Early signing day is 21 days away.

Obviously, the coaches will be extremely busy the next three weeks trying to retain key commitments and gain a few more, hopefully in areas of need.

Eight Bowl games will be played this weekend in the junior college ranks with many of the best JC players in the country involved. My guess is that several of our coaches will be attending one or more of those games (4 Saturday and 4 Sunday).

At the same time, high school football in virtually every state is winding down their post season playoff schedules with numerous potential Tulane recruits competing. Louisiana is down to the semi-final games this weekend with the finals the following weekend in the Superdome, Dec 7-9, less than two weeks before “signing day.”

A lot of moving parts still need to be corralled. A number of coaches have already been fired and more to come. Some current coaches will replace them and a couple of dozen schools at a minimum will have new coaches. Where does that leave recruits? Will they still sign early with the schools they’ve committed to? Will they wait to see who new coaches are? What their options are? Will they wait until February signing? We’ll see.

We’ll also probably have a number of official visits in the next 15-20 days. Be interesting to see who they are.

Best of luck to the Tulane staff and us long-suffering supporters.

Roll Wave!!!

Guerry-

Are we having any official visitors this weekend?

As every Tulane fan knows our current punter and kickoff specialist, Zack Block, will be a senior next season. Of Block’s 55 kickoffs this year, 40% (21) were touchbacks. Of his other 34 kicks, the average was returned from the 8 yard line for an average return of 17 yards (the same 25 yard line as the touchbacks.). Overall, that’s pretty good. His punting, however, has been inconsistent for three years. This year his 39.2 average (which included a number of “shanks”) earned him 94th place in the punting ranks—not too good. So, among our many deficiencies, is punting worthy of keeping two scholarship punters on the roster next year?

Tulane is obviously interested in California-based punter, Ryan Wright, who has had in home visits from the staff and will be making an official visit to New Orleans next week, . Still I’m not at all sure he has been offered to this point. At least one Kohl kicking camp named him the #1 high school punter in the country and he averaged 41.6 yards per punt over three years (43.6 as a senior). Wright was also a high school QB though his Nike time in the 40 of 5.09 suggests he’s not for our offense. More interesting is that he threw for 27 TD’s with only 3 INT’s as a junior before throwing only 4 TD’s and 4 INT’s as a senior. Not sure what happened there. Anyway, besides being a good punter, he apparently has some capability to throw the ball in a “fake punt” situation which is somewhat intriguing. As an additional aside, he hit .364 as a catcher/1st baseman last season.

Another guy who has caught my attention may or may not even be on Tulane’s radar. He’s Reed Bowman, the punter for Blinn JC, and I came across him while researching the Blinn defensive back, Vonte Davis, who we have offered for sure. Anyway, Bowman led the entire nation this year in the JC ranks with a 53.0 yard average on 35 punts, which was 8 yards more than second place. Frankly, that's an almost unheard of average at any level of football, so that’s impressive. Bowman was an all-conference (high school) punter in 2015 but I don’t know what happened to him the next year; he wasn’t at Blinn. But, he’s currently listed as a redshirt freshman so he has three years of eligibility to go but has used up his redshirt. Anyway, he can really “boom” them.

Again, I don’t think punter is in our top tier of “needs” but if we have enough slots left, we might be grabbing one.

Roll Wave!!

According to the weekly “participation” lists on the “Official site,” I noticed that Tre Jackson has not played since the Memphis game. But then I checked the season long participation page and he’s no longer listed at all. He’s no longer on the official roster either. I know he’s been hurt a lot but has he left the team? Does anyone know what has happened?

Roll Wave!!

This is why the coaches will have to be creative next year and rely on a lot of younger players. The issues of the 2015 class have been well documented--Rod Teamer is the only solid starter from that group, with Keyshawn McLeod and Taris Shenall having potential.

But the 2016 recruiting class has not flourished, either, which is typical when a new staff has to cobble together a class at the last minute.

Here's my analysis of the 22-man group

GONE/NEVER ARRIVED (5)
-
-AJ Walker
--Tre Jackson
--Jonathan Wilson
-- Phabion Woodard,
--Deion Rainey

LITTLE OR NO IMPACT YET: (stats are for this year only)

1) Chase Napoleon--rarely gotten on field

2) Miles Strickland--hurt for a year and a half, buried on depth chart when returned

3) Sean Harper--passed by true freshman on depth chart in camp, played in only 3 games this year.

4) Will Harper--passed by true freshman in camp, no tackles in 11 games

5) Eric Lewis--played in one game this year, non factor on depth chart

6) D.J. Owens-zero catches for team without much receiver depth

7) Chris Johnson--injuries a factor, but 1 catch for team without much receiver depth

NOT HELPING TEAM WIN

1) Coby Neenan--beaten out by walk-on after struggling to make extra points

2) Johnathan Brantley --lost battle with Banks for starting job, non-factor when Banks healthy.

3) DeAndre Williams-- six tackles in 12 games but was part of DL rotation

JURY STILL OUT

1) Tyler Johnson--starting left tackle at end of freshman year, started 8 this year but lost spot v. SMU

2) Jacob Robertson--11 catches for 81 yards with two starts. Played regularly, but not productively

3) Larry Bryant --After big spring, had nine tackles as OLB/DE

PLENTY OF PROMISE

1) Darius Bradwell --Had huge TD run against SMU, will be one of top two backs on team in '18 and could have tremendous season.

2) Lawrence Graham--This might be generous. Had 12 tackles but looks like a future player.

3) P.J. Hall--flunked his big test against Memphis as a starter but plenty of talent here.

4) Thakarius Keyes--No big role yet but has shown promise and will be counted on as starter next year.

PROVEN BIG-TIMER

1) Darnell Mooney--34 catches for 599 yards and came on as top-grade receiver at end of year

IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS A VIRUS SOMEWHERE ON THE SITE AS IT KEEPS TRYING TO CONTROL MY COMPUTE AND MY ANTIVIRUS HAS BEEN KEEPING IT UNDER CONTROL WITH SOME NECESSARY CLOSING OF THE BROWSER.

