Tulane starts, finishes strong in 41-24 Cure Bowl win over UL Lafayette

When you win up front, you win football games.

On a Saturday in Orlando that started and ended with rain, Tulane won up front on both sides of the football and scored a rare win in a bowl game, beating in-state rival UL Lafayette 41-24 at Camping World Stadium.

How do you define winning up front?

First, you are able to overcome two turnovers and win convincingly, a sure sign of dominance up front.

Second, you rush for 334 yards to just 84 for your opponent.

Third, you sack the opponent’s quarterback six times.

Finally, you crush the opponent in time of possession. Tulane had the ball for 40:31 to just 19:29 for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

In the very early stages, things did not start well for Tulane. The Cajuns drove 75 yards in just six plays with R Calais scoring on a 38-yard run to give UL Lafayette a 7-0 lead right away. The Tulane defense settled in and played very well the rest of the half, while the Green Wave offense scored on its first four possessions.

The first capped a 75-yard drive in seven plays with Darius Bradwell scoring on a 15-yard run to make it 7-7 with 9:49 left in the opening quarter.

The Green Wave took their first lead when Justin McMillan hit Terren Encalade on a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7 with 5:21 to play in the opening quarter.

Tulane made it three touchdowns in as many possessions, driving 63 yards in eight plays with Amare Jones scoring a 1-yard run to make it 21-7 by the end of the first quarter.

Merek Glover’s 26-yard field goal made it 24-7 with 10:14 to play in the half.

The only negative was an interception to kill a scoring opportunity for the Green Wave and led to three points for the Cajuns prior to the end of the half as Bralen Trahan returned the interception of McMillan 63 yards to set up a Kyle Pfau 43-yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-10 by halftime.

The Green Wave as they pounded the Cajuns for 208 yards rushing and two touchdowns, threw it just nine times, including for a score and dominated time-of-possession, keeping the ball for 19:29 to just 10:31 for the Ragin’ Cajuns, a sign of things to come.

There were no penalties on either team in the first half, a remarkable statistic.

The first penalty of the game came with 56 seconds to play in the third quarter when center Corey Dublin committed a false start infraction to stall the Green Wave.

Tulane failed on a fourth-and-two from the Cajuns’ 34-yard line when Darius Bradwell was hit for a loss by Jacques Boudreaux.

That changed the game as the Ragin’ Cajuns drove 62 yards in six plays and scored on a three-yard run by Elijah Mitchell, who went in untouched, to make it 24-17 with 9:46 to play in the third quarter.

Then, Amare Jones fumbled it away, possibly putting the Cajuns in business for a game-tying score, but the Green Wave defense then stood tall, forcing a three-and-out, concluding with a sack to force a punt.

Tulane responded with a 73-yard drive in 12 plays, taking 4:51 off the clock with Glover booting a 25-yard field goal to make it 27-17 with 2:58 to play in the third quarter.

The Cajuns responded by going over the top.

First, Andre Nunez connected with Ryheem Malone on a 47-yard pass before Nunez hit Jordan Jackson on a 13-yard touchdown pass on a perfectly thrown fade route to cut the deficit to 27-24 with 10:16 to play in the game.

The Cajuns got their first penalty of the game with 7:36 to play on a key pass interference call on Michael Jacquet III against Darnell Mooney, a questionable call that cost them 15 yards and gave Tulane a first down at the UL Lafayette 33-yard line. Tulane would take full advantage.

That was a big part of a championship-quality Green Wave drive, covering 75 yards in 13 plays, taking 6:27 off the clock with Bradwell scoring on a 4-yard run with 3:49 to play to make it 34-24.

Other than the pass interference, the other key play was a fourth-and-7 at the Cajuns 30. Fritz opted to go for it and McMillan hit Charles Jones for 15 yards and a first down to the 15-yard line.

Needing a stop to put the game away, Carlos Sample sacked Nunez on fourth down and the Green Wave took over on downs at the Cajuns’ 19-yard line with 3:30 to play in the game.

Next, the Green Wave milked the clock to a fourth-and-seven situation at the Cajun 16-yard line. UL Lafayette had used its final timeout. A field goal would have still left it as a two-possession game.

Again, Fritz wisely opted to go for it. He called a quarterback draw and McMillan made one cut and raced 16 yards for a score to make it 41-24 with 3:06 to play in the game.

It was a great call. It was the kill shot.

Chris Joyce then sealed the deal with an interception in the end zone of Levi Lewis.

Bradwell set a new career high rushing with 150 yards on 36 carries and two touchdowns. His 150 yards is a Tulane bowl record.

McMillan was efficient, completing 11-of-18 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed 10 times for 72 yards and a second score. Encalade caught five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

The crowd was, in a word, disappointing. Camping World Stadium was mostly empty.

For both programs, it was a starting point toward better things to come. If you build a consistent winner, fans will follow.

Fritz is doing a good job at Tulane. Billy Napier is going a good job at UL Lafayette.

It is the first winning season (7-6) since 2013 for Tulane, only the fourth winning season in 21 years for the Green Wave and the first for Fritz. It is just the 13th winning season for Tulane since 1957.

It was just the fifth bowl win in Tulane history in 125 years of Green Wave football. Of course, it was just the 12th bowl game ever for Tulane and their first bowl win since the Hawaii Bowl in 2002.

Tulane fans finally have something to look forward to.

McMillan will return, along with Mooney. Bradwell, Jones, Corey Dauphine and Stephon Huderson return at running back. Dublin is back as well. Will Wallace just finished his freshman year.

