Tulane Falls at UCF in Defensive Battle, 20-13

Saturday, October 18

Orlando, Fla.

11:00 AM

Tulane University

2-5 , 1-2

UCF

4-2 , 2-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulane Green Wave

UCF

Tyler Gilbert recorded a sack and forced fumble in Saturday's effort to go along with his six tackles.

Tulane Falls at UCF in Defensive Battle, 20-13

Oct 18, 2014 | Football

Box Score

Oct. 18, 2014

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

Tulane/UCF Game Book In PDF Format

ORLANDO - In a defensive slugfest that came down to the final minute of the game, UCF used a late defensive stand to stave off a Tulane comeback and the Green Wave fell, 20-13, to the defending American Athletic Conference champion on Saturday afternoon at Bright House Networks Stadium.

It was a day in which the defensive units slugged it out as both Tulane (2-5, 1-2 American) and UCF (4-2, 2-0 American) were held to under 300 yards of total offense. In fact, the Green Wave forced two interceptions and recovered two fumbles, creating four turnovers for the first time since facing Tulsa on Oct. 26, 2013.

"My hat goes off to Coach (George) O'Leary and his staff," Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson said. "They (UCF) do an outstanding job and they are probably the best team in this conference. I thought they played well, especially defensively. They never let us get on track, both quarterbacks played well and they made some very timely plays. I thought we played much better on defense and I was very proud of those guys. Offensively, we have to jumpstart our passing game. I thought we ran the ball pretty well on their defense, but we really needed to complete a few more of our passes today."

"It was very frustrating for us not to take advantage of those turnovers early on. We have to get to the point where, offensively, we are scoring touchdowns or kicking field goals consistently when the defense gets us the ball," Johnson added.

Right from the get go, the defense and special teams combined to force two UCF turnovers on its first three possessions, and also forced the Knights into punting situations on its other two possessions of the first quarter.

On its first possession of the game, UCF quarterback Justin Holman was picked off on a third down pass attempt by sophomore linebacker Edward Williams, setting up the Green Wave offense at the UCF 28-yard line. However, Tulane was unable to move the ball and a high snap through off TU kicker Andrew DiRocco's timing and the 42-yard attempt was wide left.

The two teams then traded punts before the Knights' offense once again stalled and UCF set up into punt formation, but punter Caleb Houston mishandled the snap and TU senior linebacker Matthew Bailey jolted the ball free from Houston as he tried to scramble and redshirt freshman defensive back Tristan Cooper recovered the ball at the UCF 8-yard line.

Tulane's offense could not find the end zone and DiRocco drilled a 21-yard field goal to put the Green Wave up 3-0.

Special teams' miscues continued to be the story of the game in the first half. On the first play of the second quarter, Tulane found itself in a punting situation. However, the snap sailed over TU junior punter Peter Picerelli's head and Picerelli was forced to cover the ball on the Tulane 15-yard line.

UCF was guilty of two holding calls and could not take advantage of the prime field position and settled for a 47-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt to knot the game at 3-3.

Following a terrific punt by Tulane's Picerelli down to the UCF 15-yard line, the Tulane defense was able to hold UCF to 0-5 on third conversions before allowing the first at the 9:20 mark of the second quarter.

The Knights then turned to its running game and used a 12-play, 85-yard drive, including eight on the ground, which culminated in a one-yard plunge by William Stanback that gave the home team a 10-3 advantage with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter.

On Tulane's ensuing possession, Nick Montana's third down pass was intercepted by Jacoby Glenn at the Tulane 25-yard line. But once again the TU defense was up to the challenge and UCF was forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Moffett to extend the Knights' lead to 13-3, which stood as the halftime score.

The Green Wave offense was not able to make any headway after receiving the second half kickoff. However on the Knights' first play of the third quarter, Tulane senior defensive end Tyler Gilbert forced a Stanback fumble and senior defensive back Brandon LeBeau scooped up the ball and was tackled on the UCF 24-yard line.

But TU's offense misfired and DiRocco's 42-yard field goal split the uprights to slice the UCF advantage to 13-6.

UCF returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards and three plays later Holman found Breshad Perriman on a 45-yard touchdown strike to make it 20-6 early in the third quarter.

Following a Tulane punt, the Knights marched to its own 45-yard line but the TU defense squashed the drive then redshirt freshman Parry Nickerson grabbed his third interception of the season and setting the Wave up on its own 41-yard line. However on its first play, Montana gave the ball back to UCF when his pass was intercepted by Brandon Alexander, who returned the ball to the Tulane 27-yard line. TU's defense once again came up big and stopped the Knights' potential scoring drive on downs.

Tulane put together its best of the drive of the game to start the fourth quarter. Montana found Veal on a 41-yard hook-up that put the Green Wave on the UCF 18-yard line. Two plays later, Montana scrambled and was hit late by a UCF defender and Tulane set up shop at the eight-yard line. Thompson capped the 13-play, 82-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown to bring the score to 20-13 with 11:36 remaining.

With the game within one possession, Tulane's defense rode the wave of momentum. On a 2^nd-and-10 on Tulane's 41, Nico Marley hit Dontravious Wilson for a seven-yard loss in the backfield, eventually setting up a UCF punt to Tulane's 14-yard line.

Through a steady ground game from Thompson and Hilliard, Tulane advanced the ball to UCF's 35-yard line where they faced a 3^rd-and-10. After Montana hit Rush for an eight-yard gainer, Thompson was tackled for a one-yard loss on a 4^th-and-2.

Tulane's defense then came up big for the Green Wave, forcing a three-and-out and giving the offense one more crack at tying the game. Nico Marley once again hit Dontravious Wilson in the backfield for a six-yard loss, followed by a near pick from Lorenzo Doss on the next play.

Starting on their own 25-yard line with 2:09 left on the clock, Tulane quickly faced a 4^th-and-6 situation. With the game on the line, Montana scrambled out of the pocket, threw to Leondre James, who leaped but could not come down with the ball. UCF then ran the clock out on the ensuing possession for the 20-13 victory.

Sam Scofield led all defensive players with seven tackles, while Tyler Gilbert picked up six, including two tackles for loss and a sack to go along with his forced fumble. Both LeBeau and Cooper earned their first fumble recoveries on the season. Edward Williams picked up his first career interception and Nickerson grabbed his team leading third.

Offensively, Thompson led the Tulane ground game with 63 yards on 12 attempts, good for a 5.2 average. Sherman Badie followed suit with 55 yards on 14 attempts. Meanwhile, Montana finished 18-for-42 for 147 yards with two interceptions.

The Green Wave will enjoy its 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.

-TulaneGreenWave.com-