All recruiting information here and elsewhere has seemed to indicate only HS recruits are being sought. What do your sources say with regards to JC and grad transfer recruiting especially at the critical positions of need on the OL,DL, LB and K? Thanks.

I have been in contact with the AAC, and although they are not releasing an official statement on the replay booth ref's decision not to overturn the call on the field, they did say there was another camera shot not available to CBS that made it uncertain whether Banks scored because of where his forearm landed.

CBS Sports normally has seven camera angles for the game and had its usual allotment for this one. Obviously, though, the one that was needed was not there for a call of this magnitude, but that's no different from other games the network broadcasts.

From a conference standpoint, it would have been better that Tulane won because it would have allowed it to fulfill all of its bowl tie-ins instead of coming up one short. Any error that was made --and it was an egregious one if Banks got in--was not because of a conspiracy.

According to the official site we had nine true freshmen who did not appear in a game this season and should receive a redshirt: wide receivers Travis Tucker and Kevin LeDee, tight end William Wallace, offensive linemen Joey Claybrook and Cameron Jackel, defensive linemen Nick Kubiet and Torri Singletary, linebacker Monty Montgomery, and defensive back, Willie Langham.

Less sure is the status of five other true freshmen who appeared in three or fewer games during the first half of the season making them eligible for a “medical redshirt.” Of course, they must have some medical rationale to receive such and presumably, in recent years, the NCAA has been more strict in its interpretation. Truthfully, however, I’ve seen no evidence of that. The five include wide receiver Dane Ledford, quarterback Khalil McClain, defensive end Michael Scott, linebacker K.J. Vault, and defensive back, Quentin Brown.

Additionally, we have some sophomores who have not yet redshirted and could receive one for this past season. They include wide receiver Christopher Johnson who played in two early season games, and defensive backs Eric Lewis and Sean Harper who played in one and three games respectively in the first half of the year. All three could receive medical redshirts.

All told, that’s 17 players who could receive redshirts allowing them to gain maturity, size and strength prior to next season. Of course, one or more may decide the future at Tulane doesn’t include a lot of playing time and elect to move on. We probably won’t know much until spring practice or even next fall.

Roll Wave!!!

We did make progress this season. Banks is a big reason for that. The QB position as we all know is uber important and he was clearly an upgrade there. The O-line is still bad and we can only hope for more transfers. The TE's are capable and it would be nice to use them more. The WR's looked better as they got more chances once we started throwing the ball on a regular basis. The RB's were good. Losing Hilliard will hurt. Bradwell looked good running but when asked about him Fritz always said he needs to learn everything about the position. He clearly means he needs to learn how to block on passing plays so that he can stay on the field.

The D regressed this year. I was never sold on them being as good as some wanted to say they were the past few seasons but I thought they were decent. The change in scheme didn't work. What was worse was the move of Aruna inside. He hadn't played much before he got here but got better every year. The position switch was a detriment to him and the team. We lose a lot on this side of the ball. We need some JUCO and grad transfers here to help us out for next year especially on the D-line.

The ST's are still a complete mess.

So we made some progress which was bolstered by the Houston win. That's making us all feel better about things. We needed to make significant progress and we didn't. In year two of the system you should see a noticeable and consistent jump. That didn't happen. Maybe with Banks in his second year we'll see that on the offensive side of the ball. Not sure we'll see that in the other two phases of the game. Hopefully we get good transfers in that speed things up for us. God knows we all deserve it.

Hey Guys - just spoke with Cinco Ranch athlete Brant Kuithe, he and his brother, Blake, said that they expect to receive an in-home visit from Tulane coaches this week and Utah next week. Boise State is another team that was also a big contender in their recruitment... we agreed to speak in a couple weeks after those visits to talk about what they thought of them. Truthfully, I was a little disappointed when they first committed to Rice, because I thought they could contribute for more successful programs, so someone is going to get a boost in landing these guys.

Nothing I need to say less than 24 hours after that heart-breaker, so on to the quotes:

WILLIE FRITZ

What was your take on the non-touchdown call, the play and everything that happened on the final snap?

"Well, you know, I wasn't down there, but when I looked at the big screen, I thought it had a chance to be a touchdown, but those are tough ones for them to I guess overturn. I don't know. Not my call."

Did you want Jonathan Banks to throw on that play? If he doesn't get it in the end zone, the game is over instead of you having another crack at it.

"Exactly right. We were going to go for it on fourth down, but I felt like he had a little room in there. Shoot, he did a good job of driving us down there, and sometimes it comes down to inches."

You were so close to a bowl game in your second year. How does it feel to have inches separate you from a win?

"Well, we're disappointed. I'm not real patient. I've had to learn to have patience this year and last year. We're going in the right direction, there's no question about it, but that would have been a nice one to have."

You're up 8 and a Cameron Sample grabs the face mask on what would have been a huge third-down sack deep in ECU territory. Are you going to be thinking about those plays for a long time?

"Well, there's a bunch of them. There were a couple of missed assignments where we had some big-time opportunities, too. It's part of the growing process and learning how to play in big games, but as I've mentioned many times before, we've got be hitting on all cylinders. When we're not, it's tough for us. But one thing I'll give our guys, we fight and play hard. Most of the time we play pretty smart, too, so I'm really proud of the guys and the seniors and the effort they've given us all season. I would have really liked to have had it for those guys."

How does it change your outlook for next year knowing that you have Banks and what he can do?

"He got better and better throughout the year. The guy gets more comfortable in the offense, plus we learned what he can do, what he's good at. That's important as well. He did some good things throughout the season. We'd like to have a few more practices with him, but he did a good job."

Did you hear from the coaches upstairs that the play was going to be overturned and ruled a touchdown?

