Trey Creamer, a three-star recruit from Cartersville, Ga., a town about 40 northwest of Atlanta, was one of a host of recruits who visited Tulane this weekend. The Green Wave is recruiting him as a running back while everyone else is looking at him as defensive back. Here is what he said when reached on the phone Monday night.

What did you think of your visit to Tulane?

"New Orleans is a beautiful city. Tulane has a great atmosphere. I love how the players fought and just the game itself. I know it was a blowout, but the players just kept playing even though they were winning pretty good. They had a phenomenal amount of rushing yards, and they are recruiting me as a back. They told me that they would tote the rock, and they weren't lying."

They are the only school recruiting you as a running back. How do you feel about playing that position, and do you have a preference?

"I could see myself playing on both sides of the ball because I've gotten better on both sides, but I would prefer running back or if I could be stuck at wide receiver, that would be fine with me. I just like having the ball in my hands. At Tulane I feel like I would get enough carries to where I would be satisfied. I loved it."

Do you have a top five right now, or how have you narrowed it down?

"I've narrowed it down to a few schools. I will still be taking some of my visits other than my official visits, but the schools in my official visits are my top five schools. Tulane, which was my first official visit, I was excited to get on campus, Michigan State, Minnesota and Maryland. I do not have my fifth and final visit set up. I will get that done before I decide (on a school)."

What are the key factors in picking a school?

"Basically I want to feel at home when I go, and that's basically how it is with me. I know I just want to be somewhere I feel welcome. I don't want to be somewhere where I don't feel like I fit in. I want to see what my playing time will be like. I know every player has to work and you're not always guaranteed a spot if you get there. You gotta work for it wherever you go, and I'm willing to put in the work and help my brothers out."

Tulane does not have a tradition of winning, but Willie Fritz has won everywhere he's been. From what you saw at that game and from talking to him and his staff, do you feel Tulane is going to turn it around really quickly?

"I believe in coach Fritz and what he stands for. I know he came from Georgia Southern and they led the nation in rushing last year. I feel like with coach Fritz, he instills in his guys every day that we will pound the football and we will get some yards when they are necessary and we'll throw the ball when we have to, but I feel like they rely on their run game. I like that. I want to come in and help out. I'm really good in the backfield and my feet are good, so hopefully I can come in to make a huge impact on the team."

What position are you playing for Cartersville?

"I am playing both ways--running back and cornerback."

How have you done at running back this year?

"I've not gotten too many carries because I'm more a defensive guy right now, and our quarterback is amazing (Trevor Lawrence, a 6-foot-6 junior who is five-star prospect by every site and a candidate for No. 1 prospect in the nation). He gets the ball around. I grind in and out with my running. I'm always running hard. I'm limited on my carries right now. We're just worried about getting everybody some touches. When I need to run the ball, I'll be there to run the ball."

What are your best strengths as a running back?

"My elusiveness. My vision, I'm good at finding holes and exploding through those holes. My speed in and out of my cuts. My acceleration. I know there are a few things I have to get better at. Every person has their spots they know they aren't their best. I just have to get better there at practice."

Do you have a timetable for committing?

"Yes. My commitment date will be October 15th. I will be concluding all of my official visits before then."

You said you loved New Orleans. What did you see on your visit here?

"Oh my God. The first day we got there, me and my mom, they took us to eat, and the food in New Orleans is amazing, just incredible. The Court of Two Sisters, that's probably the best food I've ever had in my life."

What did you have there?

"Oh my goodness. I had grits, I had biscuits, I had ribs. I'm talking about everything that they had, I ate. I had jambalaya. It was an amazing time."

What other factors did you like on your visit, and what do you like about Fritz?

"With coach Fritz, I could tell he's all about his players and he just wants to build us better as young men and make sure our education is at a high level. I know he's been to a few schools where the degree of education at the school really wasn't that important, so he raised that level of education at the schools he came to. At Tulane, the level of education was already close to the top level in the country, so I would have a great education even if football doesn't pan out after college. I'll have a field to fall back on, and the people at the school could help me in the long run. That would be a reason for choosing (Tulane)."

Had you ever been to New Orleans before?

"It was actually the first time I had ever been to New Orleans and flying, so it was fun."

Here's an interesting story on how David Johnson could give Memphis an edge against Tulane from the Commercial Appeal. It's interesting, but its also hogwash. There's nothing he can say about any of the guys he recruited and coached that will help the Tigers one bit tomorrow night.

I see Kwahn Drake is an offensive analyst for Memphis. I knew he had joined the staff and still follow him on twitter, but I assumed he was working with the defense.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/sto...ohnson-gives-memphis-edge-vs-tulane/91887782/

Here is another example of why Tulane is on the upswing under Willie Fritz. I got to practice earlier today than in the last couple weeks because I wanted to look at the whole roster, and one of the first things I saw was Fritz coaching up the defense as it faced the scout-team offense. On one of the first plays, linebacker Zach Harris broke up a pass in the middle of the field, a typical effort for him because of his athletic ability. Fritz immediately yelled at him to "turn that good play into a great play" the next time. He wanted Harris to intercept the pass instead of just deflecting it to the ground. He is not going to settle, and he does not want any of his players to settle. That's just a small sample of the change in attitude Fritz and his staff have brought.

Now I'm not going overboard yet on the quality of this year's team. That's to be determined in the next seven weeks. Let's face it. Tulane barely beat ULL and struggled to get past UMass, two apparently bad teams. It was not a good look when ULL lost in OT to New Mexico State, which annually is one of the worst 10 teams in America, the week after coming within a career-long FG by Andrew DiRocco of beating Tulane. It was not a good look when UMass, which was one Tanzel Smart pressure away from possibly forcing OT because of a busted Tulane coverage, got housed by Old Dominion last Thursday five days after playing the Wave. On the other hand, Navy beating Houston makes the Wave look good since Tulane had the ball and the lead in the fourth quarter against Navy. I pretty much agree with Fritz, though, that comparative scores are a waste of time. Teams play different every week, and it makes more sense to judge them with your own eyes rather than using the transitive property.

(Quick aside: if anyone ever wondered how hard it is to go undefeated, check out Houston, which led the nation in rushing defense through five games this year and finished eighth in the same category last year yet allowed more than 300 rushing yards to the Midshipmen and was sloppy in all three phases of the game Saturday. I'm probably in the minority, but I still think Houston can run the table, including beating Louisville, but even that might not be enough to get the Cougars into a good bowl. If Navy beats Memphis, it will be hard for Houston to even win the AAC West, and the access bowl for the Group of Five conferences is limited to conference champions).

