Football Continues Preparation For Season Finale At Tulsa
Nov 21, 2006 | Football
Nov. 21, 2006
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Three days after closing out the home schedule with a 10-9 win over Conference USA foe UCF, the Tulane University football team will look to end the season on another high note as the Green Wave battle defending league champion Tulsa on Friday, Nov. 24, at Skelly Stadium.
Complete Press Conference Transcript
Tulane (4-7, 2-4 C-USA) will face a tough Golden Hurricane squad (7-3, 4-2 C-USA) that has already qualified for a bowl berth. In addition, Tulsa is 4-1 at home in 2006, including a 2-1 mark in C-USA play at Skelly Stadium.
"We've got a game this week against a football team that is as capable as any team in our league to go out and play well," Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo siad. "We've got a short week and a travel day in it, and we've got to condense a lot of things we want to do on offense and defense and get it all in before we leave on Thursday."
Friday's game against the Golden Hurricane is slated to kick off at 2 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on the Tulane Network (local WIST AM 690). Audio streaming is available on TulaneGreenWave.com to registered members of the All Access Pass and live stats will also be provided free of charge on the internet via GameTracker.
Heading into the 2006 season, Scelfo had one simple goal for his young team to show steady improvement from game one to game 12. Along the way, the Tulane team has sustained several injuries to key players, but still managed to post a winning record at the Louisiana Superdome as well as post the team's first road win an at SEC opponent since the 1989 season with a 32-29 victory at Mississippi State on Sept. 16.
"(Our goal for the year was) to get better from start to finish," Scelfo said. "If you remember, I said that back in my first press conference. I never said wins and losses, because that will take care of itself. I just wanted the team to get better from start to finish, and I think we've done that. I know we've done that."
One of the big reasons for the overall improvement of the team has been the steady progression and maturation of the Green Wave defense. Entering the season, Tulane had to replace all three starting linebackers and three-quarters of its secondary.
After suffering some early growing pains, the Tulane defense has become a strong point of the team. Over the past two games, the Green Wave "D" has kept the team in games, and in Saturday's 10-9 win over the Golden Knights, held an opponent out of the endzone for the first time since the 2002 season.
"Early in the year, we were completely healthy on offense and you can look at what we did," Scelfo said. "As the season has progressed, we've lost some key players and have guys playing who aren't playing at 100 percent - Preston Brown, Damarcus Davis. You can see them out there on Saturday fighting though it and limping. And all of our backs have been banged up.
"On the other side of it defensively, early in the year, you lose (Matt) Harding, (Sean) Carney, Cody Sparks, Terrence Peterson and Jordan Ellis. Now, Terrence comes back, Jordan comes back healthy, and that's helped us. We've got guys in there like Billy Harrison, Taurean Brown and Michael Purcell to replace Carney."
A victory on Tulsa on Friday will give Tulane a five-win season for the fifth time in eight years under Scelfo, as the Green Wave went 6-5 in 2000, 8-5 in 2002, 5-7 in 2003 and 5-6 in 2004.
"This (season) was a difficult task - starting three games on the road the way we did," Scelfo said. "It isn't anybody's fault. It's just the way it fell. Playing just five home games and playing 12 straight weeks, all that has added up. For our guys to be where they are right now, I'm really proud of them."