"Yeah, they thought we had a chance. The coaches in the box saw it and they thought it was a touchdown, but heck, it's got to be beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Darius Bradwell gave you some big plays. What did you like about the way he ran today?

"He's got a chance to be a really, really good back for us. He's tough, he's just hard to bring down, he's got good vision and when he learns the other parts. he's going to be a dynamite back. He had a big run for us today. He's a guy that got better throughout the year as well."

When SMU trailed by 8, they had holding penalty on a third-and-5 play where they threw an incomplete pass. It was a 50-50 call, but you elected to take the down and make it fourth rather than backing them up, and it didn't work. They scored a touchdown on the next play. What was the thought process?

"That's exactly what it was. It was a 50-50. Analytically we kind of look at all that stuff, and unfortunately we went ahead and took it. Coach (Chad) Morris (of SMU) was running down the sideline trying to call a timeout. They were going to call time with a second (left on the play clock) and I think they were going to attempt a field goal. Unfortunately we jumped (offside) and then we didn't keep playing."

Your guys jumped offside three times, which is uncharacteristic. Was it something SMU was doing?

"Yeah, they did a good job. They did a lot of double claps. We've got to look at the ball. That's what we're supposed to be looking at."

Do you feel like this team did enough today to deserve the bowl bid that would have come with a win?

"We didn't win. If we get in there, I'd be telling you yes right now."

How are your players taking it right now?

"They're taking it tough. You put everything into something and don't get the results you want, it's difficult. It's difficult. I just feel for those seniors. I've got a lot of games left to coach. Most of those guys, this is the last time they are ever going to play, so they've been awesome. I've been very impressed with them on and off the field. I just would have loved to have gotten it done for them."

After getting down 27-14, you converted six straight third downs and got ahead. Are those the signs you like?

"Yeah, they play hard throughout the game. There was a half against Memphis I wish we would have played a little bit different. Besides that I thought we played hard throughout the year and showed a lot of grit. That's something I'm very proud of."

You're all about right now after a game like this, but how bright do you think the future is?

"I think the future is very bright. You have to step back and reflect on everything, but this would have been a nice win to get."

Today was my 50th birthday. I was only 40 Friday night but the events at the end of the SMU game aged me a decade.

Seriously, though, I celebrated my birthday right after watching the basketball team go down in flames against Ga State, which allowed me to decompress, and resurfacing before I go to bed, I see The Roll Wave from Alexandria by Fritz for the first time.

Jorrien Vallien, the second wide receiver commitment in the 2018 class, visited Tulane for the weekend of the South Florida game. Rated two stars, he had offers in line with a three-star recruit, including Arizona State.

I will try to reach him tomorrow.

Here's his Rivals profile.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/jorien-vallien-182075

So hacked off! We got screwed!!! It hurts because we deserved it and it was taken away. It also hurts because we are getting better and that's a huge positive. We are a missed chip shot FG and a horrible home town call from being 7-5.

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The most interesting thing I found out at practice today was a change in routine for Thanksgiving morning, something coaches usually hate. Willie Fritz has given anyone not on the traveling team permission to leave and go home after the team meal in the morning, so Tulane will have only 75 practice players available for its Thursday workout.

"It will be a little bit different tomorrow with not as many bodies out here for the Thursday practice," Fritz said. "So we'll have to add some extra scout team guys."

Obviously, Fritz is not going to pull anyone who is not on the team to practice. Simple math says with first and second teams on offense and defense adds up to 44 players, and discounting the five kickers who usually make the trip, that leaves 26 players available for the scout team. Tulane's big practices are Tuesday and Wednesday, but it is interesting that Fritz is changing the routine. Maybe this has been done forever. I don't believe I have attended a Thanksgiving practice and won't tomorrow because it will be closed.

Fritz also said backup redshirt freshman linebacker Lawrence Graham might be available to play Saturday and will make the trip. I don't think anyone foresaw him being back that quickly after he was knocked unconscious against Houston. It's terrific news.

"He should be able to play this week," Fritz said. "What happened really was he had a contusion in that area (on his head). If it were something more serious, we wouldn't have had him on the sideline in the second half. He's doing good, surprisingly so."

The key for Tulane's defense will be not letting big plays or even touchdowns bother it. SMU is going to get is yards and score some points, but bouncing back from those moments will determine the outcome. It would be nice if Tulane was as good in the red zone as it was against Houston, holding the Cougars to three points total in their first three red zone trips, but that's not realistic.

"They are a very high scoring team," Fritz said. "We've got to do whatever it takes to win the game, whether that's holding them down or scoring a bunch of points. We only need to score 1 more than they do. They have a good group of receivers, no doubt about it. They are going to get some first downs, there's no doubt about that, but we need to stay over the top and tackle. We've got to make a 6-yard catch a 6-yard gain. We've got to provide some pressure and get (QB Ben Hicks) off his spot. When we do that, we cover a lot better with our linebackers and secondary. They have a lot of shifts and formations and motions. We've just got to have cats on cats."

SMU's three key receivers--LSU transfer Trey Quinn, redshirt junior Courtland Sullivan and sophomore James Proche--have combined for 193 catches, 2,722 yards and 27 touchdowns. Quinn, a possession receiver from Barbe High in Lake Charles with legit speed that belies the label, leads the nation with 100 catches after setting a national high school record for career receiving yards. He caught only five passes in his second year at LSU, so the former top-100 recruit transferred to SMU because of coach Chad Morris, who recruited him to Clemson when he was offensive coordinator there and made it an almost 50-50 decision between Clemson and LSU.

"He's such a dynamic player," defensive coordinator Jack Curtis said. "He's Houdini catching the ball. Anything that's close to him, he comes down with it. He's made some very acrobatic catches. They'll line him everywhere. They do a good job of trying to get you to create mismatches that they want. They've lined him up 1, 2, 3, he's everywhere, so you really can't get a bead on that. At times we'll try to match up on him, but they have as good a receiving corps as you'll see."