This Friday is a huge game for Tulane. I have no idea how good Memphis is. My analysis of the teams' recruiting rankings when they played last year showed the Tigers did not have significantly higher ranked players than the Wave. And it is too early to tell what the transition will be like from Justin Fuente to Mike Norvell as coach. But the Tigers sure do look athletic at the skill positions on both sides of the ball. They gave Ole Miss a decent game after the Rebels destroyed Georgia. If the Wave can beat Memphis, it obviously would be a much bigger statement than the previous three victories, and I truly don't know what will happen Friday.

What I do know is Fritz consistently puts his teams in the best position to win. Now it's a matter of Tulane's offensive line opening up holes for the running backs, Glen Cuiellette and his receivers making Memphis pay for putting too many men in the box and the Wave defense tackling in space and not letting receivers get behind the back end of the secondary. We've seen good and bad in all of those areas.

Fritz likes what he has seen in practice.

"We've had a good week, we really have," he said after Wednesday's last full workout in preparation for Memphis. "I just talked to these guys about the final 48 hours or 58 hours since we're practicing in the morning, just doing a good job really locking in these last couple days and doing a great job of winning the preparation battle. So often people do a good job in the beginning of the week and then fade a little bit and just wait for the game. We need to do a good job of eating right, hydrating correctly, studying our playbook, staying off our feet, resting, avoiding distractions. Those are all things i talk about with the guys every week, and a mature ball club is able to do that. I think we've had a good week. We just need to finish it off good."

I watched the receivers closely today. Devon Breaux looks healthy and got plenty of reps with the first time. Fritz said his hand was fine and had "looked great this week," although I didn't see him making many plays today. Terren Encalade and freshman Darnell Mooney appear to be the two best receivers on the roster. There was a rare Trey Scott sighting, when he beat a scout-team defender deep and hauled in a Johnathan Brantley long pass for a touchdown, although with a slight bobble.

The six wideouts receiving reps were Encalade, Mooney, Breaux (the three starters) along with Chris Johnson, Scott and Larry Dace, who definitely has fallen down the depth chart. Dace has not caught a pass since the opener against Wake Forest and may not be 100 percent after missing the UMass game with an injury. Breaux has three catches for the year, and Scott does not have any. It's been pretty much the Encalade and Mooney show the past two weeks, with Johnson making an athletic grab in a jump ball situation for his first career reception against UMass.

I actually didn't ask the question, but Fritz addressed the topic we debated in another thread here recently about option teams and whether their cornerbacks are prepared to face prolific passing attacks. I scoffed at the idea it was an issue, but Fritz believes it could be. That's one reason he likes how his offense has three wide receivers and a spread look out of the shotgun rather than the tight formations the service academies use with their QBs operating under center.

"We line up in the same formations as the majority of the teams that we play," he said. "We get into the shotgun, we get in the pistol, we get in the offset back, we get in the three wide, the four wide, 11 personnel, so our defense gets an opportunity to line up against those different formations. That's one of the reasons I like this style of option football probably better than other types because it does help your defense out."

Until Fritz mentioned it yesterday, I did not realize Lazedrick Thompson was in graduate school after getting his degree in business administration just like Josh Rounds. Both of them are missing substantial portions of the Tuesday and Thursday practices (although Thursday does not come into play when the game is Friday). That's two of Tulane's top three backs absent nearly half of the time, a situation coaches do not have to deal with at, say, SEC schools.

"They both miss the majority of Tuesday and Thursdays," Fritz said. "We got lucky this week with how we're going so they only missed Tuesday this week. We just have to be careful of wearing Dontrell (Hilliard) out."

If I had not been asleep at the wheel on the two running backs missing Tuesday and Thursday practices, I would not have hyped up Devin Glenn getting so many reps in practice on Thursday a few weeks ago as I did. The coaches desperately needed another running back for reps in practice, so it's much less of a mystery why he did not play in the backfield against ULL after I wrote about all the work he was getting. And, of course, he has to hope he does not get in the doghouse after his fumble on the kickoff at UMass. He does still look very quick on the option--better than the receivers like Encalade and Scott and Mooney they use on that play at times--but if the coaches can't trust him to hold on to the ball, they can't use him.

Tulane's fourth back, the injured Sherman Badie, will not play against Memphis, but Fritz said there was an outside chance he would return for the Oct. 22 game at Tulsa and a very good chance he would be back for Homecoming against SMU on Oct. 29. Badie has not played since getting hurt in the first half against Southern in week 2.

"He's really making progress," Fritz said.

I think everyone on this board is familiar with the Massey rankings (http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compsum.htm) which takes a composite of what on most weeks includes 100 or more published opinions, polls, and computer determinations of the relative ranking of the, what is now, 128 teams in the BCS.

Despite the enforced bye week, Tulane moved up in the composite rankings from #82 to #79. Apparently, raters either thought our schedule to date was better than previously believed or some teams they thought were better than us disappointed. It doesn’t really matter.

I looked back at the Massey rankings over the previous ten years (2006-2015) to see how we were rated in what many people might consider a lost decade of Tulane football. During that time, Massey published weekly ratings 166 times. On only 37 occasions were we rated in the top 100 (22%) and 24 of those weeks occurred during two years, 2006 and 2013. During the other 133 weeks, we snuck into the top 100 only 13 times, less than one in ten.

More interesting is the fact that during those ten years we only ranked higher than our current #79 10 times. Nine of those occurred during 2013 and the highest ranking we’ve attained for the decade was #65. Put another way, only once in the now 10+ years have we been ranked in the top half of NCAA Division 1A (BCS) football. Our best final ranking? #80 in 2013. Sad.

Things are changing. The quicker the better. A Memphis win would be BIG.

Roll Wave!!!

Tre Jackson has not made a tackle through five Tulane games, but If I were making a pick of the next freshman to emerge as a contributor, it would be Jackson. He has played in the last two games after not getting on the field for the first three, and he turned in the play of the practice Monday morning when he undercut a sideline pass from the scout team offense and made a one-handed grab for an interception. He drew praise from the coaches, who were in the midst of yelling at the scout-team guys.

Other than on special teams, the freshmen have had minimal impact on a veteran defense this year. Backup safety Will Harper, who usually gets to play in the first half, has 10 tackles. Linebackers Lawrence Graham and Larry Bryant each have one stop, most likely on special teams (a stat Tulane no longer is keeping in its weekly releases), as does cornerback Thakarius Keyes. That's it.

But Jackson, who was listed as the backup cornerback to Donnie Lewis on the two-deep depth chart before the UCF game, could make a push. Tulane's depth behind Lewis and Parry Nickerson is shaky, and Jackson, from Baton Rouge, was the highest rated recruit in the class. The starting CBs don't come off the field often, but if they need a breather, Jackson looks like he might be ready to provide some productive downs. That's my two cents anyway.

Here is what Willie Fritz had to say after practice today:

"It was good. We went last night, had the short one last night just to kind of get the guys re-acclimated and get their minds back on football, get their minds back on Memphis. The guys feel fairly healthy. We had some guys that have been real banged up, and it looked like they more pep in their step, so it was good to get back out here and go back to work."

