Throwback Thursday: Green Wave Drown the Black Knights En Route to First American Conference Championship
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On December 3rd, 2022, Tulane faced off against the Black Knights of UCF in Yulman Stadium in Uptown. The Green Wave boasted a 10-2 record, their first winning record since 2019, and their first 10-win season since 1998. The Black Knights had a less impressive 9-3, but have also had three 10-win seasons in the past five years.
No Looking Back
The Green Wave jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead by the end of the 1st quarter. The Knights would shorten the lead with a touchdown to make it 10-7, but their efforts were fruitless as the Wave would score once more to make it 17-7 before the first half bell.
To begin the second half, running back Tyjae Spears weaved his way through the defense for a 60-yard touchdown to bust the game open, 24-7. The Black Knights would get a lucky break with the Green Wave fumbling on the opposing 3-yard line. The Knights would drive 97-yards to make the score 24-14 before the third quarter break.
The Black Knights would punt to Tulane to start the fourth quarter. TU would capitalize on the opportunity, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 73-yard touchdown, extending their lead to 31-14.
The Black Knights would put up a fight, scoring 14 unanswered points to make it a close 31-28. However, UCF just couldn’t keep up. The Wave would score 14 unanswered of their own to make the final score 45-28.
There’s a First for Everything
With this win, Tulane would have its first American Conference Championship. A historic 10-2 season would also lead Tulane to its first Cotton Bowl victory over USC later that year. This Championship would mark a new era for Tulane football, as the Wave would see another three AAC appearances in back-to-back-to-back years. They went 0-2 in 2023 and 2024, so can the Wave turn it around tomorrow against North Texas?
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.