Halftime Studs and Duds: Tulane vs USA
Sign up for the weekly On Si Tulane Newsletter here.
At the half, Tulane leads South Alabama, 14-10.
Player | Rush/Pass/Tackles | Receptions | Total Yards/Solo |
|---|---|---|---|
Jaylin Lucas | 5-rushes | N/A | 117 |
Kadin Semonza | 10-for-15 passing | N/A | 146 |
Johnnie Daniels | 5-rushes | N/A | 5 (2 TDs) |
Fat Hill | N/A | 3 | 77 (Lg - 61 yd) |
Dickson Agu | 10-tackles | N/A | 4-solo tackles |
Starting linebacker Chris Rodgers is on the sideline after the first possession with a brace on his leg and his pads off.
Here's where we think the Wave got it right in the first half and where they didn't.
Studs
Tulane Offensive Pass Protection
After a shaky start keeping their QB clean, the Tulane offensive line kept their quarterback Kadin Semonza clean and upright for the most part. Semonza had time to look downfield often, including time enough to find Fat Hill for a 61-yard completion, leading to a Johnnie Daniels touchdown, the first for the Mississippi State transfer.
Jaylin Lucas
We've talked about him since the Spring. If you were at the game tonight, you saw why. Lucas finds a crease when no one else can. When other Tulane running backs were seemingly running into the back of their offensive line, Lucas was finding the smallest of slices of light and bolting through them. In the first half alone, the senior transfer popped open an off-tackle run for 54-yard run into South Alabama territory. Later, in the same drive, another slithery move through the middle for Lucas of a dozen before he was tripped up at the two.
Duds
Missed Tackles
In a game filled with chances, the Tulane defense missed too many, especially when trying to tackle South Alabama players. Way too many times Tulane defensive players were in position to make the play and didn't, or weren't in position to make the play at all.
One particular instance, in USA's opening drive, a miscommunication in the Wave defensive backfield had a wide open wide receiver behind a crashing Tulane cornerback and a drifting to the center safety. The pass from Jaguar's quarterback Bishop Davenport was thrown just a touch too far toward the inside of his receiver, or you're talking at least 50-yards or more.
We Were Going to Put Tulane Running Game Here, but....
Jaylin Lucas changed our mind. Establish the run, and the pass will follow.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.