NOTES FOLLOWING TULANE FOOTBALL'S 42-7 LOSS VS. HOUSTON
Oct 17, 2015 | Football
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Oct. 17, 2015
NOTES FOLLOWING TULANE FOOTBALL'S 42-7 AMERICAN LOSS TO HOUSTON
Houston 42, Tulane 7
Tulane Game 6
Yulman Stadium
New Orleans, Louisiana
• Friday's game against Houston marks the 20th meeting on the gridiron between the Green Wave and the Cougars. With the loss, Tulane falls to 5-15 in the all-time series. The Green Wave are now 2-6 against Houston in games played in New Orleans with this being the first loss in Yulman Stadium. Tulane is now 1-1 against the Cougars in American Athletic Conference play.
• Junior LB Nico Marley's interception on Houston's final drive of the first half marked the 41st game out of 43 under head coach Curtis Johnson that the Green Wave have forced at least one turnover. Tulane has now collected 100 turnovers since Johnson took over as head coach prior to the 2012 season. Marley's pick was his first of the season and the third of his career.
• Redshirt-junior WR Devon Breaux continued to show big-play ability with a pair of 20-yard receptions against the Cougars, including a 51-yard grab in the fourth quarter from redshirt-senior QB Jordy Joseph. For the season, Breaux now has six catches of 20-plus yards -- including four for 40-or-more yards.
• Redshirt-junior QB Devin Powell made his first start under center in 2015 on Friday against the Cougars, completing 11-of-28 passes for 88 yards. It was his most extensive action since completing 10-of-21 passes for 223 yards on Dec. 21, 2013, in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and his first start since throwing for 164 yards on 17-of-29 passing against Tulsa on Oct. 26, 2013.
• Redshirt-senior QB Jordy Joseph saw the most extensive playing time of his career, taking over signal-calling duties with 11:14 to play in the game. Joseph finished the game 3-of-5 passing for 62 yards. Prior to Friday's game, Joseph was 1-for-1 with a one-yard completion in three career contests.
• Junior LB Eric Thomas tallied a career-best and team-leading 11 tackles (7 solo, 4 assists) with 1.5 tackles for loss on Friday against Houston. His previous career high came two weeks ago against UCF when he had nine stops (7 solo, 2 assists).
• Senior SS Darion Monroe also had double-digit tackle totals for Tulane against the Cougars, finishing with 10 (7 solo, 3 assists). It was his first 10-plus tackle effort of the 2015 season and the sixth of his career.
• Senior DE Royce LaFrance added to his career sack total on Friday against Houston with an eight-yard loss in the second quarter. His sack of Houston QB Greg Ward, Jr., give LaFrance 17.5 career sacks and 31.5 career tackles for loss -- numbers that rank third and tied for fifth in Tulane history, respectively. He needs a half tackle for loss to move into a tie for fourth in the Green Wave record book with Brett Timmons (32.0 from 1995-98) and is four sacks shy of sharing the No. 2 spot in sacks with Floyd Dorsey (21.5 from 1999-2002). For the season, he leads the Green Wave with 4.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss.
• True freshman Zachary Block punted well for the second consecutive game, booting nine balls for 389 yards (43.2 avg.) with two kicks of 50-plus yards -- including a career long of 53 yards -- and one downed inside the 20-yard line on a career-best nine punts. Over the last two games, Block has now punted 17 times for 681 yards (40.1 avg).
• Redshirt-senior RB Rob Kelley's 43-yard run out of a punt formation in the second quarter marked the second time this season that Tulane successfully fake a punt in 2015. Kelley also had a hand in the previous fake as he took the direct snap on a punt against UCF on Oct. 3 and handed to junior RB Marshall Wadleigh, who ran 24 yards for a first down.
• When Tulane turned the ball over on downs with 5:03 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Green Wave failed to score when reaching the red zone for the first time during the 2015 campaign. Prior to that drive, Tulane was a perfect 12-for-12 in red-zone scores, including a three-yard touchdown run by redshirt-sophomore RB Dontrell Hilliard with 10:31 to play in the second quarter. Tulane is now scored on 12 of its 13 trips inside an opponents' 20-yard line -- reaching the endzone nine times (four rushing, five passing) and kicking four field goals.
• Tulane is the first team to hold Houston without a point in a quarter, keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. Prior to the final period, Houston had scored in each of its previous 23 quarters in 2015.
• Houston QB Greg Ward, Jr.'s three touchdown runs were the most by a Tulane opponent since Darrin Reaves of UAB had a trio of rushing scores in a 55-45 Green Wav win on Oct. 27, 2012, in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
• The Cougars' Demarcus Ayers' 73-yard punt return for touchdown with 10 seconds to play in the third quarter was the first allowed by the Green Wave since ULM's Rashon Ceaser had an 88-yard touchdown return in a 31-14 Tulane win on Sept. 28, 2013, in Monroe, Louisiana.
• Houston's 42 points, combined with the 49 scored by Temple last week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tulane has now allowed opponents to score 40-plus points in back to back games for the first time since 2012. That year, UAB had 45 in a 55-45 Tulane win on Oct. 27 and Rice added 49 in a 49-47 win over the Green Wave on Nov. 3. Both of those games were played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
• Eight Tulane players extended their double-digit starting streaks on Friday against Houston: OT Arturo Uzdavinis (31), OG Chris Taylor (20), LB Nico Marley (19), OG Colton Hanson (18), DT Tanzel Smart (18), DE Royce LaFrance (17) and CB Parry Nickerson (17).
