I have already mentioned how the Tulane-Rice game was close only because of one play--the 72-yard interception return for Rice that would have been a Tulane touchdown if Michael Pratt had made the right read--but there was a second potentially critical play, too. On to the report. This time I will go chronologically rather than first offense and then defense.
1) Rice Series 1
The Tulane defense started the second half just as it had the first half with two good plays. Good pressure on first down led to an incomplete pass, and Jesus Machado made a sure tackle on an underneath route on third down to create a third-and-5. A stop there, and Tulane was probably off to a rout. Instead, when cornerback Jarius Monroe came up to tackler receiver Boden Groen 3 yards shy of the first down, he slipped slightly after wrapping up his leg and Groen did what Makhi Hughes does all the time and Yulkeith Brown did in the fourth quarter, making a tremendous effort to stretch and fall forward for a first down. Rice coach Mike Bloomgren is pretty conservative, so if it had been fourth-and-3, he probably would have punted. If it had been fourth-and-less-than-2, Rice would have gone for it but might have been stuffed.
Instead, with new life, Rice went down the field for a touchdown. Using an unusual three-back alignment on a third-and-1, they had a guy dive over the top like it was the goal line for another first down. Using the same alignment on the next third-and-1, they ran wide and Machado missed what was a tough tackle attempt in what turned into an 11-yard gain. On the only real bad play by the defense on that drive, Tyler Grubbs and Bailey Despanie missed tackles they should have made on a 21-yard run to the 3. setting up a second-effort TD run when the carrier stuck the ball over the goal line before being knocked back.
2) Tulane series 1
--Lawrence Keys did not have a big day, but he was open on a square in for 18 yards to kickstart the drive. Pratt then had a great scramble on third-and-8 when he jumped over a defender's tackle (that move has not typically worked for him) to get the first down. On the next play, though, he made his big error. Dontae Fleming ran behind everyone on a post pattern, but Fleming has only four catches this season and Pratt locked in on Keys's curl route, never seeing the safety who doubled him perfectly. Usually a bad read results in an incomplete pass and second-and-10. This time it turned into a 72-yard interception return to the Tulane 3, with Shaadie Clayton-Johnson making an excellent effort to keep it from being a pick six. My guess is if it had been Jha'Quan Jackson running that post, Pratt would have throw it to him, but that's just speculation. Keys, though, was never open on his route. It was just a poor decision, which happens. Pratt played very well overall.
3) Rice Series 2
Tulane's defense did its best to get out of a very difficult situation. Devean Deal broke through to tackle a runner for a 1-yard loss on first-and-goal, and D.J. Douglas has almost perfect coverage on a receiver running to the sideline in the end zone on second down, but J.T. Daniels made a beautiful throw to the diving receiver for an almost indefensible touchdown. That's why Daniels was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. He has not lived up to that billing for the most part, but he did on that throw. Suddenly, Tulane led only 27-21.
4) Tulane series 2
For the first time all game, Rice forced a punt. Pratt could not find anyone open on second down and took a coverage sack, which was the Owls' first tackle for a loss in the game. Rashad Green did get pushed back close to Pratt, disrupting the play a bit, but he was not beaten. Trey Tuggle's man got the sack, but the ball would have been out before then if anyone had been open. Pratt checked to Hughes in the flat on third down, and Hughes came up 2 yards shy of the 14 he needed with another outstanding individual effort. Will Karoll's punt was a low line drive, but Shi'Keem Laister was down there fast anyway and snapper Ethan Hudak made the tackle after only a 5-yard return. That's another example of how good Tulane's special teams are.
5) Rice series 3
Unlike in the North Texas game, when Tulane's defense was helpless in the second half, these guys came up with a three-and-out stop when they needed it. Rice gained 8 yards on first down and went back to its three-back power formation, but Tyler Grubbs stuffed the run for a 1-yard loss. Lance Robinson then had picture-perfect execution on third down, slapping a ball to the ground on a slant and not going through the back of a receiver. The Saints, who get called for a ton of defensive holding, illegal contact and interference penalties, could learn from watching Robinson's technique on that play.
