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Tulane Takes On Houston In Conference-USA Showdown
Oct 4, 2005 | Football
Oct. 4, 2005
Complete Release, including Stats, Game Recaps and Players to Watch, attached as a PDF
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2005 TULANE FOOTBALL
Game 4 -- Houston (2-2, 1-1) at Tulane (2-1, 1-0) -- Oct. 8, 2005
Lafayette, La. -- Cajun Field (31,000) -- 5 p.m. (CST)
GREEN WAVE FACTS
2005 Record: 2-1
2004 Record: 5-6
2004 C-USA Record: 3-5/T6th
Head Coach: Chris Scelfo
Alma Mater/Year: UL-Monroe/1985
Record at Tulane/Year: 33-41/7th
Career Record/Years: Same
President: Dr. Scott Cowen
Athletics Director: Rick Dickson
Interim Football SID: John Sudsbury
Cell Phone: 214-793-6363
SID E-Mail: sudsbury_2000@yahoo.com
Ticket Info: 800-488-5252
Website: www.TulaneGreenWave.com
2005 TULANE SCHEDULE & RESULTS
OFFICIAL HOUSTON FOOTBALL WEBSITE
SERIES FACTS
Games Played: 10
Series Record: Houston leads 6-4
First Meeting: Sept. 14, 1968; 54-7 UH
Last Meeting: Oct. 30, 2004; 24-3 UH
At Neutral Sites: 0-0
Current Streak: 2 by Houston
Scelfo vs. Houston: 2-3
TULANE HEAD COACH Chris Scelfo
Chris Scelfo enters his seventh season as the head coach of the Tulane Green Wave, becoming the third-longest tenured football coach in school history while also ranking fourth in all-time victories with 33. The only coach to win a pair of bowl games at Tulane (1998 Liberty, 2002 Hawaii), his teams have averaged five wins a year to mark one of the most successful periods in modern history at the school.
Scelfo has sent nine of his Tulane players to the NFL, including a pair of first-round draft choices at quarterback in Patrick Ramsey (Redskins) and J.P. Losman (Bills) and all-time leading rusher Mewelde Moore (Vikings).
A 1986 graduate of Northeast Louisiana (UL-Monroe) where he was a three-year letterman at center, 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 from 1990-95. The Thundering Herd also claimed three I-AA runner-up finishes during his time at Marshall.
ON THE AIR
Tulane-Houston on TV
The Tulane-Houston game will be broadcast live nationally on the i Network, produced by College Sports TV (CSTV). Carter Blackburn handles the play-by-play duties while Ray Lucas will provide color commentary.
Tulane/ISP Radio Network
Following Hurricane Katrina, Tulane's radio network has been modified; unfortunately the flagship station, WTIX AM 690 in New Orleans is off the air indefinitely. 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 third "home" game of the year on Saturday, hosting Houston at UL-Lafayette's Cajun Field. It is the fourth game of the year and will be played in the fourth different stadium. Next Friday's game against UTEP will be played at Louisiana Tech's Joe Aillet Stadium. After dropping its opener, the Green Wave has defeated SMU and Southeastern Louisiana to improve to 2-1 for the third time under head coach Chris Scelfo. Houston comes into Saturday's contest with a 2-2 mark following a 30-23 victory over Tulsa.
Overcoming
This Saturday's game will be a celebration of "Overcoming 2005" for the Green Wave community. Members of the dispersed Tulane University community will gather to celebrate at 3 p.m. in the Lafayette Tent near Gate A of the University of Louisiana's Cajun Field.
"This event recognizes that we have overcome and will continue to overcome all the adversity that has befallen us this season. We are raising the Tulane flag and celebrating the Tulane spirit," Tulane University President Scott Cowen said.
The tailgating event, which will feature free jambalaya and soft drinks, will take place prior to the Green Wave's gridiron match-up against the University of Houston.
Evacuees from shelters will receive free tickets to the game, courtesy of the Tulane Club of Acadiana. Sheltered evacuees should report to Gate D to receive their free tickets. Evacuees must have a sheltered evacuee ID to receive a ticket.
Last Week's Leaders
Junior quarterback Lester Ricard (24-of-50, 324 yards, 2 TD) and senior receiver Bubba Terranova (4 catches for 120 yards) sparked the Green Wave off ense, while senior linebackers Anthony Cannon and Antonio Mason were defensive stoppers with 12 tackles each. In addition, junior defensive end Billy Harrison added three sacks in the victory. On special teams, it was junior Israel Route leading the way. In addition to a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Route had a 60-yard punt return to the end zone which was called back by a penalty. Ricard's 324 passing yards are the second-most in his career and rank 35th all-time at Tulane.