While Quinn averages only 10.5 yards per catch, Sutton averages 16.2 and can join him in the 1,000-yard club with 90 yards on Saturday. Tulane did a good job on Sutton last year, limiting him to two catches for 25 yards. He was considered a likely first-round draft pick if he had turned pro as a redshirt sophomore after catching 76 passes for 1,246 yards. Opponents tend to concentrate on him more than anyone else, possibly resulting in his lower totals this season.

"He has such a big frame, he's got good speed, he can shield his body and he's extremely talented," Curtis said. "Some of the pro scouts said he's the best player in the state of Texas. He'll be a high, high draft pick."

Proche torched Tulane as a freshman last year, making six catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the Mustangs' come-from-behind 35-31 homecoming victory at Turchin Stadium. He averages an amazing 30.5 yards on his 37 catches.

"He's in a good situation because everybody wants to double the other two," Curtis said. "He's good enough to beat you. He's as good as most folks in this league."

The good news is Tulane can match up with cornerbacks Parry Nickerson and Donnie Lewis, plus Jarrod Franklin has been covering much better lately at nickel. The safeties are a concern with Rod Teamer struggling at times in coverage against Houston and freshman Chase Kuerschen looking a little slow against passing teams, but at least Tulane has guys who won't be overwhelmed.

"We'll match up and we can battle them," Curtis said. "I don't think we're like, oh, we can't cover them, we're going to play off. That would be about the worst thing you can do. They'll torch you. You have to be able to step up the challenge. I think our guys are ready for it. They'll do that. and you have to understand they are going to make some catches. You get back in the huddle and get ready for the next play. They are going to score some points. They've done it against everybody. We are going to have to be at our very best and try to play keep-away from them like our offense does and not play the 80-snap game."

Hicks is a rhythm passer. Teams that stay in the same defensive alignment against SMU are asking for trouble.

"You've got to give him a different look all the time," Curtis said. "If you don't, he'll tear you up."

SMU also has a good running game. Xavier Jones has 981 yards on 161 carries (6.1 average) with nine touchdowns. Braeden West, who had 119 yard and two touchdowns on 22 carries against Tulane last year, has 505 yards on 63 attempts (8.0 average). Sophomore Ke'Mon Freeman, a short-yardage specialist, has nine rushing touchdowns and 486 yards (4.0 average).

"There's a reason they are ranked 10th in the country in total offense," Curtis said. "We've given up some big plays recently, but the thing we've done a nice job is coming up with some big-time stops. Fourth and 1, fourth and 2, some of the third downs and 3."

The return of Robert Kennedy will be particularly helpful against the run. Tulane had a stout, physical playerin Eldrick Washington before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear against FIU, but Kennedy is stout, physical and productive. He has eight tackles in the last two games-Washington had six in five.

"He's active and he makes some plays," Curtis said. "We missed that physicality. It's nice to have that physical player, especially to stop some of that run stuff on the short-yardage calls."

Here is what the beat writers covering AAC teams came up with this week. My rankings were as follows:

1) Central Florida
2) Memphis
3) South Florida
4) Navy
5) Houston
6) SMU
7) Tulane
8) Temple
9) East Carolina
10) Tulsa
11) Cincinnati
12) Connecticut

1. Central Florida (10-0, 7-0 AAC): Any fear of overlooking Temple for Friday’s showdown with South Florida, was unfounded. The Knights caused five turnovers and quarterback McKenzie Milton completed 16 of 23 for 208 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 23 yards and a score. Milton was named the AAC co-offensive player of the week. Linebacker Shaquem Griffin was named to the AAC honor roll after recording three tackles, a forced fumble, a 22-yard interception return, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss. Now comes Friday’s game against visiting USF, with the winner earning the East Division title and a trip to the AAC championship game against Memphis.- Marc Narducci, Philadelphia Inquirer

2. Memphis (9-1, 6-1 AAC): Officially the best in the AAC West after a 66-45 victory over SMU, the Tigers wrap up the regular season and celebrate Senior Day with an 11 a.m. Saturday kickoff against East Carolina. And what a group of seniors it’s been. The Tigers have won at least nine games just eight times in school history but three of those have come in the last four years (2014, 2015, 2017). - John Varlas, Memphis Commercial Appeal

3. USF (9-1, 6-1 AAC): Bulls senior quarterback Quinton Flowers, already considered by many the greatest player in program history, can statistically cement that status in Friday's East Division showdown at UCF. Flowers needs only 96 yards to break Matt Grothe's career total yardage record (10,875), and 146 rushing yards to eclipse Marlon Mack's all-time rushing yardage mark (3,609). Toppling the Knights (and clinching USF's first division title ever) wouldn't harm Flowers' legacy either. - Joey Knight, Tampa Bay Times

4. Navy (6-4, 4-3 AAC): The Midshipmen have lost four of their last five and are in danger of finishing the season on a serious slide. Navy closes the American campaign with a Friday matinee at Houston then faces archrival Army (8-3) in the regular season finale on Dec. 9. The Mids are trying to avoid a 1-5 finish that would leave them at .500 going into a bowl game. - Bill Wagner, Baltimore Sun Media Group

5. Houston (6-4, 4-3 AAC): Three of Houston's four losses this season have come by four points or less, the latest a 20-17 setback to Tulane. True freshman Davion Mitchell is expected to see an increased workload in Friday's game against Navy as running back depth a concern, with Duke Catalon (shoulder) and Mulbah Car (ankle/knee) dealing with nagging injuries and Dillon Birden (elbow) out for the season. The current senior class has 36 wins and needs to win the final two games (which includes a bowl) to match the school record set by the 2016 class. - Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle


6. SMU (6-5, 3-4 AAC): SMU's defense is reeling after a 66-45 loss to Memphis. The Mustangs have given up an average of 612.7 yards per game during their three-game losing streak to the Tigers, Navy and UCF. SMU missed middle linebacker Anthony Rhone, a senior starter who was out with a concussion. The Mustangs get one more chance to get back on track against Tulane for Senior Day. - Adam Grosbard, Dallas Morning News


7. Tulane (5-6, 3-4 AAC): With a breakthrough 20-17 home upset of Houston, the Green Wave set up an incredibly meaningful game at SMU for a small but productive 12-player senior class that includes six defensive starters plus 1,000-yard running back Dontrell Hilliard. Seven of them were redshirted in 2013 when Tulane played in the New Orleans Bowl, but they never had won more than four games overall or two conference games as active players until this season. They would love to see all their hard work turn into a bowl game send-off, signaling the program's rise under second-year coach Willie Fritz. - Guerry Smith, The New Orleans Advocate


8. Temple (5-6, 3-4 AAC): Making his fourth straight start, quarterback Frank Nutile had his first poor showing during a 45-19 home loss to Central Florida on Senior Day. Nutile entered the game with three interceptions and threw four against the Knights. Coach Geoff Collins said Monday that Nutile was still taking the first team reps. Shining in defeat was redshirt senior defensive lineman Jullian Taylor, who had 4.5 sacks. Temple needs to win Saturday at Tulsa to become bowl eligible for a fourth consecutive season. - Marc Narducci, Philadelphia Inquirer

9. East Carolina (3-8, 2-5 AAC): The Pirates have trended slightly upward at season's end, culminating in Saturday's blowout win over fading Cincinnati, 48-20. It was a record day for junior wide receiver Trevon Brown, whose 270 yards were both a school and an American record. The win came on the heels of one of the team's few close games this season, an overtime loss to Tulane. The victory celebration could be dampened this week, however, when the Pirates finish the season at No. 17 Memphis. – Nathan Summers, The (Greenville, N.C.) Daily Reflector

10. Connecticut (3-8, 2-5 AAC): The Huskies have lost four in a row for the second time this season. They will finish with a losing record for the seventh consecutive season, since playing in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2010 season (Randy Edsall's final season before taking the Maryland job). UConn can eclipse its 2016 victory total by winning its season finale at Cincinnati. - Mike Anthony, Hartford Courant

11. Tulsa (2-9, 1-6 AAC): Falling 27-20 at USF on Thursday night ensured the Hurricane will finish in last place in the West Division after having been picked fourth. In each of its previous three seasons in the American, Tulsa overachieved its preseason projection by two spots. A disappointing campaign that included an 0-6 record in road games ends at home against Temple on Saturday afternoon. - Kelly Hines, Tulsa World

12. Cincinnati (3-8, 1-6 AAC): The league's worst offense was trumped by America's worst defense, as the Bearcats dropped an embarrassing 48-20 decision at East Carolina. UC finishes the year at home against UConn, trying to avoid the program's worst record since a 2-9 season in 1998. -Tom Groeschen, Cincinnati Enquirer

I will update this later today but have a deadline of 2 p.m. for my Advocate story due to the approaching Thanksgiving holiday. Here are the Q&As

WILLIE FRITZ

I'm really excited about the win last week. Our guys really competed throughout the game against a really talented Houston team in really all three phases and did some good things. The last touchdown and defensively the big stop at the end and excellent red zone defense and we did a good job in coverage both on punts and kickoffs. A big win for us, put us in position for this to be a big game. You always want to be playing in gams with meaning. We'll have a great week of preparation. We're going to need to play as well or not better against SMU at their place on Saturday."

Was that as hard as you've had a team play?

"They played hard. I've told the guys I was disappointed in our effort the first half against Memphis. Otherwise our guys have battled and given good effort. Our execution sometimes needs to be better than what it is, but these guys play hard. They lay it on out there. I haven't had very many complaints about the effort. The physicality has been better this year for the most part, too. That's good. That's what you should have. That's what we're striving to do every single week."

How do you get the guys' legs fresh for Saturday?

"We really front load everything at the beginning of the week. We lift and do a lot of meetings on Monday and Tuesdays are a pretty good practice for us. Early in the year it was about two hours and 15 minutes. Now it's about two hours. Wednesday's a pretty big practice. We cut back about 20 minutes on Thursday and we don't do a whole lot on Friday, so we front load the workload at the beginning of the week and then we really back off at the end of the week. I know there's some research about getting after it on Friday and playing Saturday and backing off on Thursday, but I haven't heard a whole lot of people who like it that way. We've been doing it this way for a while, so it gets our guys ready and fresh to go when we get to the game. When we get off the plane, we do about a 15-to-20-minute movement prep, get to the hotel and do a little extra stretch and then they rest a lot more. We call it our final 48 hours in preparation--doing a good job of nutrition, hydration, staying off your feet, recovering, getting extra treatment, studying your game plan more."

SMU has put up huge yardage and point totals almost every week. What makes that offense so difficult to defend?

"They are very challenging. They have a really good group of receivers. One guy has 100 catches. Another guy is a first or second-round draft pick. They've got a talented group of receivers, a really good group of backs, their quarterback knows how to distribute the ball, a diverse offense. They can manufacture offense with changing what they do with motions and shifts. Last week they got into a bunch of tackle over. It's a different formation you don't see very often. It's a really talented group, and they execute very well."

Your secondary has played a lot better in the last few weeks. How encouraged are you by that?

"We're going to have to play well. The other part of it is you have to have pressure. We have to make the guy not pat the ball and get him off his mark. Like all quarterbacks, if he's moved off his spot, the percentage of completions goes down. We've got to do a good job of getting some guys up in his face and not making him comfortable and move that spot and not let him be stationary."

What's been the difference in the two-game win streak from the four-game losing streak?

"Oh, these games, as I said before, are all tough. They are not going to be easy. There’s a play here and there and we’re making the play. There’s a call here and there and we’re making the call. It’s going to be the same way this Saturday. We’re going to have to be on point in the offense, defense and the kicking game. Our guys have to execute and we’ve got to be tough.”

