DiRocco's Last Second Field Goal Pushes Football Past Army, 34-31

Saturday, November 14

West Point, N.Y.

11:00 AM

Tulane University

3-7 , 1-5

Army

2-8

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulane

Army West Point

DiRocco's Last Second Field Goal Pushes Football Past Army, 34-31

Nov 14, 2015 | Football

Box Score

Nov. 14, 2015

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

Tulane at Army Final Book

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Tulane football jumped out to a big lead against Army at Michie Stadium on Saturday during the final non-conference test of the season for the Green Wave, but the Black Knights made a game out of it before Tulane's Andrew DiRocco knocked down a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give the Green Wave a 34-31 victory.

With Tulane (3-7, 1-5 The American) leading 31-24 and with just 1:59 remaining on the clock, Army (2-8) scored a touchdown and looked to go ahead on a two-point conversion before offsetting penalties negated the play. Army then played it safe and tied the game at 31 on an extra point.

Tulane's offense wasn't finished, though, as they marched 59 yards in nine plays with just 1:53 left on the clock before DiRocco sealed the victory with a 35-yard field goal.

"This was a hard-fought game and Army played outstanding," Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson said. "Michie Stadium a magnificent place to play; probably the best place I've ever played. I've won a Super Bowl and a national championship, but this place is absolutely awesome. The Cadets were outstanding, and not just the team we played against. I'm talking about the guys in the stands. It was just magnificent. I love the atmosphere. They've got something special here. I thought both teams played outstanding. For teams that hadn't won very many games, it was a pretty clean, hard-fought game. This was a classic."

"Our two-minute drill with the game on the line was awesome, especially because our young quarterback hadn't done this before. I just love the way Tanner took command of the field, he check down to the backs, threw it to the receivers, read the defense perfectly and ran the ball when he needed to. It was one of those drives that will allow him to mature more and propel him into the future," Johnson said.

Tulane scored 21 points in the second quarter, tying for the most points in a quarter by the Green Wave on the season, but Army made things interesting with a quick 14 points before halftime

Facing their third triple-option opponent of the season, Tulane found themselves in a hole early on as the Black Knights opened the contest with a three-yard touchdown rush by Ahmad Bradshaw to close out a 13-play, 75-yard drive. On Army's second drive, the Black Knights attempted a fake field goal from Tulane's 10-yard line, but redshirt-sophomore linebacker Jarrod Franklin kept Army from scoring when he pushed the receiver out of bounds in the end zone.

After stopping Army on their trick-play attempt, Tulane tied things up when redshirt-sophomore quarterback Tanner Lee found sophomore wide receiver Teddy Veal on a 90-yard touchdown pass, marking the second-longest passing play in Tulane school history.

Tulane took the lead early in the second quarter when sophomore running back Dontrell Hilliard set the Green Wave up on a 23-yard rush that eventually allowed Lee to find redshirt-freshman Kendall Ardoin on a 15-yard touchdown throw for a 14-7 lead. On Army's ensuing drive, junior defensive tackle Tanzel Smart forced a fumble that was scooped up by redshirt-sophomore cornerback Parry Nickerson and returned 48 yards for a touchdown to give the Green Wave a 21-7 lead midway through the second stanza.

Redshirt-junior running back Josh Rounds added to the scoring frenzy with a 25-yard rushing touchdown with 3:35 remaining in the second to put Tulane up 28-7.

Army did not let up, though, as it scored a quick 14 points to cut things close before the end of the half. The Black Knights got back on the board shortly before halftime on a four-play, 72-yard drive that was capped off by a 19-yard pass from John Trainor to Bradshaw. On Tulane's next drive, Army's Kenneth Brinson blocked a punt and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown to make it a 28-21 ballgame at the intermission.

Neither team did much during the first 12 minutes of the third quarter, but Army picked off a tipped pass by Lee with 2:38 left on the clock in the third. The drive carried over into the final period where Daniel Grochowski tacked on a 38-yard field goal to make it a 28-24 game with 14:50 left to play.

Tulane matched that scoring drive with a nine-play, 56-yard drive of their own that culminated in a 31-yard field goal off the foot of DiRocco.

Lee finished the game 14-of-29 with 252 yards and two scores, while sophomore Teddy Veal set a team season high in receiving yards with 123 on four catches. Hilliard paced the ground attack with 91 yards on 14 carries.

Defensively, junior defensive tackle Tanzel Smart led the way with a career-best nine stops (7 solo, 2 assists) including a forced fumble and 2.0 tackles for loss.

The Green Wave will head to Dallas next week for their final road game of the season when they take on American Athletic Conference opponent SMU at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 21 on ESPNews. The following week, Tulane will close out their season on Friday, Nov. 27, at Yulman Stadium in a tilt against Tulsa. That game time and network will be announced on Monday.

For more information regarding tickets, visit www.TulaneGreenWave.com, or call the Tulane Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE (9283).