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. This Monday, 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.
We're No. 2
Tulane's off ense has posted impressive numbers through the last few years, but this season, it is the defense making its mark on the NCAA leaderboard. The Green Wave is allowing 220.33 yards per game which ranks second in the nation. UConn is first, allowing 213.50 yards per game. The Wave is fi fth nationally in pass defense at 146.67 yards per game, while its run defense ranks seventh at 73.7 yards per game.
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.
Hall Monitors - No Running
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. Th is past Saturday, the "D" improved yet again versus the rush, holding Southeastern Louisiana to just 41 yards. [Due to Hurricane Katrina, records are not available prior to 1998.]
Three is Better Than Two
After three games this season, Tulane has allowed 661 yards of total off ense. Th at is less than the Green Wave allowed in the first TWO games of any of the previous seven years - least after two was 698 last year.
Travelin' Men
There have been many unprecedented occurances 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 Houston game will mark the fourth stadium in four games. Next weekend, the Wave faces UTEP in Ruston (Stadium #5), while the following game is in Orlando (Stadium #6) against UCF. While locations for the Marshall and Tulsa "home" games have not been fi nalized, games at Navy, Rice and Southern Miss guarantee the Wave will play in at least nine different stadiums this year.
Cajun Country
Tulane's home game at Cajun Field this Saturday is another first as it has never played in Lafayette as the home team. In fact, it is just the third trip to Lafayette for a football game. Despite playing the Ragin' Cajuns 25 times, only two of those games have been away from New Orleans. Both of those games in Lafayette were Green Wave victories - a thrilling 38-37 win in 2000 (with the potential game-tying extra point being blocked with four minutes to go) and a 56-0 victory in 1997.
Cannon Fire
Senior linebacker Anthony Cannon continues to excel on the Green Wave defense. The Stone Mountain, Ga., product has a pair of 12-tackle games (against Mississippi State and Southeastern Louisiana). He has 17 double-fi gure tackle days in his career. Cannon now has 352 career takedowns, which ranks eighth all-time for the Green Wave. He has 187 solo stops; while his 165 assists rank fourth all-time for the Wave.
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.
No Airplanes
Tulane was the final Division I-A football team to play a game this season and there is also a good chance it will be the last I-A team to board an airplane as well. The team plans to bus to Lafayette and will be "home" in Ruston for the Oct. 14th game, meaning the first fl ight is to Orlando on Oct. 21 for the UCF contest.
Future Schedule
The Tulane administration continues to rebuild its home schedule. Last Wednesday, the Green Wave announced that it would host UTEP on Friday, Oct. 14 at its Ruston home - playing the game in Joe Aillet Stadium on the Louisiana Tech campus. The remaining Green Wave home games after UTEP are Marshall on Oct. 29 and Tulsa on Nov. 19.
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) last week and linebacker Anthony Cannon was the Louisiana Defensive Player of the Week for this week.
Spreading the Wealth
Junior quarterback Lester Ricard has completed passes to 10 diff erent receivers in the first three games. In the opener, Ricard connected with eight diff erent receivers while on Sept. 24th at SMU, the junior found nine of his teammates on pass plays. While junior Preston Brown had nine catches for 117 yards against Mississippi State, junior Damarcus Davis led the way with fi ve catches for 58 yards and his second touchdown of the year in the SMU game. Th is past Saturday, it was senior Bubba Terranova leading the way with 120 yards on four catches, while Davis was big again with a career-best seven receptions for 62 yards.
The Decision Process
While Katrina has caused a myriad of questions and problems for the Green Wave football team and the Tulane Athletic Department in general, all of those pale in comparison to the true tragedies which have been faced in New Orleans and alongthe Gulf Coast. In its thought process for dealing with the relocation of its athletic department, Tulane focused on fi ve specifi c tasks - enroll the student-athletes in school, provide for the housing needs, assist with meal services, arrange for books, and provide the counseling needed to all involved. With those five objectives obtained, the Green Wave staff has moved on to more general needs such as staffi ng needs at its multiple locations, scheduling work, and preparation for games.
Tulane Goes to Four Sites
In an unprecedented move, the Tulane University Athletic Department has relocated to four diff erent campuses for the fall of 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. In addition to Louisiana Tech, SMU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are hosting Green Wave teams.