How much of a benefit was it for you to get that weekend off?

"It was good. We took off Wednesday. We were getting ready to come out for practice and we took it off. We lifted and met on Thursday and then took Friday off and Saturday off from physical activity and came back Sunday evening. We had four days where we didn't do anything--one day we lifted--and I'm also cutting back with what we're doing as far as length of practice time."

Do you feel like the impromptu bye came at a better time than your scheduled bye on the first Saturday of November?

"Yeah, It always seems like I've generally had them the third and fourth week of the season, so you just have to be smart with how you practice. I've learned my lesson over the last few decades. You just have to be smart with how you're doing things and watching the guys and being able to gauge the temperature of the team."

Zach Harris has really come on (13 tackles in the last two games). What do you like about him?

"He runs well. He's very active. The thing with him, we've got to get him as consistent as we can tackling, because when he does, he's a really good tackler. He had a huge tackler in the UMass game on the last series. It was third-and-10, and (the quarterback scrambled) and he made a tackle that made it fourth-and-5. It was a big open-field tackle, and it was good because the series before he missed one."'

How much does it help to have his athleticism at linebacker?

"Sooner or later, you have to play in space. You can get a way with maybe not having great movement on the interior of the offensive and defensive line, but obviously the guys that have great movement are your better players in there as well. Tanzel (Smart)'s got incredible movement inside, but at linebacker, corner, safety, sooner or later you have to do something in space, wide receivers, running backs. We just need more guys that can do that stuff."

Smart made a huge play getting pressure on UMass's last snap, forcing a bad throw to a receiver who appeared open.

"He was wide open. He did a really great job of forcing the throw earlier than the guy wanted to throw it and he was off target by about four or five yards, but yeah, you're correct. We had a busted coverage, and he was wide open."

Houston lost. Everybody considered them the overwhelming favorite in the conference, so how much does that kind of reaffirm to the guys that the race is wide open going forward?

"Well, I showed them the conference standings last night at a team meeting. I wanted them to see where we're at. That's why you have to prepare. That's why you can't take anybody for granted. That's why every game has to be like the Super Bowl. Here we are after this week, we'll be halfway done with the season. It just goes in a hurry, so you have to have great attention to detail. The teams that have the most players that can do that, they are the ones that tend to keep winning."

What about the fact it was Navy that beat Houston when you guys had Navy on the ropes earlier in the season?

"Every game is different. Some people compare games and they played them this close. Every week is a little bit different, but they certainly have a great program at Navy and have won a lot of big games. They were able to match scores. It's a unique offense to defend, and they did a nice job."

Navy's QB Will Worth looked very good against your defense after struggling in his first two games. Was is not surprising that he hurt Houston?

"It's confidence. I'm sure he's playing more. These guys have heard me say it a hundred times--the real game is different than practice. He's getting some experience under his belt and starting to get better and better, and plus they know the plays. I'll have to watch tape to see if Houston defended them the same way as the year before. If you do that, they got you from the beginning of the game. They are good. They are very talented. I'm sure Houston is really hungry. They have a heck of a ball club."

Can you talk about giving William Townsend and John Washington snaps at tight end?

"Well, Willie's got some size and is very aggressive. He was in a long line at linebacker, so we moved him over there. He's a guy that will run into things hard, and that's a skill like anything else. There are only so many guys on your team that will do that, and he's got some athletic ability to catch the ball. John, with Charles (Jones) being out for a while, it gives you another guy for a big body there at the tight end position."

I also talked to Dontrell Hilliard and Smart after practice. Here's what they said:

HILLIARD

on getting impromptu bye

"It really helped us get everybody completely healthy and get everybody's energy back. It helped us, but at the same time we were ready to play. It kind of hurt us that we weren't able to go and play. Now we have to take the game plan we had (against UCF) and push it to the back."

On Houston losing giving everyone hope in AAC

"Every game is big. We try to just focus everything on one game at a time. When it's time to play, it's time to play. There's nothing you can really do about it. At the same time we are excited that Houston lost. It still puts us in a better situation and a better opportunity, so we just have to take advantage of it."

On importance of beating UMass

"It was good. It brought a lot of confidence to us that we got a big win on the road. It let everybody know that we can play, and all of the backs stepped up. We fought through adversity. That was the big key. Once we're down, we can't give up. That was a big thing."

SMART

On his huge pressure on UMass final snap:

"Coach always harps on going hard every play, and that was the last play of the game (for UMass's offense) and I just kept fighting. The O-lineman was in front of the quarterback, and the Lord just blessed me with that push. That's what you need. You don't have to made a sack every play as long as you are causing havoc. That's what happened."

On strangeness of practicing for UCF three times and not getting to play game:

"It was strange. I was ready to play and I was looking at all the formations and getting ready in my mind, and he hit us at the team meeting that we weren't going to play. We were banged up just a little bit, so the off week really did us justice. Now we're coming out ready for Memphis."

What did with off weekend:

"I went out and worked out and then just took the weekend off and just chilled a little bit. It's hard to tell whether this will be good or not because now we have a seven-week stretch (of games), so we are really going to have to fight and face some adversity and suck it up."

On positioning in AAC:

"We're still at the bottom. Anybody can beat anybody in our conference. Every game will be a tough game fighting down to the wire, and we're just going to have to play."

I did not have a tape recorder and my cell phone ran out of juice about a minute before the workout ended, but I was there for the last 35 minutes of practice tonight for a workout that usually is closed to reporters but was opened up because Sunday equates to a normal Monday on the schedule with the Memphis game coming up Friday.

Tight end Charles Jones, who suffered a leg injury against UMass, has been ruled out of the Memphis game and could miss an extended period of time. In his absence, two players are getting reps at tight end for the first time--converted defensive tackle John Washington, who moved to the offensive line last week, and William Townsend, a linebacker who has played sparingly in his career.

Willie Fritz said Washington, who is back to wearing the No. 93 he had as a DT, was being double-trained at guard and tight end. The first-team tight end now is Kendall Ardoin, with Marshall Wadleigh backing him up.

Coming off an unusual week in which it practiced three times in preparation for UCF before the game was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew, Tulane has shifted gears to Memphis. Fritz said the players lifted weights on Thursday but took Friday and Saturday off entirely to get refreshed mentally and physically in what will be the only bye week of the year with the UCF game being rescheduled for Nov. 5, the original open date.

"I know we will try to grow from the experience," quarterback Glen Cuiellette said. "We have a big game Friday. It's going to be fun."

Cuiellette, coming of back-to-back solid passing games against ULL (at least late) and UMass, praised freshman receiver Darnell Mooney. Although the numbers indicate Terren Encalade is Tulane's only reliable pass catcher, that is not the case in Cuiellette's view.

