Tulane University
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UTEP
Football Tops UTEP In Overtime Thriller, 45-38
Nov 7, 2009 | Football
Nov. 7, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
NEW ORLEANS - Senior wide receiver Jeremy Williams tallied a career-high 324 all-purpose yards and redshirt-freshman quarterback Ryan Griffin accounted for four touchdowns as the Tulane University football team rallied to defeat Conference USA foe UTEP in overtime, 45-38, Saturday afternoon in the Louisiana Superdome.
Tulane trailed 38-31 with 1:13 left in regulation before Griffin marched the Wave 86 yards on nine plays, capping the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to senior running back André Anderson with one second on the clock to send the game into overtime. A seven-yard Anderson run on the extra period's first possession put Tulane on top, and junior free safety Alex Wacha sacked UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe on fourth-and-goal from the five to spark the Tulane celebration.
With the win, the Green Wave halted a four-game skid and posted their first league win in their last 10 tries to improve to 3-6 on the year and 1-4 in C-USA play. UTEP, meanwhile, fell to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in league action.
"There are some emotional guys in that locker room right now," Tulane head football coach Bob Toledo said after the game. "It was unbelievable and they certainly deserved it. We played against an excellent football team, a team that beat Houston and Tulsa. We had a lot of points and yards on those guys. I'm just so proud of our guys. They never gave up and never quit. I know a lot of people have quit on us, but the important thing is we have not quit on ourselves."
Williams tied a career-high with 10 catches for a team-leading 139 yards and also ran for 40 yards on three carries. In addition, he returned three kickoffs for 145 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Green Wave their first kickoff return for a score since Israel Route had a 97-yard return against Southeastern Louisiana on Oct. 1, 2005. His all-purpose yardage total ranks third in Tulane single-game history behind Matt Forté's 342-yard effort at SMU on Oct. 20, 2007 and Mewelde Moore's 336-yard performance against Cincinnati on Oct. 6, 2001.
Griffin, meanwhile, completed 24-of-36 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown and finished the day with 16 yards on the ground on five carries. In the final drive of regulation, Griffin completed six-of-eight passes, including an 11-yard screen pass to Anderson for the game-tying touchdown.
His passing total was the highest by a Tulane quarterback since Lester Ricard threw for 409 yards against Army on Oct. 28, 2006, and was the most by a Green Wave freshman since Scott Elliott threw for 298 yards at Rice on Nov. 12, 2005. Griffin's three touchdown passes, meanwhile, were the most by a Tulane quarterback in 2009 and marked the first time a Green Wave signal caller passed for three scores since current teammate Kevin Moore had a trio of scoring strikes against SMU on Sept. 25, 2008.
"He has ice in his veins," Toledo said of his quarterback. "He is a cool customer. He does not get rattled and he knows what is going on. You bring him off the field, you talk to him and can ask him what happened, and he can tell you exactly what happened. He knows what the defense is going and how to attack them. He threw a couple of bad balls and he mentioned that, but for the most part he managed the game well, did not turn the ball over, got us in the end zone, scored points and won the game."
Not to be outdone, Anderson posted his third 100-yard rushing effort of the year and seventh of his career, rumbling for 105 yards on 29 carries, including the seven-yard score in overtime for what proved to be the winning points. He also caught a pair of passes for 24 yards. In addition, junior wideout Casey Robottom tied a career-high with seven catches for a season-best 83 yards in the victory.
Wacha led the Green Wave defense with 10 tackles (four solo, six assists), while freshman Shakiel Smith and senior Travis Burks were next with eight tackles each. Wacha was one of three Tulane players to post a sack on the afternoon, joining junior defensive tackle Justin Adams and freshman middle linebacker Austen Jacks.
UTEP opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal by Logan Barrett 5:36 into the ballgame, and went up 10-0 when Jason Williams capped a nine-play, 73-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter.
Tulane answered on the ensuing kickoff as the Green Wave's Williams gathered in the ball and darted through some key blocks untouched for an 88-yard return to make it a three-point ballgame. The Tulane defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense came through with its first points of the day early in the second quarter when Griffin snuck in from one-yard out to give the home team a 14-10 lead.
The advantage did not last long, though, as Vittatoe connected with Donald Buckram on a short pass that turned into a 72-yard touchdown to put the Miners back on top, 17-14. A field goal by Tulane's Ross Thevenot tied the score and it stayed that way at the halftime break.
After kicking off to open the game, the Green Wave got the ball first in the second half and went 67 yards on 10 plays, capped by three-yard touchdown strike from Griffin to rookie tight end Brock Sanders. UTEP responded with a nine-play, 80-yard drive and tied the game at 24-all on a Buckram 28-yard touchdown run.
Buckram, who ran for 234 yards and caught three passes for 109 yards, scored again on a 36-yard jaunt 1:27 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Tulane answered with an eight-play, 66-yard drive when Griffin found freshman wide receiver Ryan Grant for a six-yard touchdown strike.
Buckram scored his fourth touchdown of the day with a 10-yard run with 5:12 left to play, but that would be the Miner's final points of the ballgame. Following a pair of punts, UTEP pinned the Green Wave deep on its final boot of the night to set up Tulane's late-game heroics.
Vittatoe completed 12-of-26 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown, while Buckram, Kris Adams and Jeff Maturi tied for team-high reception honors with three catches each. Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith led all players with 11 tackles (seven solo, four assists).
The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they travel to Houston to take on Conference USA foe Rice at 2:30 p.m. Next weekend's game is the first off three straight road contests to end the season as Tulane will play at UCF on Nov. 21 before closing out the regular-season on Nov. 28 at SMU.