Did you change anything in the way you coached after the losing streak?

"I don't know. I think the compliment I get often times from pro scouts when they come out here and watch is they can't tell the difference between the tempo of practice. That's what it should be. Each week is its own week, and we want to make sure we're giving our best effort every single week. I do believe if you sit back and bask in the glory of success, you probably won't prepare as well as you need to, or if you have a bad week and you sit there and dwell on that, you are certainly going to have a bad week. Sometimes that's tough. The older I get, the more difficult it gets. It shouldn't be that way. You've got to move on."

What about the chance to be bowl eligible and the perception in recruiting. How much does that mean going into December with the early signing date?

"It's huge. It's a goal we've had throughout the year and it's going to be one of our goals every single year. There's still a lot to accomplish. We're trending in the right direction, but that certainly would be a very positive step forward and also another conference road win. That would be big, too. It's going to be a tremendous challenge. They are a good team and have also played some close games this year. This is a very competitive conference, but we know that's out there for us. We certainly know that."

No one's truly healthy at this time of the year, but do you feel good about your team's health?

"We're not bad. We're pretty healthy. Our guys have done an excellent job of going in and getting treatment. Some of these guys have gone in three or four times a day. It's a great job by our athletic training staff to be available to allow those guys to do that. But you're right, everybody's banged up at this time of the year."

Trey Quinn has 100 catches for SMU. What stands out about him?

"He runs nice, precise routes. They get the ball off to him. He's got excellent hands. He moves the chains a lot. The other kid, Sutton, runs more go routes and is averaging 16, 17 yards a catch. Quinn's somewhere around 10,11, but they've got three or four guys that are really good receivers. They are really talented there."

ROD TEAMER

SMU has some prolific offensive numbers with a lot of good receivers. How big a challenge is this for the secondary?

"It's a tremendous challenge. It's something that we look forward to as a secondary and as defense as a whole. They are averaging 40 points a game. Obviously we are going to try to keep them to less than that. Their receivers have NFL talent. It gives us a chance to go out and see how we stack up against those guys."

Will it be nice going against a quarterback who won't run 50 yards up the middle when someone loses gap control?

"That helps a lot in what coverages we're able to play and being able to focus more on the receivers and not always having to have eyes on the quarterback. He's a threat to run. He can pull the ball down and run. Obviously it's not his favorite thing to do when you've got four really talented receivers. I'd throw it up to them, too, but it's a relief."

How nice is it to not have to manufacture a reason to care about this game? It's obvious what's on the line.

"Knowing what's at stake, it raises the level of your intensity, but one thing we talk about in this program is self-motivation. Nobody can make you play harder than yourself. It's there and we know that, but we come out and grind every day."

ROBERT KENNEDY

SMU is a prolific passing team. How important will it be to disrupt what their QB is doing?

"It's definitely a key factor in this game. We're planning a few things for them already. It will be a fun game for the D-line and the secondary to show what we are made of."

How much confidence do you get off a win against a team like Houston?

"It helps the atmosphere around us. it's definitely a lot easier to push in the right direction after a big win like that."

JONATHAN BANKS

Is this the biggest game you've ever quarterbacked in?

"It put a lot of pressure on us and the rest of the team, just being able to win this game and become bowl eligible. We've got to come prepared for practice every day so we'll be able pass the test."

Were you brought here to win games like this?

"Yes sir. No doubt about it."

How much more comfortable are you in the offense than you were at the beginning of the year?

"I'm real comfortable. I'm learning some of the read option schemes. That's what I struggled with at the beginning of the season. I'm getting more comfortable in the pocket being able to trust my line to to give me time."

How do you make sure that you use the momentum from the Houston game in a good way rather than what happened at FIU after crushing Tulsa?

"We are just going to stay consistent with what we did last week. We're not going to think about the past. The losing drought is over with. We have the opportunity to become bowl eligible by beating SMU, so that's what we're focusing on."

The report that Lindsey Scott spent time at Saturday's game with our Athletic Director suggests a mutual interest in Scott coming to play for Tulane. Of course, interest does not necessarily translate into "signing."

Four years ago when he signed with LSU, Lindsey Scott was rated a three star by all four recruiting services and championed by Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune as the “second coming.” Besides LSU, he had P5 offers from Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Wake Forest-- not the Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State interest of a higher ranked recruit. Nonetheless, most Tulane fans, including me, viewed him (and still do) as a perfect fit for Willie Fritz’s offense.

After a year redshirting up river, he enrolled at East Mississippi Community College (made famous as “Last Chance U”) and had a spectacular year in which he will play for the JC national Championship on December 3. While passing for 3,311 yards and 27 TD’s, he only threw 10 INT’s. He also rushed for 6 more TD’s on 147 carries for 689 yards. This earned him a selection on the second team All-Region 23 by the NJCAA. For interest, former Tulane commit and LaTech redshirt, Jack Abraham, was named first team.

Anyhow. The competition for Scott is not nearly as tough this time around and we clearly have the advantage of proximity and a coach who has been on him since his high school days. We also have the advantage of academics which for a young man who had interest from Harvard and other Ivy League schools could be important. But, he does, apparently, have four other offers—New Mexico, New Mexico State, UT San Antonio, and Central Michigan.

Like Tulane (72% of the time), New Mexico is a run first team (73%) whose starting QB is a redshirt senior this year. Competition for the starting job next season does not look too tough. New Mexico State is a throw-first team (64%) and likewise is losing their starting QB. UTSA runs a more “mixed” offense (57% rush) and Central Michigan is also a throwing team (63%) providing a number of schemes from which to choose. Like the other two, both UTSA and CMich lose their starting QB’s after this season. Thus, the big advantage all four have over Tulane is that the starting job appears wide open. For a kid interested in playing, that lack of competition could be important. But, those teams don’t play as tough a schedule as Tulane and that could also play in the decision.