"He (Mooney) is very natural," Cuiellette said. "Everybody is going to say he is small, but he's a tough kid. He doesn't play small. I trust him as much as Encalade."

Fritz heaped praise on Mooney, too.

"He's tough," Fritz said. "He's football smart. He loves the game. He practices extremely hard and he has good athletic ability."

Fritz added that the off weekend came at a good time because Tulane is banged up. He prefers an early bye week to one in November, as it was originally scheduled, so the Wave could benefit from the postponement.

Memphis is 4-1, starting 3-0 against pitiful opposition (Southeast Missouri, Kansas, Bowling Green) before competing with Ole Miss better than Georgia did in a 48-28 loss and beating Temple 34-27 in a game in which it was outgained 531-323 but scored touchdowns on an interception return, a kickoff return and a 71-yard run, all in the second half. To this point, new coach Mike Norvell has done a good job of maintaing what former coach Justin Fuente started even though quarterback Paxton Lynch left for the NFL. Lynch's replacement, Riley Ferguson, rarely runs, having a long gain of 9 and minus-52 yards rushing for the year. He has completed 66.3 percent of his throws with 11 touchdowns, and the Tigers' top five ball-carriers all average at least 6.7 yards a pop.

Memphis is an 11-point favorite in the early line.

Good week for paliii, bouncing back from a rough week 4. With everyone but one person picking Tulane the scores were bunched together. Hardly anyone liked either Oklahoma team in their match-ups with Texas teams, and both of them won outright.

Week 5 results

7

paliii

6

Guerry
Harahan Wave
Charlamange8
kettrade1

5

LSU Law Greenie
highwave
diverdo
Golfer81
winwave
Wavetime
MNAlum

4

ny oscar
DrBox

3

Mono41
Gretna Green
WaveON
Rcnut
jjstock2005


OVERALL STANDINGS

26.5

Kettrade1

25.5

MNAlum

23.5

diverdo

22.5

WaveOn
Gretna Green
DrBox
LSU Law Greenie

21.5

winwave
highwave
Harahan Wave (missed 1 week)
Charlamange8

20.5

Rcnut
Guerry

19.5

ny oscar (missed 1 week)

18.5

Golfer81
Wavetime
Mono41
paliii (missed 1 week)

17.5

jjstock2005 (missed 1 week)

GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

Tulane over UMass 18 of 19
Wisconsin over Michigan 10 of 19
Clemson over Louisville 6 of 19
Oklahoma over TCU 5 of 19
Oklahoma State over Texas 4 of 19
LSU over Missouri 10 of 19
Georgia over Tennessee 7 of 19
Ole Miss over Memphis 11 of 19

We are now less than four months from football signing day, 2017. Donn Landholm, Tulane’s Director of Player Development, told the Gridiron club recently that he expects to sign 25 kids and that we have 15-16 commits to this point. The latter was a bit of a surprise to me since most accounts report we have 18 commitments. That might suggest that 2-3 of our “commits” are considered “soft.” Who knows?

Anyway, by my count, and looking at a number of sources, Tulane has offered (or at one point offered) 354 players for the 2017 class. Even if that’s off by a lot, that’s a HUGE number. 334 of these are from the states of Louisiana (74), Texas (81), Georgia (81), Alabama (42), Florida (40), and Mississippi (16). The remaining 20 are scattered among several other states. So we’re concentrating heavily on the Deep South from Florida to Texas. Of our 354 offers, 209 have received (at some point) offers from P5 schools, including three of our commitments. When, if, and how current these offers might be is only as good as the source of information—generally recruiting services or twitters from the players. That’s to say, not all that good. It’s possible we’ve offered more or less but the errors in this kind of thing tend to cancel each other out. Again, hard to guess.

To date, best I can tell, over half (186) of those we’ve offered have committed somewhere— the strength of those commitments is another issue. Tulane has 18 of them (maybe) and 123 have committed to P5 schools, while another 41 have committed to other G5 schools. Four have committed to Division 1-AA (FCS) schools.

From a ratings standpoint, 238 of our offerees (67 percent) have been awarded a 3-star or better from at least one of the four major recruiting services, including four of Tulane’s reported commits.

So, we are apparently going after a lot of players others want, and many people rate very highly. On the other hand, our commitments, in general, haven’t fit that profile. Of course, it’s still a long way to go and I, for one, have a great deal of faith in Coach Fritz and staff.

Roll Wave!!!

Has anyone been out to see the baseball team this fall or heard anything about what is going on? Are Witherspoon and Montalbano on their way to full recovery? Where do they stand injury-wise? Has anyone jumped to the fore at shortstop or catcher? After disappointing seasons, how do Jarret DeHart and Grant Brown look? We could sure use them. Have any of the new pitchers stuck out? Is anyone looking to take the #4 and #5 starter roles or closer role? How about the new “hitters?” Is anybody really impressing? Is Brandon Fraley living up to the “hype?” Lots of questions, I know, and most probably won’t be answered until February or even March. We’ve got a good core of “every day” players and three starting pitchers coming back but quite a few unknowns as well. How those are answered will probably determine how far this squad goes. Hope it’s a long way.

Roll Wave!!!

I finally have a chance to catch my breath after a whirlwind last few weeks now that the Tulane-UCF game has been postponed. That gives me a chance to head to my mother's house and watch the tape of UMass game, which I did not get on DirecTV at my house.

First, how awesome is it that the game was on TV at all. Nationally, there was almost no less relevant game than this one, but thankfully, it still aired. In the intro the studio host talked about Tulane CB Parry "Nicholson," but that's par for the course. The studio analyst, former Marshall running back Doug Chapman, picked Tulane to win. The play-by-play guy referred to "Dontell" Hilliard.

TULANE DRIVE 1

1-10-37: Hillard +2
2-8-39: Penalty false start Ardoin minus-5
2-13-34: Hilliard minus-1 (came in motion from wide left, took handoff, Chris Taylor missed block)
3-14-33: Hilliard draw +3
4-11-36: Lousy punt by Block +23

Analysis: Bad start. Fritz yelled at an assistant on the sideline after Ardoin's false start, and the draw call on third-and-14 made no sense. As we saw the rest of the way, Cuiellette can throw. Block then got off by far his worst punt of the year.

UMASS DRIVE 1

1-10-41: Reverse +23 (Marley too aggressive and runs too far inside, Aruna and Harris get caught inside, too)
1-10-36: C to TE uncovered +19 (not sure what Franklin was doing, but he vacated his area)
1-10-17: C to TE +5
2-4-11: C Isabella +11 TD (skinny post nice pass between Lewis and Teamer)

Analysis: UMass came out with more energy than Tulane. It's that simple. The plays were well-executed, starting with the end around to Isabella and finishing with the pass to him. Lewis had decent coverage but did not make the play. The Wave defensed nothing on the first four plays.