Site Tulane Teams
Louisiana Tech Football, Track & Field
SMU Men's and Women's Golf
Texas A&M Men's Basketball, Women's Soccer,
Women's Volleyball, Men's & Women's
Tennis, Women's Swimming & Diving
Texas Tech Women's Basketball, Baseball
Hurricane Veterans
While the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe has devastated the city of New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast, it is not the first time a hurricane has aff ected the Wave football team. Just last season, Hurricane Ivan drove the university to evacuation forcing the postponement of its Sept. 18th game with Louisville (which was eventually played on Dec. 4th). In 2002, Tropical Storm Isidore forced the Wave to miss practice time and to bunk down in the Reily Student Rec. Center for one night prior to a home game against Texas. Back in 1965, Hurricane Betsy, another devastating storm for the Big Easy, forced the Wave's season opener with Texas to be moved from New Orleans to Austin.
Making His Debut
Preston Brown made his debut at wide receiver on Sept. 17 against Mississippi State and corralled Tulane's first 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. The junior from New Jersey leads the Green Wave with 16 catches for 188 yards.
Just Fakin'
The Green Wave successfully faked a pair of punts on Sept. 17 against Mississippi State. On the first play of the second quarter, the Wave snapped the ball directly to Tra Boger, who rushed for three yards on the fourth-and-two play. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Wave again lined up to punt, but this time punter Chris Beckman connected with Preston Brown for a 27-yard pass completion, the longest pass play by either team in the game. In Saturday's Southeastern Louisiana game, Beckman, who is also the holder on extra points, took the snap and connected with Bobby Hoover in the end zone for the surprise two-point conversion.
Punting Practice
Junior punter Chris Beckman, a first team all-conference selection in 2004, punted 11 times in the Mississippi State game or an average of 38.6 yards, including a long punt of 49 yards. Th ree of those punts were downed inside the 20 and just one was returned. After having just two touchbacks all last season, Beckman has matched that this year with two of his first 22 punts reaching the end zone.
Got My Eye on You
Linebacker Anthony Cannon is on a pair of "Watch Lists" for 2005. The senior, who has tallied 100 or more tackles in each of his first three seasons, is on the list for the Rotary Lombardi Award, which goes to the top lineman or linebacker in the nation. He is also a top candidate for the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the country.
Good Works
Senior off ensive lineman Matt Traina was honored by the AFCA when the organization named him to its 2005 Good Works Team, which recognizes players for their dedication and commitment to community service. Traina has started every game in his collegiate career while also participating in numerous community service activities as President of Tulane's Student-Athlete Advisory Board.
Welcome to College Football
The Green Wave had 16 players see their first career action in the opener against Mississippi State. Off ensively, lineman Troy Kropog and receivers Brian King and Cary Koch saw the most time, while on defense it was Ace Foyil and Josh Lumar hitting the fi eld the most. True freshman Jacob Hartgroves connected on both of the Wave's extra points. Ten true freshmen (Luke Bell, Kirk Bush, Sean Carney, Foyil, Evan Lee, Matt Harding, Charles Harris, Hartgroves, Justin Kessler and Koch) saw action, while six redshirt freshmen (Michael Batiste, Ryan Bewley, Craig Gelhardt, Kropog, Josh Lumar, David Skehan) cracked the lineup for the first time.
Thanks to the Bulldogs
Mississippi State Athletics waived its $200,000 game guarantee for the Sept. 17 game and encouraged its fans who had already purchased tickets but could not attend the game to forego a refund and have the cost of their ticket donated to Tulane Athletics.
Helping Hands
Anyone interested in helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina are encouraged to support any of the federally-recognized relief organizations, while those wishing to support the student-athletes from Tulane or Southern Mississippi (the other Conference USA school directly aff ected by the storm) can visit www.ConferenceUSA.com for information regarding the C-USA Relief Fund.
Football Talk
While the talk around Tulane football has focused on Hurricane Katrina, it should not be forgotten that competing on the fi eld is still the main focus of the Green Wave. Tulane returns 45 letterwinners and 18 starters for 2005 while saying goodbye to just three starters from both the off ensive and defensive sides of the ball. The Green Wave welcomes eight starters back on off ense while nine players, including 2003 starter Tra Boger, are back for the Green Wave defense. All-conference punter Chris Beckman is back for his third season in that critical role, while Barrett Pepper, the 2003 starter at kicker, also returns. He handled kickoff duties a year ago.
