chris Scelfo
Alma Mater/Year: UL-Monroe/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 33-42/7th
Career Record/Years: .Same
Location: New Orleans, La.
Enrollment: 13,214
Conference: Conference USA
Stadium: Louisiana Superdome
Capacity: 64,900
President: Dr. Scott Cowen
Athletics Director: Rick Dickson
Interim Football SID: John Sudsbury
Cell Phone: 214-793-6363
E-Mail: sudsbury_2000@yahoo.com
Ticket Info: 800-488-5252
Website: www.TulaneGreenWave.com
2005 TULANE SCHEDULE & RESULTS
OFFICIAL UTEP FOOTBALL WEBSITE
SERIES FACTS
Games Played: First meeting
Series Record: 0-0
First Meeting: NA
Last Meeting: NA
at Neutral sites: 0-0
Current Streak: NA
Scelfo vs. UTEP: 0-0
Tulane-UTEP on TV
The Tulane-UTEP game will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN. The three-man booth will include Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore and Trevor Matich while Stacey Dales- Schuman provides sideline commentary.
Tulane Coaches' Call-In Show
Head coach Chris Scelfo's Call-In Radio Show made its return on Monday evening, live from Ponchatoula's in downtown Ruston, hosted by Sean Fox from KNBB-FM (ESPN Radio 99.3) in Ruston. The show will air each Monday from 7-8 p.m. Coach Scelfo will take questions from callers, review the previous week's game and preview the upcoming opponent.
"Tulane Football with Head Coach Chris Scelfo"
Highlights of the Green Wave's previous game, comments from Scelfo on the upcoming opponents, and player features can be seen each week on the Tulane football coaches' television show. The show was scheduled to air on Cox Sports Television across the state each Thursday night at 10:30 p.m. and again Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. though that schedule is currently not finalized due to Hurricane Katrina.
Tulane/ISP Radio Network
Following Hurricane Katrina, Tulane's radio network has been modifi ed; unfortunately the fl agship station, WTIX AM 690 in New Orleans is off the air indefi nitely. However, ISP Sports has put together an eight-station network across Louisiana. Six-time Louisiana Sportscaster of the Year Larry Matson returns to his Tulane roots to handle play-by-play duties while Todd Graffagnini will handle the color analysis. Longtime color commentator Steve Barrios, a Tulane Hall of Famer, has limited availability due to his full-time job as a State Farm insurance agent.
Northshore - WJSH FM 104.7
Lafayette - KROF Am 960
Baton Rouge - WSKR AM 1210
Shreveport - KRMD AM 1340
Alexandria - KBDS AM 1410
Lake Charles - KAOK AM 1400
West Monroe - KWJM FM 92.7
Ruston - KPCH-FM 97.7
NEWS & NOTES
Another Game, Another Stadium
Tulane will play its fourth "home" game of the year on Friday evening, hosting UTEP at Louisiana Tech's Joe Aillet Sta- dium. It is the fifth game of the year for the Green Wave and will be played in the team's fifth different stadium. Tulane, which does not have an off-week, plays at UCF next Saturday, then hosts Marshall on Oct. 29 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. The Wave had a two-game win streak snapped on Saturday as Houston defeated it 35-14 in Lafayette, La. UTEP is 3-1 and coming off its second off-week of the season following a 27-20 loss to UCF.
Last Week's Leaders
Senior linebacker Anthony Cannon piled up 14 tackles (six solo) in the Tulane loss to Houston on Saturday. He was joined defensively by classmate Tra Boger, who had nine takedowns. On the offensive side of the ball, running backs Matt Forte (21-for-79) and Jovon Jackson (11-for-71) combined for 150 rushing yards while junior receiver Preston Brown had six recep- tions for 52 yards, including his first career touchdown. Other highlights included redshirt freshman Reggie Scott's fi rst career sacks and classmate Scott Elliott's first pass completion.
On the Run
Tulane evacuated New Orleans on Sunday, August 28th, the day before Hurricane Katrina came to shore. After two days sleeping on a gymnasium floor at Jackson State University (including the last 30 hours without electricity), the team moved on to Dallas to much plusher accommodations at a DoubleTree hotel. On Sept. 12, the Wave made the move to its "home" for the semester: Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La.
Finally Football
After arriving on the Tulane campus on August 9, the Green Wave football team waited 39 days before hitting the field for a real game. Sixteen of those days were spent on the road fl eeing Hurricane Katrina and its resulting destruction, before settling at Louisiana Tech University for the remainder of the season. The September 17th opening day marked the latest opening day for the Green Wave since the 1973 season when it debuted against Boston College on Sept. 22 with a 21-16 victory in New Orleans. Th at team fi nished the year 9-3 with the No. 20 ranking in the nation.
Doubling Back
Last season, Matt Forte and Jovon Jackson reach rushed for exactly 624 yards. However, the majority of Forte's yardage came after Jackson suff ered an injury. Th is year, the pair are proving to be a formidable pair playing together. In the Houston game, the duo combined for 150 yards on the ground, lifting their season total to 422 rushing yards (105.5 yards per game). Forte leads the way with 74 carries for 258 yards, while Jackson has 39 attempts for 164 yards.