UMASS DRIVE 2

The concern about using Devin Glenn as a KR was his size, but I liked it. This time, he let the ball get ripped from his grasp, which can't ever happen, setting up UMass at the Tulane 11. He has to be stronger than that.

1-10-11: C Isabella on skinny post +11 TD (Lewis had coverage again and was a half-step behind again. It was another nice throw right before Teamer got there)

Analysis: I'm not going to kill the defense there. The big mistake was the turnover on the kickoff, and UMass made a nice play, trying to pick Lewis with a receiver running wide and executing it to perfection as he had to hesitate a split second.

TULANE DRIVE 2

1-10-25: INC, sideline pass for Chris Johnson broken up by CB jumping route.
2-10-25: Option right Hilliard +17 (perfect pitch by Cuiellette at key moment. Hilliard might have scored, but he stepped out of bounds turning the corner when he really should not have)
1-10-42: C Encalade out route + 15 (nice throw, although announcer pointed out there was a lot of air under his first two throws that could lead to INT. Never happened )
1-10-43: Keep up middle +4
2-6-39: Rounds +4 (incorrectly ID'd as Hilliard by announcer)
3-2-35: Rounds +1
4-1-34: Option left Rounds +4 (started on right, went in motion, stopped, took pitch, defender committed to Cuiellette. Really no blocking needed to get first down)
1-10-30: Cuielllete keep option right +11
1-10-19: Cuiellette designed run +9 (good block Taylor, Leglue stayed on his man, too)
2-1-10: Hilliard +10 TD (another nice block by Taylor, and really, the whole line)

Analysis: The first play would have been disastrous if Cuiellette had thrown it a hair later, but it turned into a harmless INC. From there, Tulane had an excellent drive, executing everything well. The fourth-down run by Rounds was pivotal because there was not much space. When, if ever, did CJ's teams answer like this after being punched in the mouth? Or Toledo's?

UMASS DRIVE 3

1-10-25: Isabella end around +16 (Franklin had position, just got beaten around corner)
1-10-41: C FB +8 (at this point, it looked like UMass could do whatever it wanted)
2-2-49: Run + 3
1-10-48 INC--Nickerson breaks up on 1st good play for Tulane D in game
2-10-48: C screen + 1 (Lewis diagnoses, misses tackle, but slows it down)
3-9-47: INC deep--caught out of bounds on Lewis, who had tight coverage

Analysis: Nickerson's play signaled the turnaround. Up until that point, the Tulane D appeared to be standing in quicksand.

TULANE DRIVE 3

1-10-10: C 5 +7 on quick out
2-3-17: Cuiellette option left minus-2 (no blocking)
3-5-15: C Mooney +11 (nice, sharp IS move by Mooney to get open)
1-10-26: C Mooney quick out +6
2-4-32: INC deep for Chris Johnson (play fake, but perfect coverage)
3-4-32: Cuiellette scramble +8 (2nd straight 3rd down conversion after 18 failures)
1-10-40: Thompson +15 (terrific run, eludes tackle at line, breaks another, good block at start by Taylor)
1-10-45: INC deep to Encalade on double move, not open
2-10-45: Rounds + 7 (misdirection with Dace going in motion other way, he runs left)
3-3-38: Rounds power run +3 (no hole, just good effort by Rounds, got good spot.
1-10-35: Hilliard direct snap +5
2-5-30: Draw to Thompson +4
3-1-26: Thompson middle stuffed minus-1 (Jacquet tried cut block and failed)
4-2-27: Hilliard +4 up middle (great block by Leglue)
1-10-23: PEN false start Santa Marina
1-15-28: Hilliard +3 middle
2-12-25: C Encalade out pattern breaks tackle to get first down +17
1-G-8: Hilliard +3
2-6-5: INC--overthrows Encalade after sweet move to get open in middle of EZ
3-G-5: INC --corner of EZ for Encalade, probably should have been caught, but low throw)
4-G-5: FG 22 yards GOOD

Analysis: After not converting any third downs against ULL, Tulane converted three in a row on a 20-play drive. Mooney is very polished for a freshman, converting the first one with a nice inside move to get open. Cuiellette didn't hesitate when he scrambled for the second one. Rounds got the third one on his own. Encalade is a big-time receiver. He gets open, he has good speed and he is not easy to tackle. Although the last two plays probably both should have gone for TDs, the Wave began wearing down the UMass defense with that long drive.

UMASS DRIVE 4

1-10-25: Another end around run +4 (nice tackle Teamer)
2-6-29: Draw huge hole +12 (Smart blocked, Marley gets out of position)
1-10-41: C middle + 10
1-10-49: INT --remarkable fortune, but also remarkable anticipation by Franklin to get deflection off Lewis' leg)

Analysis: Lewis had good coverage to make the breakup on a post route, and it's amazing how alert Franklin was. He appeared to anticipate what would happen and was in perfect position to corral the deflection. Outstanding play.

TULANE DRIVE 4

1-10-21: Cuiellette keep + 2
2-8-23: Rounds + 5 ( good push by oline, nice seal by Brown)
3-2-28: C Mooney out route +8 , again did not round out route, ran it sharply
1-10-36: Rounds + 2
2-8-38: INC overthrows Encalade deep, but PEN roughing +15
1-10-47: Cuiellette keep + 11 (suffers stinger on right shoulder when lands, Brantley in)
1-10-36: Option right, no pitch opportunity, Brantley popped, keeps going + 4
2-6-32: Brantley draw minus-2
3-8-34: INC--scramble, throws well out of bounds
4-8-34: Cuiellette quick kick +33

Analysis: The drive died when Cuiellette got hurt. UMass knew what was coming with Brantley, stuffing his draw and putting Tulane in third-and-long, and Brantley is not comfortable as a passer. That's all obvious stuff, but it's what happened.

UMASS DRIVE 5

1-10-1: Run +2
2-8-3: Run +5
3-3-8: run up middle, no hole, nice tackle behind line by Eric Bowie.

Analysis: Tulane's talented front came through as UMass tried to run out of the shadow of its end zone. Three-and-out.

TULANE DRIVE 5

1-10-44: Hilliard +4 middle
2-6-40: Hilliard middle +3
3-3-37: Hilliard +2
4-1-35: Brantley option left, tripped up minus-1

Analysis: It was a nice individual play by the UMass defender, who came in unblocked from the outside and got Brantley on the leg. Brantley should have pitched to Hilliard, who talked to him as they ran off the field, but it was a bang-bang play and he did not anticipate the guy knifing through to get him.

UMASS DRIVE 6

1-10-36: INC deep, not open, PEN Hold minus-10
1-20-26: INC, ball hit OG, should have been flagged for ineligible receiver
2-20-16: C Isabella +9 in front of Lewis (nothing wrong there)
3-11-25: INC, pass bounced to open Isabella short of sticks

Analysis: Tulane's coverage was solid after the slow start, and the holding penalty killed any chance for UMass to mount a drive.

