Tulane University
SMU
Football Drops 31-17 Conference USA Contest To SMU
Oct 30, 2010 | Football
Oct. 30, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Tulane/SMU Game Book in PDF Format 
NEW ORLEANS - For the first 42:36 of Saturday's Conference USA matchup between Tulane and SMU, the Green Wave defense held the Mustang's high-octane offense in check. The final 17:24, however, was a totally different story as the Tulane University football team dropped a 31-17 decision in the Louisiana Superdome.
Tulane led 17-3 courtesy of a 23-yard fumble return for touchdown by sophomore defensive end Austen Jacks with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter before SMU rallied with a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to spark a 28-0 rally to provide the final margin. With the loss, the Green Wave fell to 3-5 on the year and 1-3 in C-USA action. SMU, meanwhile, improved to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.
"It was a tale of two halves," Tulane head football coach Bob Toledo said. "The first half, I thought we played really well. We did really well on defense and offensively we were running the ball real well. Then the second half, we didn't block as well, Orleans Darkwa was nicked up a little bit, he got hurt, and we didn't run the ball as well.
"Defensively...we fell apart. We didn't tackle well. We didn't stop the run. Our passing defense was very poor. They ran one route several times and they beat us. They beat us deep, we didn't tackle the guy and they just had a very good fourth quarter and we didn't."
The Tulane defense held SMU to 243 total yards through the bulk of the first three quarters, but the Mustangs rallied for 249 yards over their next five possessions which culminated with four touchdowns and a two-play drive which ended the ballgame.
Lost in the shuffle of the defeat was a career day by Tulane freshman running back Orleans Darkwa who ran for 193 yards on 29 carries and posted 200 yards of total offense with one reception for a seven-yard gain. With his 114-yard rushing effort last week at UTEP, Darkwa became the first Green Wave player to rush for 100-plus yards in consecutive games since André Anderson had 105 against UTEP and 135 against Rice on Nov. 7 and Nov. 14, 2009, respectively. His 193 rushing yards are the most by a Tulane player since Anderson had 199 against McNeese State on Sept. 26, 2009 in the Louisiana Superdome.
In addition, Tulane ran for a season-best 270 yards on 53 carries marking the second time in as many weeks that the Green Wave offense posted a 200-plus yard rushing effort. Combined with last weekend's 260-yard performance at UTEP, Tulane tallied back-to-back 200-yard rushing games for the first time since running for 208 and 267 against UTEP and Rice on Nov. 10 and 17, 2007, respectively.
Following Jacks' fumble return for a score - Tulane's first fumble return for a touchdown since Israel Route returned one 14 yards for a score at East Carolina on Oct. 9, 2004 - SMU marched 60 yards on seven plays to make it a 17-10 ballgame as Zach Line ran in from five yards out on the final play of the stanza.
The Mustang defense held Tulane a three-and-out on its ensuing drive and the SMU offense answered with a five-play, 74-yard drive which culminated with a seven-yard Line run to tie the ballgame at 17-all. Their next drive took just two plays as Mustang quarterback Kyle Padron hit Aldrick Robinson for an 82-yard scoring strike to take a 24-17 advantage they would not relinquish.
Tulane had a chance to make things interesting as the Green Wave marched down to the SMU five-yard line, but Ryan Griffin's fourth-down pass was intercepted by Chris Banjo in the endzone for a touchdown. From there, the Mustangs marched 80 yards in five plays as Padron scored on a three-yard keeper to account for the final score.
"It's really disappointment more than being frustrated at this point," Toledo said. "We're disappointed because we had a chance, we played a good football team and they beat us. But we had a chance to win a football game and we just didn't make enough plays to get it done. That's just the disappointing thing. We had a chance to win two in a row, to be 2-2 at home, to be 4-4, and now all of a sudden, we're behind the eight ball again and scrambling to try to get some wins down the stretch."
The day started out well for the Green Wave as Tulane drew first blood when Griffin connected with senior tight end Cody Sparks for a nine-yard touchdown strike 3:59 seconds into the second quarter to stake Tulane to a 7-0 advantage. SMU answered with a 25-yard Matt Szymanksi field goal to cut the deficit to four on the ensuing drive and that was the way the first half ended.
Tulane opened the second half with a 17-play, 68-yard drive that chewed 7:54 off the game clock and freshman kicker Cairo Santos gave the Green Wave a seven-point lead when he split the uprights from 25 yards out. That, however, was the final points the Tulane offense scored and set up the SMU comeback.
Sparks and senior wide receiver Casey Robottom tied for team-best receiving honors with three catches for 37 and 49 yards, respectively. Griffin finished the day 11-of-24 for 121 yards. Jacks paced the Tulane defense with a career-best nine tackles (8 solo, 1 assist) while senior strong safety Alex Wacha followed with seven.
Padron led all players with 354 yards passing after completing 18-of-32 tosses. Cole Beasely was his favorite target on the day, hauling in nine passes for 135 yards, but Robinson had the biggest impact with 182 receiving yards and a touchdown on five grabs.
Line led the SMU ground game with 177 yards and two touchdowns on 23 totes. Youri Yenga was one of two Mustang defenders to post double-digit tackle totals on the afternoon with 14 (8 solo, 6 assists). Pete Fleps was next with 12 (7 solo, 5 assists).
Tulane returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 6, when the Green Wave play host to Southern Miss at 2:30 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome. The contest against the Golden Eagles is the second of four straight home contests for Tulane as the Wave will face Rice on Nov. 13 and UCF on Nov. 20 before closing out the regular season on Nov. 27 at Marshall. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE. Tickets can be purchase in the Ticket Office, which is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center, over the phone or online at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
