Football To Open 3-Game Homestand Saturday vs. Syracuse
Oct 7, 2011 | Football
Oct. 7, 2011
Tulane Game Notes
Syracuse Game Notes
Conference USA Notes
Gameday Central
Tulane Live
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University football team will look to snap a two-game skid when the Green Wave play host to Syracuse on Saturday, Oct. 8, in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live locally on Cox Sports Television (Cox Channel 37, 737 HD) and in New York on the SNY Network.
The game against the Orange is the first back in the Dome since Sept. 10 and starts a three-game homestand for the team in olive green and sky blue. While the Wave enter the weekend looking to bounce back from consecutive road losses to Duke and Army, Tulane head coach Bob Toledo reiterated that his team remains positive about the remainder of the year.
"We now realize that it doesn't matter what the outside people think - it's what we think," Toledo said. "We had a great team meeting on Sunday. For the first time in a long time, the players said, `Coach, we want the coaches to leave and we want to talk.'
"We had a team meeting without the coaches, and I heard that it was outstanding. But while I was in there, we had players stand up and actually cry it hurt them so much. That's why I believe that this team, more so than any team we've had, is heading in the right direction regardless of what people think."
In addition to the television broadcast, the Tulane/Syracuse contest will be aired live on the flagship radio station of Green Wave football, WIST AM 690, while live audio and video are available on-line at www.TulaneGreenWave.com to paid members of the All-Access Pass. Live stats are also available on the web courtesy of GameTracker, and a new, interactive option is available via "Tulane Live".
As a team, Tulane is averaging 337.0 yards of total offense per game (125.4 rushing, 211.6 passing) while allowing opponents to tally a mark of 386.2 (168.4 rushing, 217.8 passing).
Sophomore Orleans Darkwa leads the Tulane ground game with 299 yards and three touchdowns on 72 carries while senior Albert Williams is close behind with 161 rushing yards and a score on 36 totes. Junior quarterback Ryan Griffin has completed 78-of-137 passes for 980 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions, and has done a good job spreading the ball around as 16 Tulane players have at least one reception.
Senior wideout Joe Kemp paces the receiving corps with 20 catches for 215 yards while Darka and freshman Justyn Shackleford are next with 11 grabs and 171 yards, respectively. Sophomore Wilson Van Hooser leads the squad with a pair of touchdown receptions while Kemp, redshirt-freshman tight end Matt Marfisi, junior tight end Brock Sanders, junior wide receiver Ryan Grant, and junior linebacker Trent Mackey - who has seen time on offense at fullback in goal-line situations - have one scoring grab each.
Mackey paces the defense with 55 tackles (31 solo, 24 assists) and five tackles for loss. He also has one of the Green Wave's three defensive touchdowns in 2011 courtesy of a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown two weeks ago at UAB. Junior safety Shakiel Smith is second on the squad with 32 stops (22 solo, 10 assists) and sophomore defensive tackle Julius Warmseley has a team-best 3.0 sacks.
Junior cornerback Ryan Travis and sophomore nickelback Derrick Strozier are tied for the team lead with two interceptions apiece and the duo joins Mackey with pick-sixes to date. Travis has three of the Green Wave's 14 pass break-ups, while senior defensive end Dezman Moses, freshman safety Renaldo Thomas, junior defensive end Austen Jacks, junior linebacker Darryl Farley and redshirt-freshman special teamer Taylor Bullock have one forced fumble each. Jacks paces the squad with a pair of fumble recoveries while Moses and Warmsley have one apiece.
"I want to see us get better every day, every week, every game," Toledo said. "To be on a roller coaster ride is very frustrating. (The players) are as frustrated as anybody. If you know anything about them, they work their butt off. They've worked harder than any team we've had. They are better than any team we've had. All that I can say is that we have a lot of football games left and when the season is over, we can evaluate what happened and we'll go from there."
Syracuse, meanwhile, heads to The Big Easy 3-2 on the year and is looking to bounce back from a 19-16 double-overtime loss to Rutgers last weekend in New York. As a team, the Orange are averaging 329.0 yards of total offense per game (101.8 rushing, 227.2 passing) while allowing opponents to post 382.6 yards per contest (102.0 rushing, 280.6 passing).
Antwon Bailey leads the Syracuse ground game with 442 yards and four touchdowns on 100 carries, and Prince-Tyson Gulley is next with 89 yards on 18 totes. Ryan Nassib has completed 105-of-158 passes for 1,108 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions and 10 Orange players have at least two receptions on the year.
Alec Lemon is the team's leading receiver with 29 catches for 290 yards and is tied with Van Chew for the Orange's lead in touchdown receptions with three each. Chew and Nick Provo both have 19 grabs on the year to go with 288 and 226 receiving yards, respectively.
Dan Vaughan paces the Syracuse defense with 38 tackles (20 solo, 18 assists) while Phillip Thomas has 33 and Marquis Spruill has 29. Thomas and Kevyn Scott both have three of the team's 16 pass break-ups. Thomas also leads the team with three interceptions while Scott has a pair of picks.
Dyshawn Davis headlines the Orange with six tackles for loss and four sacks. Spruill, Mikhail Marinovich, Torrey Ball and Ri'Shard Anderson all have one fumble receovery while Thomas, Marinovich, Davis and Siriki Diabate have each forced a fumble.
"Offensively, they run a pro-style offense very similar to the Saints and very similar to some of the things we do," Toledo said of Syracuse. "Their quarterback, Ryan Nassib, broke the school record last year for completions and this year he has nine touchdown passes already. Their tight end, Nick Provo, is an all-conference player. Their running back, Antwon Bailey, is a little guy - about 5-7 - but he's very powerful. He rushed for about 125 yards last week. He's a second-team all-conference player. He's a heck of a player.
"Defensively, they run a 4-3 and they combine it with a 3-4. They've got an attacking, aggressive defensive scheme. They held Rutgers to five yards rushing last week, so they're pretty aggressive. Their linebacker, Marquis Spruill, is really active. He was a freshman last year. He's a middle linebacker and he is a very good player. Three of their four defensive linemen are seniors. Both of their safeties are returning starters and are very active in run support."
This weekend's ballgame marks the eighth time the two teams have met on the gridiron and Syracuse holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series. Tulane's lone win along the way came back on Nov. 10, 1990, when the Green Wave left the Carrier Dome with a 26-24 victory. The Orange has now won the last four head-to-head meetings, including a 47-17 decision in the last meeting on Oct. 2, 1999, in Syracuse, N.Y.
Following the Syracuse contest, the Green Wave continue their homestand with an Oct. 15 showdown with Conference USA rival UTEP before battling league foe Memphis on Oct. 22 as part of Tulane's Homecoming 2011 celebration.
Single-game tickets for this weekend's games, as well as future Green Wave Athletics events, are available through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. Sideline tickets are $35, adult endzone seats selling for $20 and youth endzone seats cost $10. The Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center on Ben Weiner Drive, and tickets can be purchased in person, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE (9283) or via the Internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. The tickets windows at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome will open at 5 p.m. on Saturday and game-day tickets can be purchased at Gates B and F. Gates will open at 6 p.m.
