Notes Following Football's 27-21 Over Southeastern Louisiana
Sep 3, 2010 | Football
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Tulane 27, Southeastern Louisiana 21
Tulane Game 1
Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, La.
• Thursday's game marked the fifth meeting between Tulane and Southeastern Louisiana on the gridiron. With the win, the Green Wave are now 5-0 against the Lions, including a 4-0 mark in New Orleans. The lone meeting between the two schools not hosted by Tulane came during the 2005 season when the two teams played at LSU's Tiger Stadium as the Green Wave played 11 games in 11 stadiums in 11 consecutive weeks due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
• With the win, Tulane claimed an opening-day victory for the first time since 2002 when the Green Wave defeated Southern, 37-19 (Aug. 31) in the Louisiana Superdome.
• By defeating Southeastern Louisiana, Tulane improved its all-time record against NCAA Division I-Football Championship Division teams (formerly I-AA) to 10-0. Since the inception of the FCS in 1978, Tulane is 3-0 vs. the Lions, 2-0 vs. Southern, and 1-0 against Chattanooga, Florida A&M, McNeese State, Northwestern State and William & Mary.
• Freshman running back Orleans Darkwa ran for a game-high 75 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, becoming the first true freshman to rush for three scores in a game since Matt Forté had a trio of scores vs. Army on Nov. 13, 2004.
• Darkwa also became the first Tulane freshman to score in a season-opening contest since Sept. 1, 2003, when Fred Smith had a 100-yard kickoff return against TCU. Darkwa is the first freshman to score an offensive touchdown in a season opener since Darlvon Bracy had a one-yard touchdown plunge at Ole Miss on Sept. 2, 2000.
• Tulane freshmen accounted for all 27 of the Green Wave's points as Darkwa accounted for 18 points courtesy of his three touchdowns while Cairo Santos connected on a pair of field goals and was true on all three PATs.
• Tulane's opening-drive touchdown marked the first time the Green Wave took the opening kickoff and scored on their first possession of the season since 2002. In that game, J.P. Losman capped a five-play, 68-yard drive when he connected with James Dunn for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 12:29 on the clock. The Green Wave won that game, 37-19, over Southern on Aug. 31, 2002, in the Louisiana Superdome.
• With six catches for 48 yards, senior wide receiver Casey Robottom increased his string of multiple-catch games to 10. The last time Robottom failed to post multiple catches was against McNeese State on Sept. 26, 2009, when he did not record a touch in the Louisiana Superdome.
• Robottom's receiving yardage pushed him into the 1,000-yard club for his career. He now has 1,017 yards on 83 career catches.
• Sophomore wide receiver D.J. Banks nearly equaled his receiving totals from a year ago with a career-best seven catches for 65 yards. As a true freshman in 2009, Banks had seven receptions for 69 yards for the season. Banks also added 20 rushing yards on four carries to post a career-high 85 all-purpose yards, surpassing his former best of 84 vs. McNeese State on Sept. 26, 2009.
• Sophomore linebacker Trent Mackey made his Tulane debut an impressive one as the transfer from Duke University had a game-high and career-best 13 tackles (5 solo, 8 assists). Two of his stops were behind the line of scrimmage for eight yards in losses and he added a fumble recovery - all of which were career firsts. It was the first time Mackey stepped on the field for competition since the 2008 season when he played mostly special teams for the Blue Devils. He sat out the 2009 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.
• Sophomore Ryan Travis, who started at nickel back, tallied a career-best 7 tackles (3 solo, 4 assists). He also added a tackle for a 10-yard loss and a fumble recovery - both of which were the first of his career.
• Sophomore free safety Shakiel Smith recorded the first interception of his career in the second quarter when he picked off a Tyler Beatty pass and returned it 24 yards.
• Tulane's 16-play and 8:25 drive to open the ballgame was the Green Wave's longest both in terms of yardage and time of possession since driving 66 yards for 18 plays in 8:42 during the second quarter of a 45-38 overtime win over UTEP on Nov. 7, 2009. The 75-yard drive was the longest since posting a 98-yard drive at Rice on Nov. 14, 2009.
• Senior DT Justin Adams posted a career-best 1.5 tackles for losses totaling 16 yards, one of which was a sack. Adams had 1.0 tackles for loss four times previously in his career.
• Junior DT Chris Asumnu posted the first sack and tackle for loss of his career on Thursday against Southeastern, dropping Lions quarterback Tyler Beatty for a two-yard loss.
• Eleven Tulane players made their collegiate debut on Thursday as freshman DE Wendell Beckwith, WR Brett Comardelle, RB Orleans Darkwa, P Jonathan Ginsburgh, LB Logan Hamilton, OL Pat Husain, DB Dominique Robertson, K Cairo Santos, DL Julius Warmsley and CBs Kendrell and Kendrick Washington. Warmsley started the game at left defensive end while the rest came off the bench or saw time on special teams.
• Seven Tulane players started the first game of their respective careers on Thursday vs. Southeastern Louisiana. Sophomore WR Ryan Grant, sophomore RT Eric Jones and junior RB Albert Williams earned their first starts for the offense while freshman DE Julius Warmsley, sophomore LB Trent Mackey, sophomore NB Ryan Travis and sophomore CB Alex Lauricella made their first starts for the defense.
• The Green Wave sported a new look against the Lions as Tulane took the field wearing white helmets. It marks the first time the Wave squad wore white bonnets since the 1997 season. In addition, the Tulane jerseys featured a fleur-de-lis on the collar - a first for the program.
• Three Tulane players extended their double-digit starting streaks - senior OT Pete Hendrickson with 25 straight, senior WR Casey Robottom with 19 and senior CB Phillip Davis with 13.
• Tulane captains for Thursday's ballgame were senior OL Andrew Nierman, senior CB Phillip Davis, senior SS Alex Wacha and senior WR Casey Robottom.
