Tulane Football Packs Bags for American Contest at UCF
Oct 17, 2014 | Football
TV/Radio/Internet/Social Media Listings
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University football team will look to keep a good thing going on Saturday, Oct. 18, when the Green Wave travels to Orlando for an American Athletic Conference contest against defending league champion UCF in Bright House Networks Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. (CDT) and the contest will be televised live nationally on ESPNU.
The Wave heads to The Sunshine State 2-4 on the year, 1-1 in American action and fresh off a 12-3 victory over league foe UConn on Saturday evening at Yulman Stadium. In that contest, the Tulane defense posted season highs with four sacks among 10 tackles for losses, forced three turnovers and added to the scoreboard with a third-quarter safety.
UCF, however, provides a formidable opponent as the Knights enter the weekend 3-2 on the year, 1-0 in conference play and riding the high of a three-game winning streak with consecutive victories of 41-7 over Bethune-Cookman, 17-12 at Houston and 31-2 against BYU in overtime. Since the inception of the American prior to the 2013-1 season, the Knights are a perfect 9-0 in league play and have won 10-straight conference contests dating back to their final season in Conference USA.
"This is a team that is probably the most notable team in the conference," Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson said. "Just go back to last year and they have a lot of guys coming back from that team that went to the Fiesta Bowl and beat Baylor. This is a very, very good football team. They have a great defensive front, some linebackers that can run, safeties that hit and run like corners and corners that can cover well defensively. It's going to be a huge challenge for us.
"Offensively, you look at the quarterback and he's outstanding. They have a great returner. They are kind of a blueprint of what we aspire to be and what we'd like to do. It's going to be a big test for us, but we just need to go in there and play well. I told the team the other day - it's not about how many points we score or give up, it's just playing well. If we play well, I think we have a chance in every game."
In addition to the television coverage, Saturday's contest is also available on video stream on the Watch ESPN app and will be broadcast on the flagship radio station for Green Wave football - WMTI 106.1 FM "The Ticket." The radio call is available on the web at www.TulaneGreenWave.com via the All-Access Pass and live game stats will be provided for free on the official website of Tulane Athletics courtesy of GameTracker.
As a team, Tulane is averaging 366.7 yards of total offense per game (170.3 rushing, 196.3 passing) and reached the end zone 16 times while giving up 389.7 yards (176.5 rushing, 213.2 passing) per game and 21 touchdowns.
Redshirt-freshman tailback Sherman Badie paces the Tulane ground game with 534 yards and three touchdowns on 74 carries with sophomore Lazedrick Thomas ranking second with 298 yards and a pair of scores on 65 totes.
Three Green Wave quarterbacks have seen action to date and redshirt-freshman Tanner Lee - who missed last week's game against UConn due to injury - leads the TU attack with 914 yards and eight touchdowns on 70-of-142 passing. Senior wideout Justyn Shackleford leads the aerial assault with 22 catches for 326 yards to go with a pair of scores while senior receiver Xavier Rush paces the squad with three touchdown grabs while sitting second with 287 receiving yards and third with 14 receptions.
Defensively, Tulane has 11 sacks among 41 tackles for loss, broken up 13 passes and forced 14 turnovers on the strength of eight interceptions and six fumble recoveries.
Senior free safety Sam Scofield headlines the unit with 46 tackles (34 solo, 12 assists) while sophomore linebacker Nico Marley and junior strong safety Darion Monroe follow with 40 and 42 stops, respectively. Junior defensive end Royce LaFrance paces the squad with 2.0 sacks, Marley leads the team with 6.0 tackles for loss and Scofield shares team-high honors in pass break-ups with Marley, sophomore linebacker Eric Thomas and junior cornerback Lorenzo Doss at two each. Doss, Scofield and redshirt-freshman cornerback Parry Nickerson are co-leaders in interceptions with two apiece while Monroe has team-high totals with two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries.
UCF, meanwhile, is averaging 302.6 yards of total offense per game (94.6 rushing, 208.0 passing) and 24.6 points per outing with 15 touchdowns and six field goals while giving up an average of 335.8 yards (122.6 rushing, 213.2 passing) and 21.4 points per contest.
William Stanback leads a balanced rushing attack with 225 yards on 66 carries and shares team-high touchdown honors with Justin Holman with three each. Holman, who has 107 rushing yards on 51 totes, leads the passing attack with 985 yards and eight scores while completing 73-of-130 passes. Rannell Hall leads the Knights with 17 catches, Breshad Perriman has a team-best 341 receiving yards, and the trio of Perriman, Stanback and Josh Reese each has a pair of touchdown grabs.
Defensively, UCF has 16 sacks among 39 tackles for loss, broke up 16 passes and forced 10 turnovers after picking off six passes and recovering three fumbles. Terrance Plummer leads the squad with 53 tackles (27 solo, 26 assists), followed by Clayton Geathers with 42 (25 solo, 17 assists) and Brandon Alexander with 37 (20 solo, 17 assists).
Plummer also paces the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and Thomas Niles headlines the unit with 5.0 sacks. Geathers leads the secondary with five pass break-ups and Jacoby Glenn has a team-best three interceptions.
"It's a big challenge for us," Johnson said of his team's matchup with the Knights. "Coach [George] O'Leary is one of those guys who brought Georgia Tech back to what it was. He's helped build this thing and each year they've gotten better and better. He's a pretty good friend of mine and we talked about it when we were at Media Day together. They are winners. That's what they are and that's what they do.
"What we have to do is concentrate on us, not make these silly mistakes and play well. Like I told the team, if you play well - just play well and don't make mistakes - you have a chance to win in any game. The crowd will be there and you love play in a place with a big-time crowd because it's big-time college football."
Saturday's game marks the sixth meeting between Tulane and UCF on the gridiron, and the Knights hold a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Green Wave's lone win along the way came in a 10-9 slugfest back on Nov. 18, 2006, in the Superdome.
The series dates back to Sept. 22, 2001, when UCF came to New Orleans and left with a 36-29 win. The Knights added home wins of 34-2 on Oct. 22, 2005, and 49-0 on Nov. 21, 2009, and won the last meeting, 61-14, on Nov. 20, 2010, in the Superdome.
Following the game at UCF, the Green Wave will enjoy their second bye of the season before playing host to Cincinnati for a Halloween contest at 7 p.m. in Yulman Stadium. For tickets to that game, as well as future Green Wave events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE (9283). The Tulane Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at the official website of Tulane Athletics - www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