Defensively, Joyce is just a freshman. Patrick Johnson, Sample and Jaylon Monroe are back.

Glover returns to aid the kicking game.

There are others, of course, despite losing key players in Encalade, Donnie Lewis, Roderick Teamer, Zachery Harris, John Leglue and Jones.

On the recruiting front, Jalen McCleskey transfers in from Oklahoma State and will provide a huge boost to the passing game. Tulane has had a good week with commitments this past week, which will turn into official signings on Wednesday, and the win is sure to help in that area. A new offensive coordinator, Will Hall, will certainly be a selling point.

Of course, there is no doubt that Fritz wants to run the football. The Green Wave ran it 68 times to just 18 passes against UL Lafayette. Conversely, the Ragin’ Cajuns had just 55 offensive snaps.

The 2019 season opens on Aug. 31 at Yulman Stadium against FIU. Green Wave fans can hardly wait.

The future is bright for Tulane, thanks to a solid performance at the point of attack on a dreary day in Orlando.

TULANE 41, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 24 – POSTGAME NOTES (19,066 – Attendance)

TEAM NOTES
• The Green Wave captured its fifth bowl victory in program history.
• Tulane won a bowl game for the first time since 2002 (Hawai’i Bowl).
• Tulane’s trip to the AutoNation Cure Bowl was the program’s 12th bowl appearance in program history. The Green Wave improved to 5-7 overall all-time in bowl games.
• The win gave Tulane a 7-6 record and secured the 51st winning season in program history and the first since 2013.
• Tulane’s winning season is just its 12th in the last 50 years.
• The Green Wave closed the year with a 5-1 record which marked their best finish to a season since 1998 when the team posted a perfect 12-0 mark.
• Tulane’s matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette marked the 29th meeting between the two schools. The Green Wave improved to 23-6 all-time against Louisiana-Lafayette.
• Tulane’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette was its second straight win over the Ragin’ Cajuns.
• The first penalty of the game came with 56 seconds in the third quarter. Both teams combined for just two penalties for 20 yards.
• Team captains for today’s game were OL John Leglue, S Roderic Teamer Jr. and LB Zachery Harris.
• Senior TE Kendall Ardoin carried the No. 18 flag in honor of Devon Walker.
• Eighteen of Tulane’s 20 seniors played in a bowl game for the first time in their respective careers.
• With the win, head coach Willie Fritz improved to 209-95-1 all-time.
• Fritz coached in a bowl game at the FBS level for the first time in his 26 years as a head coach.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Junior running back Darius Bradwell finished with a game- and career-high 150 yards rushing and became just the eighth running back in school history to surpass 1,000 yards in a single season.
• Bradwell also had a career-high 35 tackles and scored a pair of touchdowns. Bradwell set a program bowl record for attempts and yards.
• Following the game, Bradwell was named the 2018 AutoNation Cure Bowl Most Valuable Player.
• The Green Wave offensive starters were QB Justin McMillan, RB Corey Dauphine, WR Darnell Mooney, WR Terren Encalade, WR Jabril Clewis, TE Will Wallace, OL Noah Fisher, OL Dominique Briggs, OL Corey Dublin, OL John Leglue and OL Joey Claybrook.
• Encalade and Leglue each made their 37th consecutive start. Encalade’s start was the 45th of his career.
• The Green Wave set a season- and Cure Bowl-record with 28 first downs.
• McMillan finished with a game-high 145 yards passing and threw for a touchdown.
• McMillan also rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown.
• Since taking over as the team’s starter, McMillan has thrown for 10 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
• McMillan improved to 5-1 as a starter this year.
• Encalade finished the game with a game-high 93 yards receiving. He also caught his 15th career touchdown pass. He finished his career tied for 11th all-time at Tulane for touchdown receptions.
• The Green Wave have now surpassed 100 yards rushing in 40 straight games.
• Tulane finished with 482 yards of total offense. The Green Wave have surpassed 400 yards of total offense 17 times since the start of the 2016 season. Tulane owns a 13-4 record in those games.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Tulane held Louisiana-Lafayette to a season-low 258 yards of total offense. In the second quarter alone, Tulane held the Ragin’ Cajuns to just 27 yards.
• Louisiana-Lafayette entered the game averaging 437.1 yards per game.
• The Green Wave defensive starters were CB Donnie Lewis Jr., CB Thakarius Keyes, S Roderic Teamer Jr., S Chase Kuerschen, S Will Harper, LB Lawrence Graham, LB Zachery Harris, DL Patrick Johnson, DL Cameron Sample, DL De’Andre Williams and DL Jeffery Johnson.
• Lewis made his 44th career start. His 44 career starts are the most of any current player on the defense.
• Harris logged a career-high 2.0 sacks.
• Junior Lawrence Graham also totaled a career-high 2.0 sacks.
• DL Patrick Johnson added to his team-leading sack total as he recorded a half sack. Johnson finished the year with 10.5 sacks which ranks third all-time for a single season.
• Tulane finished with 6.5 sacks against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Green Wave closed the regular season with 41.5 sacks. The Green Wave finished 2017 with 14 sacks.
• Tulane’s 41.5 sacks rank third all-time for a single season.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Tulane’s first punt did not come until the fourth quarter.
• K Merek Glover connected on a pair of field goals from 38 and 26 yards out.
• P Ryan Wright had just two punts of 83 yards.
• Freshman kick returner Amare Jones had two kickoff returns for 70 yards.