For so much of this century, Tulane was the hapless team getting blown out by really good conference opponents who dominated every phase of the game while the Wave looked pitiful. Now Tulane is the hammer rather than the nail. The first three-and-a-half quarters today were as lopsided as almost any game I've seen, with the Wave outgaining Temple 546-74 when it kicked off after Ty Thompson's 50-yard run for its final score.
Temple's 75-yard touchdown run on the next play prevented Tulane from posting its first conference shutout since 1960 in the SEC against Vanderbilt. Oh, well.
The bottom half of the AAC is abysmal, but Tulane is clicking on all cylinders right now. I can't see Navy beating this team next Saturday in what is now pretty much a must win to reach the championship game. A Wave loss would put it in the position of needing to beat Memphis on the final weekend and have either Navy lose at East Carolina or Army lose at home to UTSA on the final weekend to make the title matchup.
Sumrall, Darian Mensah, Dickson Agu and Makhi Hughes talked after the game.
SUMRALL
"Good win, thorough in a lot of ways. Wasn't pleased with the long run at the end, but as a whole a really good game by our guys. A lot of things showed up that were really fundamental in detail that made us successful. Happy to get the win on homecoming. It was a great crowd. The students showed out big time. The fans did a great job showing up to support our team. I'm very grateful that so many people came back. I went on my Friday run yesterday after our practice, which is what I always do on Friday, and I felt like there were more people on campus than I've ever seen here, which is really cool to see all the alumni back and all the fans back on campus, 10th year anniversary of Yulman, just a fun environment and what college football is supposed to be all about, so I'm very grateful for our fan base being here today and supporting our team. We can't be as good as we can be without their support."
On rushing for 327 yards with five TDs:
"If you run for over 300 you should win. We fumbled the ball at the end (Trey Cornist). I wasn't real pleased with that, but 52 carries for 327. A lot of guys got in the act, but Makhi, the usual for him. Just a pedestrian day of 153 yards, 8 yards a carry. Ty Thompson. Trey had the fumble but he was really rushing it well until the fumble, but a lot of guys got in the act. A really successful day on the ground."
On first drive setting the tone for dominance:
"Yeah, they were kind of aggravating us a little bit with some things they were doing on our offense (Tulane punted on back-to-back possessions after its opening-drive TD). They did some nice things, brought a couple of edge pressures, kind of did some things that were different than they had shown on tape. They were coming off a bye week, so we knew they would bust out some looks that we hadn't quite seen as much of. Early in the game a couple of things stalled out on us. They did a good job of throwing us a changeup or a curveball if you well. It wasn't the norm the way they were setting their fronts. Credit them to finding a way to be aggravating with how they were presenting their defense early in the game. We didn't handle it great initially, but we settled it in."
On Shazz Preston's first career catch being a 53-yard TD when he almost ran into Bryce Bohanon on routes that went to similar places:
"They were trying to run the right route, but it wasn't timed up and it wasn't quite as clean as it should have been. There were definitely two guys closer in proximity than they should be. Just like we drew it up--touchdown. But very happy for Shazz. Extremely long layoff after he came off the injury this summer. He hadn't been in the action a ton. He was kind of back at North Texas but didn't really practice enough during the week to merit playing him. Got in a few snaps against Charlotte. Had the one we were trying to target him against Charlotte, but the throw just wasn't there, and then for him to get that catch today and score a touchdown, I'm just so pleased and happy for the young man. He transferred here, but he hadn't ever really played a lot (at Alabama). He got his first college game action this year. This is his first catch, first touchdown, all those things. I'm happy for him to get that, and he's got to keep growing. We need a lot of those guys in that room to step up."
On Patrick Durkin at kicker and Caleb Thomas starting:
"Patrick first. He's been out with an injury and coming back. During the summer we felt like he had been really strong, and we just wanted to see him go. He was ready for game action, and he was the strongest and most consistent guy through the week. Every job is earned. We love Jacob Barnes and Ethan Head. Those guys have done a great job. Jacob's handled the extra points and field goals a lot this year. Head's handled the kickoffs all year. But Durk is available, and we wanted to see the leg, wanted to see him swing, so he kicked off a few times (all touchbacks) and handled all the extra points and field goals. We felt like we needed to see what we had in him. We'd seen some good things in the summer and just wanted to give him an opportunity.
"And then Caleb Thomas is an unsung hero of our team. He's the sixth O-lineman. He's really an interior player at center or guard and he's played some jumbo tight end. He does not start. He's a senior who's been through a lot here. He's played over a thousand snaps. He's going to be really successful in life. He's like an ultimate Tulane guy. He's going to run somebody's company one day and do really well and probably be like the guy that hires and fires me. He's a stud, but he is such a great teammate, such a great locker room guy. He's just a fun guy to be around, and our team loves him, so he was a captain today and he got to stat today for homecoming because we felt like that was the right thing to do and he'd earned it. Just really happy for him and couldn't be more grateful for his contributions to this program, going to back to way before us getting. here as a staff."
On Navy up next:
"They're all big. Every game's big. There's only 12 of them. But this one obviously has some added value because of what's on the line. It's a handful, man. Defending any kind of quarterback run, option type stuff. They're different than Army. We played Army the last two years when we were at Troy. Navy's different in how they do some things and their pass game's a little different. Their quarterback is a neat player, a special player. They are a really good team, so going on the road up there and finding a way to get a win is going to be a real challenge. I told our guys we usually have a 24-hour rule to enjoy the game or stew over the game if it doesn't go your way. We've got until midnight tonight. I think it was Cinderalla at midnight, so after midnight this one's gone. We have to get to the next one real fast because it's going to take a lot of work for us to get prepared with what they do. They're really good defensively, too. They're well coached. Their staff does a great job. I've got a lot of respect for them."
On team being locked in today despite Navy coming up:
"You always worry about guys being in the moment, in the present, being where their feet are. You also always worry about teams becoming complacent. It's human nature to relax when things are going good. This team's done a pretty good job of staying process oriented, staying hungry, keeping a chip on your shoulder, understanding that you get what you earn, you're only as good as your last day or the next day. You can't look too far out in front and you can't look to the past. I tell our guys all the time if you worry about the future too much, it creates anxiety. If you worry about the past, it creates regret in your heart. Just live where you are, be where you are. We've got to be really good in every moment preparing this week for what I think is a top 25, top 30 team for sure with the way they play.. When they're executing at all levels, they've been a problem for a lot of people, so we have a workout ahead of us for sure."
On holding Temple to five first downs:
"We had a good number of 3 and outs, didn't allow a whole lot of extended drives. Holding a team to 6 points is really good. We gave up a 75-yard run, which really pisses me off. Like I'm just still angry about that. They are going to get a run, but we've got 11 guys on the field and nobody can go make a tackle? We played with rotten effort on that play, so the defense, if they think they'e got it all figured out, they are going to watch that play Monday. If they want to feel like they did something today, they'll realize real fast that wasn't good enough. Sorry, I'm a little angry about that play."
On missing first conference shutout in 64 years:
"I wanted.a shutout, but I just don't like bad football plays, and that was a really bad play. We have a guy unblocked in the backfield that could have made the play. He doesn't make it, OK. We have three guys that were just flat loafing on the play in pursuit of the ball. That makes me want to throw something. It was frustrating."