--Tulane did little on its drive at the end of the half, with Encalade dropping a throw from Cuiellette, who returned, before Cuiellette threw behind him on the final play. Neither would have put the Wave in position to score.

Doug Chapman, in his opening comment at half, said Tulane was playing roulette and QB, apparently not aware Cuiellette had been hurt. Then he said Tulane needed to figure out what was going on at QB. Probably was watching other games during first half.

Here's the link from the front page.

https://tulane.rivals.com/news/tulane-ucf-football-game-postponed-to-nov-5

These are from yesterday. I caught up with running Josh Rounds, who has labored for five years at Tulane before finally getting a real chance to show how good he is. He has 33 carries for 189 yards, and his 5.4 average is the same as Dontrell Hilliard's. The injury to Sherman Badie opened up an opportunity for Rounds, and he has taken full advantage of it, getting double-digit carries for four consecutive games and a career-high 16 attempts against UMass.

Rounds went to high school at McMain, which is less than six blocks from Yulman Stadium. I actually attended McMain for middle school in a different era, so I've probably interviewed Rounds more often than any fifth-year senior who rarely had an impact. It's good to see this happening for him.

How exciting has this season been for you?

"It's very exciting being here my fifth year and averaging about 1 or 2 carries per game in the first four. It's nice to finally get back to being a running back and feeling like I'm part of the team actually."

What do you add when you're out there?

"I feel like I'm explosive and I have great patience. I'm just going to get you the hard yards, and I have the ability to break long ones also, so I feel like I'm a pretty balanced back."

Your breakout game was against Navy (11 carries, 75 yards, TD). Is that the difference between getting only a couple of carries and a much bigger workload?

"Yeah, it felt good to get a string of runs back-to-back to where I could get a feel for the defense and be able to get back to my old self and make those cuts that I was once making in high school, so it feels good to be out there."

Describe what happened on your touchdown Saturday.

"The O-line blocked great, so I just went through my reads that coach prepared me for and found the hole and just kept my feet moving."

Tulane ran for 280 yards against UMass and more than 200 against Navy and more than 300 against Southern, numbers you never saw in the CJ era. What's clicking for you guys?

"We have more of an emphasis on it under coach Fritz with the option run, so we're running the ball more and we're sticking to the plan. We're saying we're going to run the ball and that's what we're doing."

Nothing went right in the first four minutes against UMass, but there was no panic and you came back and won fairly comfortably. How different is the mindset under this staff?

"Right, we're playing with a lot more confidence. Coach Fritz does a great job of just building us up rather than putting us down. He's constantly encouraging whether it's a good play or a bad play, and that's good to hear that from your head coach. You feel confident getting on that field."

CJ talked a lot last year about how fragile the confidence was of his players. Did that affect guys a little bit?

"Yeah, it could break your spirit when you have a coach constantly on your back, but this year it's a lot different. If we have a lot of injuries, for instance, rather than saying we're making a bad thing, it's next man up and your opportunity to shine, so everybody is embracing that and looking forward to getting on the field and trying to make a play and help us win."

You're 3-2 with a real chance to do something this year. How exciting is that?

"It's very exciting for me personally with it being my last year and me not knowing what the future holds for me as far as football, so I'm trying to make the best out of every opportunity in this situation and am just going to enjoy it."

There was a real chance you would never get a chance to show what you could do on the field. How scary was that for you?

"Right, if I wouldn't have redshirted my junior year, last year could have been it for me, but luckily God worked things out for to where I was able to get a fifth year and come back and work on my master's degree and then get an opportunity to still play and be able to leave college with some sort of stats or some sort of memories of me actually being on the field rather than just being in the locker room and on the sideline, so it's very exciting. I'm grateful for that."

When did you really know things were going to be different this year? Coaches have talked you up in the past and then not used you much.

"I knew I was an equal when I got 10 carries the first time (against Southern, when he had 11 attempts for 62 yards after getting the ball only once against Wake Forest). I was like, OK, they are going to give me the ball and put me in the rotation. I felt like an equal when I started getting on the field."

Troy Dannen talked after Willie Fritz at the luncheon today. Here's what he said:

"I've been in touch with their athletic director, Danny White, who most of you know grew up in New Orleans. His dad was the athletic director here (Kevin White), so he understands the logistics of where we're at as well. I would guess early tomorrow afternoon a decision will be made, and that decision is totally in the hands of Central Florida. They'll decide what the conditions are. They're assessing them and keeping us filled in. I think Danny and I have talked four times in the last 18 hours. From our standpoint, we're worried about making sure our travel party is not in harm's way in any way, shape or form in the ability to get in and get out. There are obviously contingency plans we're preparing, one of which is playing on Saturday and the other of which is November 5th, which is a shared bye week for the two institutions, so that date there uncomplicates any potential rescheduling significantly."

How does that affect television (the game is supposed to be on ESPNU Friday)? Is there an expense incurred or anything that would really harm Tulane?

"Any expenses incurred, there is insurance that the conference holds, and any additional expense on our institution would be covered by that insurance. The same thing for Central Florida. Frankly, I don't know what it would be. On the list of priorities, one is everybody who's in harm's way, two is the football game and three is television."

If the game is changed, have you talked about coach Fritz about Saturday or Nov. 5 or is it strictly a UCF decision?

"We're communicating with them what our logistics are, whether we can get in and get out depending on the magnitude of the storm and when, what is our hotel situation and everything else. So we're communicating what our hurdles are for Saturday, but really the league is involved as well as UCF, but if UCF decides there's no way because of the support and commitment type of services after the storm that will be there the next day, if they decide it's impossible, then we'll fall back (to Nov. 5). If they decide it is possible, then we've got to make sure the logistics work for us in getting in and out. We have no intention of having our team or our travel parties in Orlando endure a hurricane, so we will not travel and be in that position."

if it is moved to Saturday, do you know anything about the field conditions and how it can handle all of the rain?

"I don't know anything about that."

It's up to UCF, but is there a target time where you feel like the decision will have to be made?

"We're kind of zeroing in on early afternoon tomorrow unless something extraordinary happens in the interim. The track right now is a lot different than it was 24 hours ago, when we weren't too concerned, so things could change just as much by this time tomorrow and be a greater concern or lower our concerns."

Do you feel more like a New Orleanian now that you are dealing with a hurricane situation even thought it's not here?

"I knew before I ever got here that I did not want to deal with a hurricane whether it was related to us or whether we were traveling into one, but it's the nature of the job. You wake up in the morning and you have no idea how your day is going to go. Yesterday the hurricane wasn't on the radar screen, so I don't feel any more like a New Orleanian because I've never suffered through one and a lot of people here have suffered through one. We just want to make sure everybody is in a position to be as safe as possible both here and there."