6) Tulane series 3
Pratt started the next possession by throwing behind Chris Brazzell. Even though Pratt is third in the nation in pass efficiency rating, he has room for improvement and likely will make it as he becomes more comfortable on his knee. Green and tight end Chris Carter had good blocks to spring Hughes for a 12-yard run, Brown showed his speed again on a jet sweep shovel pass to pick up a first down (he is a weapon on that play) before Pratt took another coverage sack. I didn't see anyone at fault on the offensive line. Pratt just held on to the ball too long. On the next play, Clayton-Johnson was not as effective picking up a blitz as he was in the first half, but Pratt made a great improvisational throw to Alex Bauman after being hit, averting a third-and-forever as Bauman gained 3 yards. Pratt then picked up 6 yards on a designed run to put Valentino Ambrosio in his comfort range--a conservative call and the right call in that situation--and Ambrosio made a 43-yard easily to give Tulane a 9-point cushion.
7) Rice series 4
This was the one and only really bad series for the defense, in my opinion. Cam Pedescleaux in particular had a rough time, messing up his angle on a short pass to Luke McCaffrey that turned into a 16-yard gain--Rice's longest completion to that point--to start the drive. Robinson had soft coverage on an out route, and finally, Rice got McCaffrey lined up in the slot against Pedescleaux. That's not a good matchup for Tulane, and I noticed it live before the snap. Pedescleaux compounded matters by not being ready at the snap, looking at the quarterback, and he slipped as McCaffrey scooted by him. I believe Despanie should have picked up McCaffrey, and it looked like Pedescleaux was expecting help, but Despanie double-covered the receiver lined up wide right. Daniels did not make the same mistake Pratt made, hitting McCaffree for a touchdown. Pedescleaux recovered enough to grab McCaffrey's face mask after the catch, resulting in a penalty assessed on the kickoff. Fritz refuses to throw anyone under the bus, but he did say Tulane was not aligned properly.
8) Tulane series 4
Tulane needed a long drive desperately while protecting its 2-point lead, and that's exactly what it got. Rice made a bonehead decision to squib kick from the 50, and Bryce Bohnanon grabbed it at the 14 and got to the 32. The drive started with 8:10 left. After two Hughes runs netted 7 yards, Pratt threw a strike to Brazzell for 24 yards on a look-in. Excellent execution there to convert third down No. 1. After Pratt fell forward for about 3 extra yards to create a manageable third down No. 2, Yulkeith Brown made an outstanding play, catching a quick screen with 4 yards to go and slithering through two defenders to pick up 5 yards. He credited a block by Cam Wire, but he did a lot of it himself. After a false start by Wire created a second-and-9 at the Rice 25, Pratt threw to Bauman for a first down. Bauman has become the factor in the passing game I thought he would be at the beginning of the year, which is huge. Hughes gained 6 yards out of the wild cat formation to the 9, and after two more runs left Tulane a yard shy of the first down, Pratt lined up in the shotgun with no one in the backfield at first. Hughes, who was in the slot, went in motion and served as the lead blocker as Pratt followed him, picking up the first down without much space. That effectively ended the game, but I would have preferred to see Tulane go ahead and score a touchdown to make it 37-28 since I had predicted a final of 38-28. Instead, Fritz took no chances, having Pratt take three straight knees.
I have heard some griping, including from Fritz, that the clock operator did a poor job on those plays, but I don't agree. Pratt delayed taking a knee on those plays, but not for more than 2 seconds, which is how much time ran off. Pratt did an excellent job on fourth down of throwing a sky ball out of bounds because the clock does not stop until the ball lands regardless of how far out of bounds it is. Rice was left with 4 seconds and the hopeless situation of being at its 14-yard line, and Deal absolutely blew up McCaffrey after he took a hook and lateral to save us the multiple lateral finale we often see.
Game over. Tulane held Rice to is second-lowest offensive output of the year, although that comes with a caveat that the Owls had only 48 snaps and averaged 5.6 yards, more than Tulane's season average defensively of 5.2.
Tulane needs to tighten up its coverage on underneath routes and get more consistent pressure on quarterbacks, but I don't see the huge pass defense weakness others see. Jarius Monroe and Lance Robinson are a very good cornerback tandem. DJ Douglas have been better than I ever imagined at one safety spot. Pedescleau is a solid nickel even if he had a tough possession. Despanie has dropped off a bit, and the linebackers are not great in coverage, but all teams have areas they need to improve. The quarterbacks Tualne will face in the next two weeks are not as good as the first four.
