Tulane rises to challenge at USF to take 45-31 victory

Ahead of the season, there was plenty of optimism that Tulane would bounce back in a big way this season. But it’s about time we start considering this Green Wave as perhaps the best team in the Group of 5 as opposed to just a drastically improved one from last season’s 2-10 record.

The Green Wave improved to 6-1 with Saturday’s 45-31 road win over South Florida.

Tulane is poised to enter into the Top 25 rankings for the first time in 24 years (UPDATE: Indeed they did). This win also marked the quickest to date the Wave has become bowl-eligible in program history. The last time Tulane accomplished this feat anywhere near this quickly was the undefeated 1998 season.

Now very much in the hunt for their first American Conference championship and in the hunt for a New Year’s Six berth as a result, Tulane still has to thank Chris Hampton’s defense as much as anything despite the USF point total in Tampa. The unit continues to be one of the best in the nation, ranked No. 13 in total defense before kickoff.

Last year, the Tulane defense ranked 101st in the same category, so much can be seen regarding how talented this group is and the strides they’ve taken to be sound weekly. The unit had some shortcomings throughout the game against the Bulls, and linebacker Nick Anderson noted after the game that there was some fixing to do.

Still, the defense came up with plays when it mattered the most, with the high points including cornerback Jadon Canady’s fumble recovery in the first quarter when USf has momentum, Darius Hodges’ near-interception of USF backup quarterback Katravis Marsh on the first drive of the second half and safety Macon Clark’s recovery of the second takeaway of the day on the loose ball forced by Tylo Phillips.

Tulane didn’t fully have the momentum when it headed into the locker room up 17-14. The Bulls defense gave them a bit more trouble than most expected and veteran quarterback Gerry Bohanon made some plays before leaving injured ahead of the half.

The offense carried the defense ths time around.

The Green Wave finished out the game with 564 yards of total offense to USF’s 377, piling up 329 passing yards and 235 rushing yards in what was a balanced and potent attack needed to seize the day.

Wide receiver Jha’quan Jackson didn’t get as much attention as some of the other players who had key moments in this one, but he was an impact maker and finished as the team’s leading receiver on the day with 7 receptions for 86 yards. Deuce Watts and DeaJaun McDougle accounted for the team’s two receiving touchdowns.

Lawrence Keys made a tough catch for the first down with under one and a half minutes remaining. He knew he was going to get hit hard but secured the grab to bring Tulane close to scoring range.

Michael Pratt’s fake to tight end Tyrick James before running it himself for a first down inside the final 30 seconds of the opening half helped set up a score that gave the Wave the halftime advantage. Pratt was looking for Deuce Watts on the whip route on the following play but it wasn’t open. The Tulane quarterback was called for a controversial intentional grounding penalty. Despite the setback, Pratt threw a perfect touchdown pass to Shae Wyatt in the corner of the end zone on third down, but it was dropped.

Not be denied, Watts caught a touchdown pass on a fade route following a penalty on USF. Tulane headed into the locker room with a 17-14 lead they would not relinquish.

We had not heard much from Tyjae Spears until his 75-yard run. Following the aforementioned Clarck fumble recovery, the dynamic back took the direct snap after the fumble for the touchdown rush to give Tulane a 31-17 lead. It was 14 points in 62 seconds, not mentioned the touchdown at the end of the opening half.

The Wave was explosive when it needed to answer the bell on the road. They have the look of a complete team. USF is a 1-6 football team but the Bulls took both Florida and Cincinnati to the wire on the road. They played well enough to make Tulane rise to a challenge. And that, they did.

Let’s focus on three Tulane stars who shined bright in leading the charge in Tampa.

1. QB Michael Pratt

Pratt is among the most consistent quarterbacks in the nation at this point, breaking his single-game record for most passing yards for the third time this season. He completed 23-of-35 passes for 329 yards with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

As was the case in last week’s win over ECU, Pratt appears to be going for less “hero” moments than he has in the past, sliding and throwing the ball away when necessary. Learning to live to fight another day – on just another down – is a sign of the third-year starters maturity before our eyes.

Head coach Willie Fritz has noted how he wants to see his team get better in the red zone. While there is still work to be done, Pratt made that happen Saturday with more frequency. His 5-yard touchdown at the start of the second quarter to give the team a 10-7 lead was part of his effort to use his legs in short-yardage situations without doing too much or putting himself in harm’s way. His mobility in the red-zone included a 1-yard touchdown for the 20-point lead in the fourth quarter shortly after connecting with Jackson on what initially looked like was a touchdown pass that came up just short.

One thing Pratt told me previously was he thought one of the most key elements of his latest strong performances came via the ability to make throws in the face of pressure. He has learned by fire over the years, able to get off throws despite having defenders in his face.

Pratt also carried over his deep ball success from last week with a number of good chunk plays as the passing attack had another good day.

“We knew what they were going to do defensively,” Pratt said. “They did a couple different things that we weren’t expecting them to do as much… We got them in the right position and we made plays.”

Pratt showed satisfaction with the way the offense has been progressing.

“There’s going to be games that it’s going to be a shootout and teams are going to score,” Pratt said. “I think the offense did a good job of kind of stepping up today and I’d say the defense has almost been carrying us a little throughout the course of the season and kind of got to a shootout for a little there and had to keep our foot on the gas. Keep pushing through and that’s what we did.”

2. RB Tyjae Spears

Spears doesn’t have a loud stat line in every single game, but there’s no questioning his versatility and the always looming big-play ability he brings to the offense. He finished with 148 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, marking the second time he has crossed the century mark on the ground this season.

His biggest play, the 75-yard scamper, came after an otherwise quiet first couple of quarters. With USF refusing to go quietly and the game tied, the run injected new life into the Tulane offense and gave the Green Wave a 24-17 lead.

Spears added a 6-yard rushing touchdown on Tulane’s next possession, capping both drives in the 62-second sequence that gave the Wave control of the game.

“It feels good. It was kind of stressful, I thought I was going to get caught but it felt good… my offensive line and my tight ends did a great job and the receivers did a great job of running everybody off and it was just wide open.”

Patience led to big play opportunities throughout the game and execution give the Wave 38 points on its eight red zone trips.

“We just kept on chopping at the wood and then it finally happened,” Spears said. “You’ve got to be thankful for everything and stay on it.

Welcome to the Tyjae Spears show… again.

3. LB Nicholas Anderson

Anderson continues to project as a defensive star with NFL potential, finishing with a team-leading 7 total tackles (6 solo) plus half a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.

To this point in the season, Anderson has 38 total tackles (28 solo) with 8.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one pass defensed. He’s just a couple games removed from his biggest performance of the year, the 14 combined tackles (8 solo) with one forced fumble in the overtime win at Houston.

Anderson is currently a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist. It is awarded to thecollege football player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance.. when you watch the games and observe Anderson off the field, it isn’t exactly difficult to see why.

Leadership, talent, a stout defense and the continued improvement on both offense and special teams has Tulane thinking big in football for the first time ina long time.

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