When a decision is made, will you let us know by tweeting it?

"Oh, I'm sure I'll tweet it because that's what I'm prone to do, but my guess is there will be a joint announcement of the two institutions later this afternoon with an update of the exact timing, and then as soon as we have something, it's in all our interests to get it distributed as quickly as possible."

Is it too early to pat yourself on the back for hiring Willie Fritz?

"Well, I've been patting Willie on the back. He's been a tremendous influence on the entire department. It's not just the response you've seen out of the 85, 95 football players. The entire department is elevated because of his leadership of the football program. I'm very proud of him for what's happened so far with this team."

Do you have any idea what time the game would be on Saturday?

"Nope, none. No idea. I will say this. I will advocate that I want it as early as possible because we have a short week (before a home game against Memphis the following Friday), so it's not in our interest to play at night on Saturday. That said, depending on logistics, it is about when the field would be ready and frankly where we stay on Friday when we go in."

Did you discuss having the game played here?

"No. South Carolina and LSU had a similar situation a year ago, but having a mutual bye week, which is a really rare thing, doesn't force (drastic decisions). In order for the game to be played we don't have to move it."

Guerry, please let us know if you hear anything on the game being postponed. Thanks!

I was correct in The Advocate in my notebook after the game when I wrote the 14-point deficit overcome was Tulane's largest comeback this century, but it actually was tied with the Hawaii Bowl comeback against Hawaii in 2002, when Tulane also trailed 14-0 before rallying to win 36-28.

The last time Tulane rallied from more than 14 down to win? I can't find one, but I'm pretty sure it has not happened since at least the 1980s.

I also was right in listing the UTEP game in 2009 as the most recent biggest one before this one. Tulane trailed 10-0 before winning in OT. Tulane's website says it was the game in the same year against Army, but that comeback from a 10-0 deficit occurred earlier in the season than the UTEP game.

The takeaway: Willie Fritz has needed only five games to start erasing some embarrassing history. It's amazing Tulane has not had a big comeback in more than 25 years.

http://maroonandwhitenation.com/2016/09/26/msu-armchair-qb-boston-strong-edition/

Lots of positives to take away from this regarding our upcoming game in Amherst.

The scoreline in their performances against two SEC teams credits UMass and suggests they'll be a tough opponent, but I think those outcomes flatter to deceive. I think there are underlying signs that show that we'll win comfortably.

Without getting super deep into analysis here, I think that we're facing a team we should be able to run the ball against comfortably. And if the end of the ULL game is an indication of us turning a corner with our passing game, that really bodes well for us next weekend and going forward. Let's hope so.

Defensively I think few teams in the nation are going to be drastically better than we are. The article touches on how UMass managed to score 35 and I seriously doubt that we allow that many explosive plays. ULL had a terrific offense and Jennings might be the best QB we face all year who isn't named Greg Ward, Jr. They looked scary good, at times, on Saturday. UMass won't present nearly the same challenge, and UMass is prone to turnovers.

UMass has erratic special teams play as well. I like us to win by more than 10 this coming weekend. Just my opinion.

According to the official site, Larry Dace, Rae Juan Marbley, and Devon Williams did not play Saturday. Are they injured? Also of note, the site claims Myles Strickland played against Navy (4th game), which would take the redshirt off of him. Is that true? I saw him dressed out on the sidelines at the Massachusetts game but don’t think he saw the field. I also noticed William Townsend in full uniform and according to the site, he also played for the first time in a couple of years. Good news if he is healthy. And a question about Tyler Johnson. He definitely played against Navy, but hasn’t played before or since. Is he hurt? Sad to lose his redshirt for a few plays in the third game of the season. If he’s injured (which I don’t wish on anyone), he might be eligible for a medical redshirt. Does anyone have any information on any of these guys? Anyway, I hope everyone is healthy.

Roll Wave!!!

As always, the Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first and the spreads are from VegasInsider.com consensus:

UMass (+2.5) Tulane
Michigan (-10.5) Wisconsin
Clemson (+2) Louisville
TCU (+3.5) Oklahoma
Oklahoma State (-2.5) Texas
LSU (-13) Missouri
Georgia (+3.5) Tennessee
Ole Miss (-14.5) Memphis

Over the last 15 years, since 1998, Tulane has a 5-10 record playing the 5th game of the season. On 10 occasions, like this year, we entered the game with a 2-2 record. We only won two of those, in 2000 and 2013. Too frequently the game altered the direction of the season in the wrong direction. That needs to change. Big game tomorrow.

Roll Wave!!!

I could not find someone to do an Engaging the Enemy piece, which is something I really wanted since we don't know a whole lot about UMass.

Here are some points about Tulane and Massachusetts.

1) Tulane's front seven needs to take control of the game.

Tanzel Smart will be the best player on the field tomorrow, and Nico Marley probably will be the second best, but they have been getting a lot of help. Tulane has nine defensive linemen with tackles for loss--an incredibly high total--although one of them, John Washington, has been moved to offensive guard. The ends in particular have performed better than I anticipated, with Ade Aruna maturing, Robert Kennedy playing well until he got hurt and Quinlan Carroll and Peter Woullard both having good moments in their first significant playing time. That doesn't even include Daren Williams, who has been battling nagging injuries. That group is capable of shutting down UMass's "pro style" offense if it has its A game. A quick aside: it amuses me that the term "pro style" is used for offenses like Bob Toledo's and Stanford's simply because they use a fullback and tight end and have the quarterback under center. Has anyone watched the NFL lately? It's a pass-happy league with very little running, yet almost all of the so-called pro style offenses in college run more than they throw and look absolutely nothing like anything an NFL team does except maybe for the base formation. Only two NFL teams have more rushing attempts than passing attempts--Dallas and New England--and that will change when Tom Brady comes back for the Patriots and would change if Tony Romo returned for the Cowboys. Just sayin'.

UMass, though, is more balanced than I expected and has become pretty pass heavy the last two weeks with sophomore quarterback Andrew Ford taking over. Ford threw 42 times against FIU and 41 times against Mississippi State, so this might actually be the incredibly rare college offense that resembles an NFL offense. A tight end leads the team with 21 catches, which is unusual even in the NFL these days. Former NFL QB coach Mark Whipple is the head coach and calls the plays, and Tulane will see nothing resembling this offense before or after this game. The good news for the Wave is Ford has thrown four picks in his two starts. If Smart and company can pressure Ford into hurried throws, the secondary should have some opportunities for turnovers.

