It's Corey Platt, a 2-star LB out of Arkansas whom 247 Sports rates 3 stars. Rivals has him as a LB. 247 Sports has him as a running back. He was committed to Arkansas State until the end of October.

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I also need to catch up with the 16th commitment, TJ Huggins, the 3-star WR from Miami who committed last month. Once the Tulsa game passes, I should have a lot more time.

I have been behind all week and did not make it to practice today, but here is what Fritz said in his Zoom call plus some quotes from earlier this week.

FRITZ

"We always talk about the final 48 hours. Usually we have a few more hours than that and as many as 60 if we're playing a night game, but this one we're pretty close to a final 48. I just tell the guys to really lock in over the next two days, try to get rid of any distractions they might have and make sure they are eating the proper food that's going to fuel them to play the best they can, hydrate so that's not an issue. It's going to be close to 80 degrees on Saturday, so that's a little warmer than normal in mid-November. Study your playbook a little bit more, take care of tickets, all those things that happen. People all of a sudden start calling you the closer you're getting to the game and you're maybe not locked in on what you should be locked in on. Good workout today. We probably did a little bit more against the triple option on Monday than we normally do against the triple option, but I think we've had a good week and we need another good day of preparation tomorrow."

On Tim Shafter's performance in first career start at right guard against ECU?

"He did a nice job. He really did. He's one of those guys who came in and just worked extremely hard and loved being on the team but every day was trying to get a little bit better, and he went from a guy that, hey, this is a really good walk-on to this guy might be able to play for us some day to hey, this guy might start. We got a few guys banged up and he jumped in there. When you're prepared, it's easy to take advantage of a situation that occurs that is going to help you out. Some guys all of a sudden they throw you in a game, they weren't prepared and it's a disaster. He was completely and totally prepared. It didn't catch him off guard. Every game he's been involved in since he's been here, he's prepared like he was going to start. I'm really happy for Tim."

On how Shafter ended up at Tulane:

"He's a preferred walk-on, but if you ask the coaches, whenever anybody does well, everybody was responsible for it. Whenever a. guy doesn't do well, I was the guy who made the decision, so I've got two or three coaches who have taken credit for him. I'll let those guys fight it out later."

On Remetich status recovering from mono:

"He's getting much closer. I'm really proud of Josh. That was a significant illness that he endured. Heck, he tried to play in the Houston game and just couldn't, and it took him three or four weeks to get over this, but he's stayed involved and he's working. He's going to play a little bit on Saturday and then I think he's going to be full go. He lost quite a bit of weight. He's put a lot of it back on, but he's really handled this with a lot of class. It's a tough deal. A lot of guys would we woe is me and all that kind of stuff, so I'm really proud of Josh."

On Army's QB situation:

"Well, they are not going to tell us. You know, they've got some guys that are doing a good job. That's kind of what you do. If guys are doing a nice job, you keep rotating them. If one guy is clearly the dude, you play him more. It's not a bad thing when you rotate guys. That's a good thing most of the time. There's been some times I've done it just to make sure they stay fresh, but they've got some confidence in those guys. If one guy obviously plays a lot better than the other guy, they'll probably roll with the hot hand."

NICK ANDERSON

On facing Army:

"We have to be a disciplined team. We have to have little to zero mistakes. We have to play intelligent. We have to play physical because this team is very talented and they are going to come out playing tough and come out being a disciplined ball club. We have to play our type of football and play with a chip on on shoulder and continue the momentum that we gained these past two weeks and just play our style."

On fewer penalties:

"It has been better since last year, but we still have a good amount of penalties that we shouldn't have. It's just those little small mistakes and mental errors. We had a penalty last week for an illegal formation (on a punt, handing ECU a first down). It's things like those we have to eliminate because those are all in our control. We're not happy until we have zero penalties in a game."

On Marvin Moody coming back:

"it will definitely be helpful due to the fact it's going to be a physical game. We have to be able to stay fresh and keep everybody rolling. I'm just happy to see him back and see him running around."

On first impressions of Michael Pratt and whether Pratt has surprised him:

"I met Mike on his official visit, and I could see that fire in his eyes. He was ready to be a Wave, ready to come in, compete and battle with toughness. It hasn't shocked me. He got here in the spring, and for him to step up and become a starter and just continue to ball hasn't shocked me one bit. I remember the last day of spring practice, I actually blitzed and I hit him in the moment. He got up fired up, so I just knew he was going to be the tough guy we needed."

on Pratt enjoying contact:

"He scares me sometimes, but he's tough and you want that out of your quarterback, showing that he's a leader, that he's a fighter, and I like that, but sometimes he's got to get down and not take as many hits."

PATRIXK JOHNSON

On teammates celebrating when he set career sack record:

"It was most definitely a special moment for me. Looking back, it shows how much my teammates love me and how much I love them. They are excited for me. It just made me feel good. It was most definitely a special moment and something I'll never forget."

On wanting record:

"I've always wanted it ever since I've been here, but I want to say at the end of last year. (sports information director) Tom (Symonds) came up to me and said you're only 8 1/2 away, and I was like, shoot, that's reachable. If I didn't get hurt last year (labrum injury that curtailed his physicality for the second half of the season) I feel like I would most definitely have gotten closer, so it was definitely a goal of mine."

On excited to come back for senior year:

"I always wanted to come back and finish what I started here with the guys. Yeah, it was exciting, but it was not what was on my mind. What was on my mind was win a championship here and get another ring. The record is a personal accomplishment, but the main thing for me was just a win."