Brown on the Board
Wide receiver Preston Brown, who had not caught a pass entering this season, has stepped into the role of Tulane's go-to receiver in 2005. The junior has 22 receptions for 240 yards this year to lead the team in both categories. In the Houston game, he snagged a 13-yard Lester Ricard delivery for his fi rst career touchdown. The New Jersey product made his debut at wide receiver on Sept. 17 against Mississippi State and corralled Tulane's fi rst reception of the game, a 20-yarder, on the Wave's second drive. He fi nished the game with nine catches for 117 yards, including a 27-yard reception from punter Chris Beckman on a fake punt. Brown's 117 yard-eff ort is the 83rd-best in school history.
Driver, Where You Taking Us?
The Green Wave has become quite familiar with busses this season. Without a home stadium, Tulane has traveled a minimum of 69 miles for each of its games. In addition, the travel has not been easy due to the lack of vacancies at hotels in southern Louisiana. Prior to the Southeastern Louisiana game, the Wave slept on air mattresses at English Turn Country Club in New Orleans, while the team bussed to Lafayette the morning of the Houston game. The Wave is quite pleased to remain at "home" fi nally in Ruston for this Friday's game. The fi rst plane fl ight for Tulane is scheduled for next weekend to Orlando.
Showing Some Heart
While Barrett Pepper has battled injuries this fall, walk-on freshman Jacob Hartgroves has stepped into the place-kicking role and has successfully converted 10-of-11 extra points. His lone miss was a blocked extra-point against Southeastern Louisiana. A three-time academic all-district honoree at Bryan (Texas) High School, Hartgroves also has one fi eld goal this year.
Defense Ranked No. 12
Despite giving up a season-high 440 yards (would have been the sixth-best eff ort last year) to Houston on Saturday, Tulane's defense remains near the top of the nation. In total defense, with 275.25 yards allowed per game, the Green Wave ranks 12th in the country. The Wave is 12th nationally in pass defense at 158.0 yards per game, while its run defense ranks 35th at 117.3 yards per game.
Travelin' Band
There have been many unprecedented occurrences this year with the Tulane football team and one that is unlikely to ever be challenged is the number of stadiums the Green Wave will play in. Th is weekend's UTEP game will mark the fi fth stadium in fi ve games. Next weekend, the Wave travels to Orlando (Stadium #6) to play UCF, followed by a "home" game at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium (Stadium #7) against Marshall. While a location for the Tulsa "home" game has not been fi nalized, games at Navy, Rice and Southern Miss guarantee the Wave will play in at least 10 diff erent stadiums this year.
Number Doesn't Matter for Cannon
Senior linebacker Anthony Cannon piled up a season-high 14 tackles in Saturday's loss to Houston. The Stone Mountain, Ga., product opened the game wearing his normal #11, but a ripped jersey forced the veteran into #10 for the second half. As a freshman, Cannon wore #36 and led the team with 114 tackles. He now has 18 double-fi gure tackle days in his career. His 366 career takedowns rank eighth all-time (four from moving into sixth) for the Green Wave. He has 193 solo stops; while his 173 assists rank third all-time for the Wave.
Opportunity Knocks
With three of its top receivers from last year graduated, Tulane was in the hunt for players to step up in 2005. Th us far, it has not been a problem. Quarterback Lester Ricard has connected with 10 diff erent receivers in the fi rst four games. Junior Preston Brown (zero catches entering 2005) leads the team with 22 grabs for 240 yards, while senior Bubba Terranova (14-for- 218) and junior Damarcus Davis (15-for-138) have also stepped up their production. Brown and Terranova have both registered their fi rst career 100-yard games this year, while Davis had a career-best seven catches against Southeastern Louisiana.
Future Schedule
The Tulane administration continues to rebuild its home schedule. On Wednesday, Tulane announced that it would host Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile. The only remaining Green Wave home game without a site is the Nov. 19 contest against Tulsa.
Defensive Specialists
The Tulane defense held SMU to just 127 total yards on Sept. 24. Th at eff ort was the best by the Green Wave defense since Nov. 1, 1997 when UL-Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana) was limited to 126 total yards.
No Rush
The 117 rushing yards by Mississippi State on Sept. 17 was the least by a Tulane opponent since the 2002 Hawai'i Bowl victory when Hawaii had just 66 rushing yards. The defense outdid itself one week later, holding SMU to just 63 yards on the ground - the least by a Wave opponent since the 1998 season, when it held Louisiana Tech and BYU to 54 rushing yards each in the fi nal two games of the year. On Oct. 1, the "D" improved yet again versus the rush, holding Southeastern Louisiana to just 41 yards, the least since the 1997 season when UL-Lafayette (then Southwestern La.) had just one rushing yard. Houston, however, put a stop to Tulane's impressive rush defense numbers by piling up 248 yards on the ground on Saturday.
Award Winners
Tulane has already collected three weekly awards this season. Return man Sean Lucas was named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week (9/26), while quarterback Lester Ricard was named the Louisiana Off ensive Player of the Week (9/26) and linebacker Anthony Cannon was the Louisiana Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 2.
Hitting the Sack
The Green Wave registered nine sacks on Sept. 24 against SMU, the second-most sacks recorded by the Tulane defense since prior to 1989. Last season against Florida A&M, the Wave tallied 11 sacks; in the 2002 Hawaii Bowl, Tulane notched eight sacks matching its total from the 1997 meeting with Memphis. Single-game records prior to 1989 are not available.
