Key Takeaways from Tulane's 26-19 Victory over East Carolina
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Tulane Holds off East Carolina to take a 26-19 Win
There was a lot to be said for what started as a blistering offensive pace for the Green Wave, but ended up too close for comfort at game's end. Here are some of the key takeaways from the victory.
Red Zone INefficiency
There's really no easy way to put it: Tulane shot itself in the foot numerous times in what should have been a runaway victory over ECU. Two touchdowns that were called back because of penalties; a fake field goal inside the East Carolina 10 failed; a fumbled exchange on a gut play inside the 5 that ended another drive. On a night when the Green Wave offense piled up 458-yards, the Wave should have more than 26-points to show for it.
The Tulane Defense has Its Moments
The defense, which was outstanding in the first-half holding the Pirates to 91 total yards, had a hard time keeping up with the no-huddle, fast-paced, quick count offense of East Carolina in the 3rd quarter. Give credit where credit is due: the Pirates made the adjustment to rely on its running game more heavily in the 2nd half instead of trying to figure out a way to get past the blanket coverage the Tulane secondary was showing to the ECU passing game. The 4th quarter saw the Wave turn things around defensively, allowing only a field goal to the Pirates in their three possessions. So, three quarters of lights-out D. Getting there.
In Sync...No, Not the Band (that would be NSYNC)
We knew it would take a bit, but quarterback Jake Retzlaff and his receivers are looking like they are on the same page. We saw over and underthrown passes and and ones that should have been caught in the early part of this season. We also knew that rhythm between those two entities takes time. That time came Thursday. The senior signal caller had his best game as a Greenie: 26-of-36 passing for a 72% completion rate, 347-yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a sparkling 171.5 quarterback rating. We saw him spread the ball to twelve different receivers. Tulane play-by-play man Corey Gloor announced no one in the NCAA had done that this season. Heck, a Tulane quarterback hadn't done that in 30-years. Everyone got involved. Tre Shackelford, who was a hot item during pre-season practices, but hadn't caught a pass this season, didn't just catch a pass. He caught four of them. The passing game was absolutely clicking.
The Penalty Bug Bites and Bites Hard
We'll keep bringing it up, because it is hurting the Wave. Tulane has accumulated more penalties than any other team in the American Conference. As of this week's game, the Green Wave has piled up 51 yellow hankies, averaging almost 79-yards per game. By the way, East Carolina is right behind the Wave after this week, with 46 flags Thursday? Eleven flags against Tulane that were accepted by East Carolina for a total of 96-yards. It goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway), it's going to be hard to win against a Memphis or even an Army (who has been penalized the LEAST in the American with only 18 flags).
The Tulane Kicking Game is Off the Charts Good
Now, my memory is not the best (just ask my wife), but I cannot remember the last time Tulane had a punter and a place kicker who were this good. Australian transplant Alec Clark is a field flipper. He can change field position advantages with one swing of his leg. He only punted twice against East Carolina, but he was booming them, averaging 53-yards a kick. Compare that with the ECU punter who shanked a pair of his five kicks and averaged 33.6-yards a pop.
And then, there's Patrick Durkin. I am not saying this to jinx him (like Guerry Smith with NOLA.com probably did in the postgame media conference), but this redshirt freshman from Illinois has been as automatic as a kicker can be. He has hit every field goal Jon Sumrall has asked him to kick, including his longest of 50-yards against South Alabama. That game was also his only miss in the point-after-touchdown world, as Durkin has hit 16-of-17 PATs.
The Green Wave return to Yulman Stadium on Saturday, October 18 for their next American Conference game against Army. That game has an early, 11:00 a.m. start time.
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.