I think UTSA is our toughest competition. First, it’s closer to home for Scott than the other three, though not as close as we are. Second, and it might swing a number of way, is their head coach, Frank Wilson. Wilson recruited Scott to LSU. What could he possibly have told the kid that convinced him he’d get a shot at QB with the Tigers? How much credibility does he have? Sadly, it may be a lot. But, Wilson may not be at UTSA very long. In his first season he went 6-7 including a bowl loss to New Mexico and this year he is 6-5 (bowl eligible) with a final game this weekend against Louisiana Tech. Winning two more games could make him a “hot property” in some circles.

Anyway, between now and Dec 21 (JC and early signing day) a lot will happen. Some coaches will come and go and Scott could get some more offers. Where Tulane stands probably won’t be known for a few more weeks.

Roll Wave!!

P8kpev came oh so close to becoming (I believe) the first person to have a perfect week since I started running this contest in 2012. If a NC State receiver had not fumbled about an inch away from the goal line late in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack probably would have beaten Wake Forest. That was his only loss in a week when most of us did well.

WEEK 11 RESULTS

8

p8kpev

7

Guerry Smith
diverdo
winwave
WaveON
highwave
Wavetime
GretnaGren

6

mono41
Kettrade1
Harahan Wave

5

St Amant Wave
bbos1025
Golfer81

4

DrBox

3

Charlamange8
LSU Law Greenie


OVERALL STANDINGS

59

mono41

57

winwave

54

diverdo

53

Guerry Smith

50

bbos1025

49

highwave

48

DrBox

47

Golfer81
Kettrade1
GretnaGreen

46

WaveON
St Amant Wave
p8kpev (missed 1 week)

45

LSU Law Greenie
Wavetime

40

Harahan Wave (missed 1 week)

39

buck2481 (missed 2 weeks)

38

Charlamange8 (missed 1 week)

34

paliii (missed 4 weeks)

32

MNAlum (missed 2 weeks)


WEEK 11 GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

Tulane 11 of 17
Wisconsin 14
UCF 14
Memphis 15
Navy 12
LSU 12
Wake Forest 6
Texas 5

As some might have noticed, the University of Kansas, a noted basketball school and football doormat, has had incredible success this year recruiting Louisiana. Much of that success is attributed to first year assistant coach, Tony Hull, a long-time head coach at Warren Easton and a fixture in NOLA prep football since his own high school days. According to the Times Picayune’s “Nifty Fifty,” and both Rivals and 247, Kansas has commitments from four Louisiana players ranked in the top 40 in the state, including two who are consensus “top ten” picks. The four are WR Devonta Jason from Rummel, generally rated in the top 5 in the state; Corione Harris, a CB from Landry-Walker, a “top ten” guy; Anthony Williams an all- purpose back from Hahnville, and Josh Smith a defensive end from Landry-Walker. The latter two are also rated in the top 40 within Louisiana

So how does this affect Tulane? Well, maybe it doesn’t. But Kansas head coach, David Beatty is on one of the hottest “hot seats” in the country according to many. Now in his third year Beatty has put together a 3-32 record (1-25 in conference) with an almost sure loss looming against Oklahoma State in his team’s final game. If he is fired (highly likely) and Tony Hull also gets the ax, where does that leave these recruits? Winning tradition doesn’t apparently matter to them. Of course, staying close to home doesn’t seem to either. But Tulane has offered all four although I have no idea if we’ve continued contact. Anyhow, with teams “filling up” on commitments, these four might be worth checking in with. Additionally, although there is a rumor going around that Coach Fritz may be hiring a coach with exceptional ties to the NOLA high school community, this guy, Tony Hull, might also be an interesting addition to the staff.

Roll Wave!!!

Tulane has 15 players coming in for the Houston game. Seven of them are from the class of 2019, three are current commitments and five are 2018 guys the Green Wave is looking at.

The breakdown:

CURRENT COMMITMENTS

Jamiran James
Stephen Lewerenz
Juan Monjarres

2018 RECRUITS

1) Tahj McGee, a 6-0, 175-pound 2-star QB from Franklington High who committed to Louisiana Tech in June.

Anaylsis: McGee is being recruited by Arizona as a WR and by Tulane as an athlete. The Wave likely will not get another QB in this class, so it depends on McGee's willingness to play another position.

2) Javon Antonio, a 6-4, 205-pound 2-star OLB from East St. John High whom Tulane is recruiting as a TE.

Analysis: Antonio's only FBS offer according to Rivals is to ULM. Tulane has a TE in the class already in Tyrick James, but Charles Jones will be a senior next year so there might be room for another.

3) Taron Jones, a 5-11, 183-pound 2-star RB from Mandeville high.

Analysis: His only offer according to Rivals is from Kansas. You can never have enough RBs in Willie Fritz' system, but is Jones good enough to warrant a spot?

4) Zailes Alexander, a 6-0, 182-pound WR from Fort Walton Beach (Florida) Choctawhatchee HIgh who is not in the Rivals database and is rated zero stars by 247 Sports.

Analysis: Alexander does not have any offers according to 247 Sports. Guess it depends on how much the Tulane staff likes him and sees potential.

5) Zuri Henry, an offensive lineman from Wylie High in Texas who is not in the database of any of the sites but has a Hudl page.

2019 RECRUITS

1) Kendarias Moses, a 6-3, 175-pound 3-star DB from Southern Lab in Baton Rouge

2) Corey Williams, a 5-11, 175-pound 3-star WR from Houston Episcopa who already has an offer from UTSA

3) Michael Hollins, RB, University High in Baton Rouge

4) Amani Gilmore, QB, Amite

5) Honus Wagner, DB, North Forsyth County in Georgia

6) BJ Lockhard, DB, Walker

7) Tyrone Lewis, DB, Hammond

This was the best game Tulane has played against a quality opponent in Willie Fritz' two years. I especially loved the decision to throw on third-and-9 on the final possession rather than running the clock down, punting and counting on a defensive stop that might not have come. Tulane went for the win right there and got it.