Still More Returnees
While only 16 of the 2004 "official" starters (players who started at least six games a year ago) return on off ense and defense, overall there are 31 players on Tulane's 2005 roster who have started games for the Green Wave over the last two seasons. Th at includes eight players (in addition to the 16) who started at least two games a year ago and fi ve players who held starting positions in 2003. Familiar names like Israel Route, Michael Purcell, Bruce Youmans, Billy Harrison and Matt Forte, although not considered returning starters, have produced big plays at critical moments over the last two seasons.
C-USA 2005
Tulane, with the 1998 C-USA football crown to its credit, is one of six holdover teams in the "new look" Conference USA 2005 - along with East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Southern Miss and UAB. The league bid farewell to football members Army, Cincinnati, Louisville, USF and TCU and welcomes Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP to the fold this year. For 2005, Conference USA will consist of 12 schools competing in all sports and will hold its first football championship game
Go West, Young Wave!
Tulane will play in the West Division of Conference USA with Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UTEP and Houston, and will meet crossover opponents Southern Miss, UCF and Marshall in 2005 and 2006. Although Tulane is one of six teams remaining in Conference USA, the new divisional alignment of the 12-team all-sports league means that the Green Wave will face only two of the same league opponents in 2005 -- USM and Houston. The Green Wave will face all six of the league's new schools, the only "holdover" team to do so.
The Long Haul
After completing 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, coached more seasons than Scelfo's six. Only three previous Tulane coaches -- Shaughnessy with 59, and Bernie Bierman (1927-31) and Red Dawson (1936-41) with 36 -- have won more games at Tulane than Scelfo's 31. Among C-USA coaches, Scelfo ranks fourth in longevity behind Southern Miss' Jeff Bower (14 seasons), Rice's Ken Hatfi eld (11) and UAB's Watson Brown (10).
Return Engagement
Tulane returns 45 letterwinners and 18 starters for 2005 while saying goodbye to three starters on both the off ensive and defensive sides of the ball. The Green Wave welcomes eight starters back on off ense while nine players, including 2003 starter Tra Boger, are back for the Green Wave defense. Punter Chris Beckman is back for his third season in that critical role, while Barrett Pepper, the 2003 starter at kicker, also returns. He handled kickoff duties a year ago.
Welcome Back
On the defensive side of the ball, Tulane welcomes back two players who redshirted the 2004 season while the Green Wave off ense will have the services of a pair of former letterwinners. Safety Tra Boger, the Green Wave's leading tackler in 2003, returns after missing all but two games a year ago after undergoing knee surgery for a meniscal tear. Sophomore defensive lineman Alvin Johnson also is ready for action after redshirting the 2004 season. On the off ensive side, tight end Jerome Landry and quarterback Nick Cannon are preparing to return to action. Landry underwent knee surgery last spring, while Cannon had surgery on his shoulder and elbow, causing him to miss the 2004 campaign.
Moving On
Former Tulane receiver Roydell Williams, the Tulane and Conference USA all-time leader in touchdown catches who ranks second on the Tulane career list for receiving yards and catches, was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. He is the seventh Tulane player to be drafted during the Chris Scelfo era as the Green Wave has seen at least one player drafted every year since 1999, except in 2003. A year ago, Tulane QB J.P. Losman was a first round selection of the Buff alo Bills while running back Mewelde Moore was chosen in the fourth round by the Vikings. Williams will be joined in Titans camp by his high school and Tulane teammate Chris Bush, who signed a free agent contract with the Titans.
Opportunity Knocks...
...For some Tulane receivers with the departure of Williams, Bush and fellow senior Carl Davis. Williams and Bush ranked one-two for Tulane in receiving a year ago with 52 and 37 catches, respectively. The Wave's leading returning receiver is junior Damarcus Davis, who caught 16 passes in 2004 and has 37 career catches for 487 yards and three touchdowns. He is joined by senior Bubba Terranova with 33 career grabs, 11 last year. The rest of the receiving corps is young and somewhat inexperienced, and includes Preston Brown, Kenneth Guidroz and Michael Batiste. They will be joined by a group of fi ve true freshmen signed by the Green Wave in February.
Century Mark
Senior linebacker Anthony Cannon posted his third straight 100-tackle season in 2004 en route to All-Conference USA and All-Louisiana honors. He fi nished the season ranked fourth in Conference USA and 29th in the nation in tackles per game and is the first Green Wave defender since Mike Staid (1991-94) to compile 100-plus tackles in three straight seasons. The speedy junior led Tulane with 114 tackles as a freshman in 2002, added 102 stops his sophomore campaign and compiled 107 tackles in 2004 while also leading the squad in fumbles forced (4) and quarterback sacks (4). Last year, Cannon tied his career high with 16 tackles in the Southern Miss game and was credited with 10 or more stops in six games (MSU, USM, Memphis, Houston, Army, Louisville).
