Green Wave Host Southeastern Louisiana On Saturday
Sep 28, 2005 | Football
Sept. 28, 2005
Close to Home
Tulane plays its second "home" game of the year on Saturday, hosting Southeastern Louisiana at LSU's Tiger Stadium. The Green Wave evened its record at 1-1 with an impressive 31-10 victory over SMU on Saturday. Th e last home game for Tulane was its opener on Sept. 17 against Mississippi State, which was played in Shreveport's Independence Bowl Stadium. Southeastern Louisiana comes into Saturday's game after an off-week. Th e Golden Lions lost to Northern Colorado, 35-19, in their last outing.
Last Week's Leaders
Junior quarterback Lester Ricard connected on 22-of-34 passes for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns on Saturday, while sophomore running back Matt Forte rushed for 87 yards on 20 carries. However, it was the defense as a unit which stood out on Saturday, holding the Mustangs to just 127 yards and tallying nine sacks.
Finally Football
After arriving on the Tulane campus on August 9, the Green Wave football team waited 39 days before hitting the fi eld 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. Th e 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.
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 fl oor 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. H
Defensive Specialists
Th e Tulane defense held Mississippi State to just 225 yards of total off ense on Sept. 17, but then stepped it up another notch this past Saturday, holding SMU to just 127 total yards. Th ose eff orts were the best by the Wave defense since Nov. 1, 1997 when UL-Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana) was limited to 126 total yards. Th e 117 rushing yards by the Bulldogs was the least by a Green Wave opponent since the 2002 Hawai'i Bowl victory when Hawaii had just 66 rushing yards, while Saturday's 63 rushing yards by SMU was 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.
Defensive Comparison
Th e Green Wave has allowed just 352 yards of total off ense in two games this year. Here is a look at the Wave's defensive totals after the first two games from recent years:
Year: Total Yards (Rushing + Passing)
2005: 352 (180+172)
2004: 698 (273+415)
2003: 805 (450+504)
2002: 824 (364+460)
2001: 1228 (669+559)
2000: 929 (365+564)
1999: 897 (402+495)
1998: 880 (353+527)
We're No. 1
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. Th e Green Wave is allowing 176.0 yards per game which is the top mark in the nation. UConn is second, allowing 197.67 yards per game. Th e Wave is also No. 1 in pass defense at 86.0 yards per game, while its run defense ranks 21st at 90.0 yards per game.
Home Game at Tiger Stadium?!
Th e words "unprecedented" and "surreal" have been used repeatedly in describing the hurricane-ravaged Tulane season thus far. And now the Wave will make an unprecedented trip to LSU's Tiger Stadium as the home team this Saturday for what is sure to be a surreal experience for many. Tulane will be hosting Southeastern Louisiana in the game in Baton Rouge, a city which some estimates say has doubled in population since the evacuation of New Orleans. It will be Tulane's 32nd game in Tiger Stadium, which opened in 1924. Th e Wave's all-time record in the storied facility is 8-22-1.
Welcome Back to Football
Southeastern Louisiana brought back its football program two years ago (this is its third season) and the Lions announced the return of the program in August of 2001, when the Tulane football team was holding its preseason camp on the Hammond campus. Following the press conference, Tulane Coach Chris Scelfo said that he would be looking to add them to the schedule. And that is exactly what happened as the Lions were scheduled to visit Tad Gormley Stadium this Saturday for the Green Wave Homecoming contest. While Hurricane Katrina forced the Wave out of New Orleans and postponed any Homecoming activities, the two teams will still clash for the fi rst time since 1951.
Hitting the Sack
Th e Green Wave registered nine sacks on Saturday 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 fi nal 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. While the location of Oct. 14th's UTEP game has not been set, the fi rst currently scheduled fl ight is to Orlando on Oct. 21 for the UCF contest.
Spreading the Wealth
Junior quarterback Lester Ricard has completed passes to 10 diff erent receivers in the fi rst two games. In the opener, Ricard connected with eight diff erent receivers while on Saturday 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.
Turnovers
Tulane has now forced a pair of turnovers in each of its fi rst two games. Against SMU, the Green Wave recovered a pair of fumbles on special teams. Th e fi rst fumble was forced by Matt Harding, who nailed the kick returner, and Carlis Jackson recovered. Th e other fumble was a bobble on a kickoff which was pounced on by Ray Boudreaux. Tulane forced 13 turnovers in 2004.
Hurricane Veterans
While the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe has devastated the city of New Orleans, and the entire Gulf Coast, it is not the fi rst time a hurricane has aff ected the Green 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 Recreation 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.
Notable Numbers
0 Off weeks remaining for the Green Wave, which began play on Sept. 17th and will play each week until Nov. 27.
1 National ranking of the Tulane defense, which has allowed 176.0 yards per game.
4 Campuses for Tulane athletic teams: Louisiana Tech, SMU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
9 Sacks by Tulane against SMU, the most against a I-A opponent since prior to 1989.
33 Days since the Wave departed its campus (through 10/1).
73 Games Chris Scelfo has coached at Tulane, third-highest total in school history.
340 Career tackles for Anthony Cannon, two from cracking Tulane's all-time top 10.
94.7 Completion percentage for Lester Ricard versus Navy last year to set a new Tulane and C-USA record.
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
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 along the 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 fi ve 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.
Making His Debut
Preston Brown 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 finished 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.
Cannon Fire
Senior linebacker Anthony Cannon continues to excel on the Green Wave defense. Th e Stone Mountain, Ga., product posted 12 tackles (six solo) on Sept. 17 vs. Mississippi State, the 16th double-fi gure tackle day of his career. Cannon now has 340 career takedowns, including 183 solo stops. With two more tackles, he will crack Tulane's all-time top 10; while his 157 assists rank seventh all-time for the Wave.
Just Fakin'
Th e Green Wave successfully faked a pair of punts on Sept. 17 against Mississippi State. On the fi rst 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.
Punting Practice
Junior punter Chris Beckman, a fi rst team all-conference selection in 2004, punted 11 times in the Mississippi State game for 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, only one of Beckman's 16 punts this year has reached the end zone.
Got My Eye on You
Linebacker Anthony Cannon is on a pair of "Watch Lists" for 2005. Th e senior, who has tallied 100 or more tackles in each of his fi rst 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.
 Sophomore running back Matt Forte rushed for 87 yards against SMU.  | |
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
Th e Green Wave had 16 players see their fi rst 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 fi rst 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. Th e 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 "offi ial" starters (players who started at least six games a year ago) return on offense 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. Th e 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 fi rst 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. Th e Green Wave will face all six of the league's new schools, the only "holdover" team to do so.
The Long Hau
l 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. Th e 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 fi rst 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. Th e 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. Th e rest of the receiving corps is young and somewhat inexperienced, and includes Preston Brown, Kenneth Guidroz and Michael Batiste. Th ey 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 fi rst Green Wave defender since Mike Staid (1991-94) to compile 100-plus tackles in three straight seasons. Th e 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
Th e 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. Th e mark for single game TD passes had stood since 1952. Th e 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. Th ey 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. Th e 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 fi rst 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.