• Two Tulane players made their first collegiate starts on Friday against the Cougars as redshirt-junior Junior Diaz opened the game at center in place of the injured Nathan Shienle (who saw his consecutive starts streak snapped at 19) while true freshman Taris Shenall started at cornerback.
• Tulane's game captains for Friday's contest against Houston are redshirt-junior QB Devin Powell representing the offense, junior DT Tanzell Smart representing the defense and junior RB Marshall Wadleigh representing the special teams.
HOUSTON NOTES
• Houston improved to 410-351-15 all-time.
• With Friday's win, Head Coach Tom Herman remains only the second head coach in Houston history to win the first six games of his career. He joined John Jenkins (8-0 in 1990) as the only Houston head coaches to accomplish that feat.
• With Friday's win, the Cougars moved to 6-0 for the first time since the 2011 team started 12-0. The 2015 squad became the fifth team in school history to start 6-0, joining (started 12-0); (started 8-0); 1979(started 8-0) and 1973(started 6-0) teams.
• With Friday's win, the Cougars moved to 3-0 in American Athletic Conference play. It is the first time since 2013 that the Cougars started 3-0 in league play. The 2015 Cougars are the 10th team to start 3-0 in conference play, joining (The American, started 3-0); 2011(C-USA, started 8-0); 2008 (C-USA, started 3-0); (SWC, started 6-0); (SWC, started 3-0); 1979 (SWC, started 5-0); 1979 (SWC, started 6-0); (SWC, started 3-0); (MVC, started 4-0) and 1952(MVC, started 3-0).
• Houston improved to 29-12 when playing on Fridays. Tonight's game was the Cougars' first Friday game since a 35-34 win over Pittsburgh in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2. The Cougars have won their last four Friday games and seven of their last eight. Only a 27-7 loss to UTSA on Aug. 29, 2014, in Houston prevents a longer winning streak.
• With 42 points, the Cougars posted their fourth game this season with 40+ points.
• With Friday's win, the Cougars posted their fourth victory of the season by 21+ points. Houston joined NC State, Baylor, Michigan and Western Kentucky as the only FBS teams to accomplish that feat in 2015.
• Houston improved to 4-3 when playing on ESPNU.
• Houston moved to 140-127 when playing in the month of October.
• Houston won the toss and deferred to the second half. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow, offensive tackle Alex Cooper, safety Adrian McDonald and linebacker Elandon Roberts were captains.
AS A RANKED TEAM
• Friday's game was the first time the Cougars were ranked nationally since finishing the 2013 season at No. 18 in the Associated Press and No. 14 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll. Houston entered Friday's game ranked No. 24 in the latest Associated Press poll.
• With Friday's win, Houston improved to 98-36-3 when ranked in the AP poll. Houston moved to 2-0 when ranked No. 24 in the AP poll. Friday's game was the first time the Cougars played at No. 24 in the AP poll since a 37-9 win against UNLV on Sept. 8, 1990.
SERIES vs. TULANE
• Houston improved to 15-5 in the all-time series against Tulane.
• Houston has won 11 of the last 12 games against Tulane. Only a 31-24 loss on Nov. 8, 2014, prevents a longer Houston winning streak.
• The Cougars have scored at least 34 points in nine of their last 10 games against Tulane. Only a 31-24 loss at TDECU Stadium on Nov. 8, 2014, prevents a longer Houston streak.
• Houston improved to 7-2 against Tulane in New Orleans. The Cougars have won five consecutive games against Tulane in New Orleans. Houston's last loss to the Green Wave in New Orleans was a 41-23 setback on Nov. 4, 2000.
UP NEXT for HOUSTON
• The Cougars continue American Athletic Conference play when they meet UCF at 11 a.m. (CST), Oct. 24, in Orlando.
• The Cougars return to the friendly confines of TDECU Stadium when they play host to Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt on Oct. 31... It will be the Cougars' final regular-season non-conference game of the year.
OFFENSE
• With 42 points, the Cougars have now scored in 191 consecutive games. Houston has not been shut out since a 48-0 loss to Texas on Sept. 23, 2000.
• The Cougars have scored touchdowns on their opening drives in all six games this season. -- Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. hit Chance Allen on a 49-yard touchdown strike on the Cougars' first play from scrimmage against Tulane (Oct. 16).
-- Houston opened the SMU game (Oct. 8) with a 4-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Ward 1-yard rushing TD.
-- The Tulsa game (Oct. 3) began with a 9-play, 75-yard drive over 2:26 and ended in a Ward 3-yard rush for the score.
-- Houston opened the Texas State game (Sept. 26) with a 5-play, 85-yard drive that was capped by Ward's 35-yard touchdown pass to Chance Allen, marking Allen's first career touchdown at Houston. -- The Cougars opened the Louisville game (Sept. 12) with a 6-play, 51-yard drive that was capped by Greg Ward Jr.'s 29-yard touchdown pass to Steven Dunbar.
-- Houston opened the 2015 season against Tennessee Tech (Sept. 5) with an 8-play, 56-yard touch-down drive that was capped by Ryan Jackson's 1-yard run.
• Houston's offense now has 12 scoring drives of two minutes or less this season
DEFENSE
• Tulane's 262 yards of total offense (150 pass, 112 rush) was a season low for the Houston defense. It was the fewest yards allowed by the Cougars since giving up 223 yards (78 rush, 145 pass) against SMU on Nov. 28, 2014.
• Houston defenses have forced 85 turnovers over the last two seasons.