Lester is the Latest
The latest in a distinguished line of Tulane quarterbacks is junior Lester Ricard, who enters his second season as the starter in 2005. Ricard, who followed NFL-ers Shaun King, Patrick Ramsey and J.P. Losman as Tulane's starting quarterback, missed the last two-and-a-half games of the 2004 season with a broken wrist, but not before posting two of the most impressive performances in Tulane and Conference USA history.
Versus UAB on Oct. 23, Ricard joined Ramsey as the only Tulane QBs to throw for 400 yards in a game when he completed 36-of-49 passes for 417 yards with a school-record six touchdown passes. The mark for single game TD passes had stood since 1952. The 417 yards rank third on the Tulane single-game list while his 36 completions is tied for second all-time.
Two weeks later, Ricard completed a school and C-USA record 94.7 percent of his passes - on 18-of-19 passing - for 323 yards and four TDs, including an 87-yard touchdown pass that tied for the second-longest in school history. He completed his last 14 passes of that game while compiling a single-game ef- ficiency rating of 307.01 that ranked second in the nation.
Precision Punting
First team All-Conference USA punter Chris Beckman returns for his third season as one of Tulane's top candidates for postseason honors. Although his punting average was down nearly a yard from his freshman season, the sophomore more than made up for it with some precision punting. In fact, the Mississippi native kicked the ball into the end zone only twice all season, both times in a gusting wind at TCU. His kicks pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 18 times, with seven of those landing inside the 10, He led Conference USA in punting by nearly a yard and is already moving up the Tulane and league record charts for punting.
624 X Two
Last year, Tulane replaced all-time leading rusher Mewelde Moore with the duo of Jovon Jackson and Matt Forté. They proceeded to net exactly 624 rushing yards each to tie for the team lead in rushing, compiling 1,248 yards between them and nearly matching the 1,292 yards compiled by Moore (915) and Jackson (377) in 2003. Jackson, who will be a senior in 2005, averaged fi ve yards per rush with fi ve touchdowns, while as a freshman, Forté collected 4.5 yards per rush with four TDs. The freshman starred versus Army with 216 yards on 34 carries while Jackson tallied a pair of 100-yard games. In addition to their rushing success, Forté and Jackson ranked third and fourth on the team in receiving with 20 and 18 catches, respectively. In fact, they are Tulane's top returning pass catchers for 2005. Jackson and Forté totalled 1,557 all-purpose yards on 303 touches a yar ago.
Still No Seniors
Tulane returns 10 letterwinners on the defensive line, but still will not fi eld a senior at that position in 2005. A year ago, Tulane had no juniors OR seniors on the d-line, and the starting line-up consisted of two true freshmen and two sophomores. In fact, true freshmen Antonio Harris and Avery Williams started every game while junior Mike Purcell, who played limited snaps in a back-up role after overcoming knee injuries, led the team in tackles for loss with nine. Now, with all of last year's first and second teamers back, along with a pair of players who redshirted last year, the Green Wave fi nally can boast experience and depth along the defensive line, even without any seniors.
Looking for More
Tulane will be looking for more interceptions in 2005 as six diff erent players picked off one pass apiece to tie for the team lead last season. The pickoff s came from defensive backs Jeremy Foreman, Izzy Route and Bruce Youmans, linebackers Anthony Cannon and Kelvin Johnson, and defensive linemen Taurean Brown. Cornerback Sean Lucas is the team's leading returner in career interceptions with seven, but did not manage a steal last year. The last time no Tulane player had more than one interception on the season was 1982, when fi ve players picked off one pass apiece.
Back Intact
The Green Wave coaching staff returns intact for the second straight season in 2005. The staff includes three coaches who have been with Chris Scelfo for the duration of his Tulane tenure in Garret Chachere, Frank Scelfo and Don Mahoney.
New Schedule
Due to its placement in the Western Division of Conference USA and the fact that two of its three "crossover" opponents are Marshall and UCF, Tulane is the only C-USA tea which will play all six of the league's new members in 2005. Overall, the Green Wave will face seven new opponents, marking the largest turnover in Tulane's schedule in a single season since 1970.
