Tulane Getting Clobbered by Tulsa at the Half, 32-Zip
Sign up for the weekly On Si Tulane Newsletter here.
The Tulane football team is being embarrassed by Tulsa after the first thirty minutes of play, 32-0. This is easily the worst half of football we've seen the Green Wave football team play this season. More analysis at the end of this article.
The Wave offense had to play minus two key players
- senior wide out Garrett Mmahat. The New Orleans native came out of the pregame locker room with no pads, only his game jersey. According to sources, Mmahat hurt his shoulder making that game-saving tackle against Charlotte last week.
- junior offensive lineman Ryan Mickow was in a wrap/cast on his lower-left leg and was rolling around on a knee scooter today after his injury early against Charlotte last week.
In addition, though not listed on the injury list by Tulane, punter William Hudlow was not available for the game. We are told coach Will Hall will address that after the game.
First Half
A gorgeous, sun-shiny day at Yulman for Homecoming, 2026. Tulane won the toss and deferred to the second half
First Quarter
Tulsa opens with a quick out for a first down, then a seven-yard run and a six yard pass, a six-yard quarterback rush and Tulsa is already in Tulane territory. An off-tackle run picks up another first down. The Golden Hurricane have yet to pick up less than 6-yards on any play. Another pass gets to the Tulane 16, first and ten. Two more plays gets to the Tulane four, first and goal. An end around pass gets Tulsa into the end zone in just over five minutes.
Tulsa 7 - Tulane 0
With 9:46 left in the 1st quarter, Tulane takes over at its 23 after a TJ Smith return. An immediate out from Trace Johnson to Fat Hill picks up ten. A short gain by Johnnie Daniels, then a quick pass to Hill gets across midfield. A run by Daniels loses one. A quick out to Anthony Brown-Stephens picks up 11. Lucas picks up three, then an out pass to same picks up seven and a first down. A sweep to Daniels nets one. A blitz by Tulsa sacks Johnson, losing eight, setting up a third down and 17, the first third down faced by either team. A Daniels rush gets 12, leading to what should have been a 42-yard field goal, but a high snap to backup punter/holder John Allen slips through his grasp, is recovered by Cooper Helmke where he is tackled at the Tulsa 37 with 4:22 to go in the first quarter.
Tulsa moved into Tulane territory and faced its first third down situation, coming up short at the Tulane 49. A shanked 9-yard punt flutters out of bounds at the at the Tulane 40.
But the Green Wave go three and out, setting up a Brooks Moore 40-yard punt. It's his first punt as a collegian. Tulsa takes over at its own 40 after a 13-yard return. One pass play for three yards ends the 1st quarter.
End of the 1st Quarter: Tulsa 7 - Tulane 0
Second Quarter
Tulsa opened with a 32-yard fly pattern up the sidelines to the Tulane 25. The play featured a nice fake into the line, fooling the defenders completely. Short runs and passes set up a third and two at the Tulane 18. Tulsa comes up short and goes for it on 4th down, rushing to the Wave 11. A rush right is read by Kevin Adams III, who pummels the running back for a one-yard loss. A sweep left gets to the Tulane 8, setting up a 3rd and seven. A pass into the end zone falls incomplete. The Golden Hurricane fake going for it, hoping to draw Tulane offsides, but the Wave hold, forcing a 26-yard field goal by Owen Carey which is good. Carey is one of three #10s on the Tulsa roster: the starting quarterback, a defensive lineman, and the field goal kicker.
Tulsa 10 - Tulane 0
The Wave begins on their 25 after the touchback. A 5-yard penalty on 1st down loses a down. A short run by Mo Turner then a pass that falls short of Hill on a fly pattern up the sidelines means Tulane goes three and out, leading to another punt by Moore, this one of 46-yards to the Tulsa 32.
Through the first three offensive drives of the game, the Tulane offense has 35-yards. Tulsa's first three drives have netted 146-yards.
Tulsa's first pass to the tight end loses a yard after a TJ Smith tackle of the tight end. A short run sets up a 3rd down, but a deep post gets into Tulane territory. Three short runs pick up another first down at Tulane's 34 with 6:35 to go in the 1st half. A screen play picks up 16-yards to the Tulane 18. A pass play gets the Golden Hurricane to the seven, then one play later, a touchdown pass to the end zone on a fade gives Tulsa a score in three of their four possessions.
As of 5:27 to go in the first half, Tulsa has 214-yards offensively. Tulane has 35-yards.
Tulsa 17 - Tulane 0
On first down from the 25, Johnson goes deep down the middle, looking for Hill, but overthrew the double covered wide out and was intercepted at the Tulsa 30, returned to the Tulane 46. A quick out picks up 18-yards. A screen pass gets to the Tulane 21, as cornerback Smith crumbles to the turf after missing a tackle. A defensive holding penalty pushes the ball to the Tulane 11, then a sweep play by the Golden Hurricane makes it an embarrassment with 4:14 to go in the 2nd period.
Tulsa 24 - Tulane 0
After a touchback, the Tulane offense goes three and out with an incomplete pass and a sack-fumble recovered by Brown-Stephens forcing another Moore punt, this one to the Tulsa 37 with 2:55 to go in the first half.
Three plays, and the Golden Hurricane are at the Tulane 28 as the two-minute timeout is called. Tulsa methodically moved down field, picking up another passing touchdown. The Green Wave was called offsides on the extra point, so Tulsa goes for two and makes it, with :53 left in the first half.
Tulsa 32 - Tulane 0
Johnson completes a nine-yarder, then a 13-yard sack back to the Tulane 32, ending what was a frustrating half of football.
End of the First Half: Tulsa 32 - Tulane 0
On SI Tulane First Half Analysis
As good as Tulane played in the second half of the Charlotte game, this was the exact opposite. This was easily the worst half of football the Green Wave have played this season.
In the first quarter, the Tulane offense was the model of predictability. In its only two drives, the Wave alternated pass-run every play. Literally. Start with a pass, follow with a run. That happened on every play in the Greenies first three drives of the game. The Tulane O has staggered and stuttered for the entire first half.
The Tulane defense looks confused on most plays, getting faked out on play-actions by the Tulsa quarterback. Most tackles by the defense have been well beyond the line of scrimmage. To give up over 300-yards in the first half is inexcusable.
Tulsa | Tulane | |
|---|---|---|
Total Yards | 313 | 32 |
Passing Yards | 210 | 49 |
Rushing Yards | 103 | - 15 |
First Downs | 19 | 4 |
3rd Down Conversions | 3-of-6 | 0-for-4 |
Total Plays | 46 | 22 |
Time of Possession | 19:26 | 10:24 |
Sacks by - Yards | 4 - 27-yards | 0 - 0-yards |
Tackles for Loss | 7 - 41-yards | 1 - 1-yard |
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.