Dontrell Hilliard became the fifth Tulane running back to go over 1,000 yards in a season. Terren Encalade had the 12th biggest game for a receiver in school history and the biggest since Ryan Grant four years ago. And the Wave still has a chance to go to a bowl.

WILLIE FRITZ

"I'm just really proud of the guys. This was a tough one. They're all tough. We did a good job answering offense and defense. It was a huge pass play there at the end, a huge run after catch by Terren (Encalade). Then there at the end with the fourth-and-one-and-a-half, a big stop. We had a lot of seniors that had great games. Lawrence Graham's doing great, too, and that's a blessing as well. We're really excited about the win. It puts us into a big opportunity for next week, so this will be an easy week to coach, which is outstanding."

Where does this win rank for you in your short time here?

"I don't know. It might be the best one, I guess. I don't know. We needed a win like that as well. We've had some tough luck this season. I'm just happy for the seniors and happy for all the guys. It was a hard-fought game. It really was. It's a tough league. Everybody's pretty good. If you're not on point, you are not going to win, so I'm just happy with the outcome."

Jonathan Banks was decisive from start to finish, either when he threw or ran. Is that the way you want to see him play?

"One of our best plays is when everybody's covered and he takes off and runs. I think he converted four maybe tonight on third and pretty long. When we needed 10, he got 11. If we needed 8, he got 9. Also I think he's starting to understand the rhythm of RPOs and seeing the pre-snap look and giving or throwing or whatever the case may be, so he did some really good things."

You could have run it on third down at the end and bled the clock since Houston had no timeouts left but you went for the pass instead and converted it to clinch the win. What was your thought process?

"We just felt like we didn't want to get in one of those situations where we're trying to get a stop and hold on and all that other stuff. We'd had some success throwing the football, and it was good execution by the offense. Jonathan bought a little extra time to get out of the pocket, and it was a great catch."

Can you talk about Encalade's performance?

"He had a really good game. He's getting a little better each and every week. You know, we had a tough one there at the end of the first half. We'd like to just throw it away when they had it covered. We had a chance to go one more play, and we extended the play a little bit and had to kick the field goal, but that's part of learning with everybody getting in those kind of situations because every one of them is unique. But Terren had a very good game. He's tough. He's competitive. They were playing a lot of zone against us and there were some open areas."

You came up with two big fourth-down stops. How pivotal were those?

"There were a lot of big plays on both sides of the ball. I thought we also had some good punts and kick coverage as well. We made them go the long field a few times, so we knew we were going to have to play like that in all three phases in order to win. They are a talented squad."

How important was it for your defense to not break after giving up some big plays?

"Yeah, we didn't start real good in the first half or the second half. We gave up some big plays in between the 20s but we really made some big plays in the red zone, help them to field goals or stops which were huge for us."

Dontrell Hilliard became the fifth running back to gain 1,000 yards in a season here. How happy are you for him?

"That's great for Dontrell. He's had a tremendous career here and we just want to have a great week of preparation and go after it next week and hopefully allow these guys an opportunity to play in a bowl. I know that's a big goal for them, and it's here right now. It's great to play meaningful games in November and especially good to have your last game be very meaningful."

Can you talk about Kendall Ardoin. He had a couple of good blocks for you?

"Yeah, he did a good job. Those guys are kind of unsung heroes for us and also our receivers did a nice job blocking downfield for us as well. We did a few bubbles to the outside where the widest guy--a lot of times it was (Darnell) Mooney--had to sustain that block for a long time. Kendall had some good blocks, and so did Charles Jones."

It's not a big class of seniors, but particularly on defense there are a lot of senior starters. What have they meant to this program the past two years?

"Well, they are easy to work with. When you get a new coach come in, it's tough. They have to embrace the coach, we've got to embrace them and we've all done that, and they've been really easy to work with. I've had very few problems. These guys have been a real credit to the university. We want to bring in guys like that, and these guys certainly have had great careers here in the classroom off the field and on the field as well."

You gave Lawrence Graham a hug when he came back to the field in the third quarter. What was that feeling?

"I was just glad he's all right. He's a good kid."

Did he go to the hospital?

"He went to the hospital. They checked him out. I think his parents drove in, and he's doing well. He's doing good."

WTG Wave!!! Amazing what happens when you mix it up. Also had Banks rolling out, threw some screens. Got it to Badie outside. Nickerson's interception on the first drive of the 3rd quarter was the play of the game. They had come out and gone right down the field. If they score the TD they have the momentum and probably go on to beat us by a few scores. Instead we kept the momentum and shook their confidence. Happy for the seniors.

I've said from the beginning that SMU is a team we can beat. Let's go Bowling!!!

BTW, 2-0 since Isla was born!!!

After the CSU game Johnny Arthurs said that this is the biggest improvement from year to year that he's seen in a Tulane team since the Posse days with Perry Clark. He thinks Mike Dunleavy has really turned the program around and we have a chance to be a year in, year out top 25 team like we were under Perry Clark.

Mike's reputation along with a winning record this season will immediately lure in bigger talent. I was told that we're on the verge of becoming a "power" in basketball and I believe that's a correct assessment. But as far as this year is concerned, we look great so far and I'm really excited to see how this season goes.

As always, the Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first and the point spreads come from VegasInsider.com consensus. I apologize for the quality of the games in what is the worst week in memory. I had a hard time finding eight to put here.

Tulane (+9.5) Houston
Wisconsin (-7.5) Michigan
Temple (+14) UCF
Memphis (-13) SMU
Notre Dame (-17.5) Navy
Tennessee (+15.5) LSU
Wake Forest (-1.5) North Carolina State
West Virginia (-3.5) Texas