2) Everything Fritz has preached about turnover differential has come true

This was one area where I was skeptical because Tulane actually was on the plus-side of the turnover in the last three of CJ's tenure and Fritz' turnover differential was good but not great at Georgia Southern (27-21 in 2015, 20-11 in 2014). Here's a story I wrote last August for The Advocate on Lionel Washington's turnover success:

http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orle...cle_c50b2e43-46a9-5a68-8588-10227e7ce50e.html

But clearly the constant harping by Fritz and his staff has paid off. Tulane has forced 10 turnovers through four games and allowed only three, including winning the turnover battle 2-0 against a Navy team that almost wins in that department (The Midshipmen had 1 turnover combined in their other two games). The offensive players talk about ball security in just about every interview. Although turnovers can be a function of luck sometimes, the defense has recovered all six fumbles it forced. That's impressive and an indication of ball awareness.

3) Don't file Johnathan Brantley.

Brantley deserved to be benched because of his passing issues and indecisiveness at times, but as we all know, he runs the option better than Cuiellette. At the end of Wednesday's practice, Cuiellette was visibly angry at himself for a shaky pitch that caused the pitch man to stop.

"It takes time with me because that's something new," he said. "I just have to get exposed to it more and more. It's not as easy as I thought it was, but it will come in time. I just need to get reps."

His receivers were wide open down the stretch of the ULL game, but Cuiellette also was right on the money with almost all of his throws. It will be interesting to see if he can duplicate that accuracy on the road against UMass. The reason he is in there is his passing, so he needs to throw well to remain the starter Neither he nor I expect Tulane to get away from the run-first philosophy Fritz espouses--the passes are there when opponents cheat up to stop the run--so he has to hit those.

"Obviously coach is not going to stray away from his philosophy," Cuiellette said. "So whatever he wants to do, whether it's running or throwing, it doesn't matter to me. I just want to win, but from what I've seen, we're going to try to implement it (passing) a little more, but for the most part I wouldn't be surprised if we keep doing what we're doing and just add little wrinkles here and there."

I actually have thought Cuiellette should be the starter all along, though I was not wedded to that belief, because I don't believe you can beat decent teams with a one-dimensional offense. I'm not surprised Brantley has struggled in the air because even though his throwing motion is good and his arm is strong enough, the passing game was about the worst I've ever seen anywhere in training camp--worse than any day under CJ when Tanner Lee or Nick Montana were healthy. I'm not backing off that assertion. Plus even great true freshman passers struggle in their first year, particularly when they don't go through spring ball.

The three most accomplished quarterbacks in Tulane history—Roch Hontas, Terrence Jones and Shaun King --put up pitiful numbers in their first seasons. Hontas went 61 of 114 for 697 yards with two touchdowns and nine interceptions in 1976. Jones completed 57 of 110 for 704 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Three years before King led to the Wave to 12-0 record in 1998 while breaking the NCAA single-season record for passing efficiency, he defined inefficiency, going 92 of 199 for 1,046 yards with two touchdown and seven interceptions as a true freshman.

But Brantley definitely can have a role as a change-of-pace option guy as long as the plays aren't too predictable when he comes in. When he is comfortable, he is electric when he puts his foot in the ground and takes off.

4) Fritz is kicking himself for not moving John Washington to offensive guard in the preseason or at least a few weeks ago.

"I think this good be a tremendous move for him," Fritz said. "He's got really good feet. He's got excellent strength, and he's smart. We've got a lot of depth (on the defensive line). I wish I would have been smart enough to do this back in the spring or preseason camp. Heck, he might be pushing for a starting job right now, but hindsight's 20-20."

This tells me the coaches are not comfortable with the guard play. The backups have next to no experience. Chris Taylor has been up and down this year as he he has for most of his career, and Leeward Brown is young. Neither one of them have great bodies, either. It will be interesting to see how Tulane blocks UMass up the middle and if the loss of Junior Diaz will hurt. Certainly the blocking was not good against ULL, but I did not get a chance to watch the video to see where the issues were.

5) I do not anticipate an easy game tomorrow, but if Tulane is consistent for four quarters, it should win. UMass has really struggled in the second half, getting outscored 14-0 by Florida and 13-0 by Boston College. Mississippi State outscored the Minutemen 28-7 in the third quarter. As long as the Wave gets ahead in the first half or at least hangs around, I like its chances. The concern is if, coming off a dramatic four-overtime victory, the Wave comes out flat. It happens even to well-coached teams at times--just check out the score and stats from Georgia Southern's regular-season finale against Georgia State last year for proof.

The keys are the front seven getting consistent pressure and the secondary not letting guys get behind them, which has happened too frequently this year even though Tulane has not given up many big plays. The two teams' track record indicates Tulane will make fewer mistakes, so as long as it controls the line of scrimmage defensively, that's a formula for victory. It would be only the fourth time this century the Wave had a winning record after five games and would go a long way toward disproving the critics who predicted an abysmal first year for Fritz.

Willie Fritz tweeted it last night but I was having Internet issues and could not figure out who it was.

It is another offensive lineman--Luke McCleery of Faith Christian in Grapevine, Texas. That makes five offensive linemen in a commitment class of 18.

McCleery was in the Rivals database but does not have any stars, although he probably will be upgraded to 2 stars like all of the other commitments that originally had no stars. I'm not sure if he had any other offers. Hopefully I will be able to reach him tomorrow when I finally get my life back after a week of double duty on Tulane and the Pelicans.

Category

Tulane

UMass

Strength of Schedule

101 - Tulane

102-umass

Offensive Rankings

Provided by ESPN.com



Total Yds Per Game

119th- Tulane

125th-umass

Rush Yds Per Game

24th- Tulane

126th-umass

Pass Yds Per Game

127th- Tulane

87th-umass

Pts Per Game

62nd- Tulane

121st-umass

Defensive Rankings





Yds/Game

20th- Tulane

81st-umass

Pass Yds/Game

18th- Tulane

70th-umass

Rush Yds/Game

50th- Tulane

82nd-umass

Pts Per Game

41st- Tulane

72nd-umass

Recruiting Rankings last 5 yrs

Provided by 247sports



2016

80- Tulane

92-umass

2015

93- Tulane

104-umass

2014

91- Tulane

116-umass

2013

83- Tulane

99-umass

2012

83- Tulane

137-umass

Avg Ranking

86.75- Tulane

102.75-umass




When I look at these numbers, and I see Tulane has the better scoring offense, scoring defense and a recruiting

Ranking that’s over 10 positions higher than the opponent….better offense, defense and better players, oh and a +7 turnover margin, we should win this game.

As Fritz said Sunday night on his coach's show, Diaz had surgery for a broken ankle and is done for the year.

Meanwhile, Devon Breaux was not in pads today. He is dealing with a hand injury, and Willie Fritz labeled him "wait and see" for the UMass game. Fritz is more optimistic about DE Robert Kennedy, who ha missed the last two games with an ankle injury. He said he expected him to play.

If anyone has a strong feeling that a post should be removed or a warning sent about name-calling, you can email me at guerrysmith@gmail.com.

Complaints, criticism and compliments that you want to keep private are welcome, too.



This post was edited on 4/5 11:00 PM by Guerry Smith