On experience against triple option:

"It helps tremendously. I know I've talked to guys like Armoni (Dixon) and Angelo (Anderson), some of my backups right now trying to teach them because it's really their first time getting a chance to play against them, and I'm trying to give them the smallest tips. The littlest things make the biggest difference with the triple option. It seems so simple when you're watching the game because they keep repeating the same things over and over again, but there are little details that coach Fritz always talks about. You've got to pick up on it, you;ve got to do your job over and over again."

On this Army team:

"There's always something special about these teams year in and year out. They are a very physical team. They are a lot more physical this year than they were last year. They have some vets. They have some talent. They have some really good talent on that team, so we just have to go out there and do our job, play physical and make them earn every single thing they get. That's all we can really do."

I got a one-on-one interview with Pratt yesterday that was not part of the normal Zoom calls.

You were home schooled through the eighth grade. How did that work for you?

"I'm the youngest of four. I have two older sisters and an older brother. We were all home schooled growing up, and then going into my ninth grade year my dad moved to Virginia (to attend law school) and my mom went back to work full time (as a teacher and then a principle at a Christian school in Pompano Beach) and that's when me and my sisters started going to public school."

Did your mom handle all the home schooling, and what was the typical day like?

"Yep. It kind of varied to be honest. Every day was really different. My dad was a general contractor my whole life when I was growing up, and there would be days I would go to work with him as my day of school. It was kind of nice. I got to wake up whenever and then really I just had a list of stuff I had to do. As soon as I got those things done, I'd go to the beach, go fishing and do stuff like that every day."

Tim Tebow is the most famous home-schooled quarterback from Florida. Have you ever met him?

"I haven't met him, but I know a little bit about his history, and he's definitely a big role model for me."

Is it true you never played football until you started attending Boca Raton High in ninth grade?

"Yeah, i wasn't allowed to play football. I played baseball and basketball all my life, and my ninth grade year was my first year of football."

How excited were you to get out there and play the first time?

"I loved it. I wanted to play football my whole life. My parents never wanted me to because of injuries and whatnot. When my dad moved to Virginia, I was like I'm going to play football now."

Did you have to convince them to let you play football then?

"My mom wasn't necessarily too opposed to it. She kind of said she wanted me to wait until I was in high school. My dad wanted me to play baseball."

How good were you in baseball?

"I was really good in baseball. That was my sport. I'm not going to lie. I was probably better at baseball than I'll ever be at any other sport. I was a pitcher and shortstop. I was a good on-base guy. My dad was really a good baseball coach. My key things were I barely ever struck out. I always put the ball in play. That was something that was big for me, and then pitching was really my go-to. In seventh and eighth grade I played varsity at Boca Christian, which was one of the high schools. When I was home schooled, I was traveling to tournaments every weekend and kind of lost interest."

How quickly did you know football was going to be your sport?

"Since the first day I played. I kind of just fell in love with it. I had a major passion for the game."

Did you start right away at Boca Raton?

"The first fall I played JV, and then I started on varsity my freshman spring."

Coach Fritz says you have good mechanics. How did you develop that?

"Just great coaching. I think my arm strength came from playing baseball, and one of the big things I worked on a lot was shortening up my release. Coming from a baseball background I had a long release, so that was one of the things I really worked on and tried to perfect going forward."

You transferred to Deerfield Beach right before your senior year and had four wide receivers and a running back who signed with FBS programs. What was that like?

"It was big time. That was really one of the major reasons I wanted to go somewhere else because I wanted to play at a higher level of competition based on who I was playing against and who I was playing with just to kind of prepare me for college. When I went over there, their starting quarterback had committed to Southern Mississippi. I wanted to go somewhere I wasn't necessarily the guy and I wanted to be surrounded by other people that would push me to get better every day and have another really good quarterback that was established there and would push me and make me go 110 percent every day so I could get better and really just prepare for college. It was a huge benefit for me playing teams like St. Thomas and Columbus and all those different teams as opposed to when I was at Boca and not playing at that level."

You had an abductor injury early in the season. How serious was it?

"That happened when we were scrimmaging Cardinal Gibbons in the preseason. It was a strained abductor and they told me I was going to be out for like two months, which was really the majority of the season, so I ended up sitting out the first three games and was doing therapy every single day and trying to do management and not let it get worse, but I came back. That was really difficult for me. I lost a lot of the strength in my legs from not being able to lift and run a lot. It's something I have to continue to work at."

Were you ever 100 percent last year?

"No. It still bothers me to some extent today, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I have to do treatment on it every day just strengthening it back up and getting strength back up in my legs. That's going to be one of my major focuses this offseason is just getting the strength back in my legs. My junior spring was probably the most athletic football I've ever played. After my sophomore fall season, that's when I stopped playing basketball and just really started focusing on hitting the weight room and preparing for next season."

One of Deerfield Beach's wide receivers, Bryce Gowdy, died when he was hit by a train after signing with Georgia Tech last December (it was ruled a suicide, and Gowdy's family had been homeless for a time). What was that like for you when you found out, and how have you honored him going forward?

"I was actually at Vanderbilt at my sister's basketball game (she plays for Columbia) when I found out the news, and it was really devastating. He was my guy when I was at Deerfield. He was the guy that pushed me the most out of anybody after practice. Normally I'm the person that would talk to other receivers, hey, let's get a few extra reps, let's work on this, let's work on that, and even the days that I was exhausted or not in a good mood, he was always pushing me making sure that me and him were getting five extra fade balls after practice before I went home, five slants, stuff like that. Just trying to honor him, Ive got a chip on my shoulder and what I do is really for him.

You have a tattoo to remember him, right?

"Yeah, I have a tattoo on my right arm. It says believe with a 7. He wore No. 7 and that was kind of his motto. I wore No. 13 in high school and I wear No. 7 now for him."

How happy were you that the number was available?

"I talked to them about it and they did what they could to get me the number. I think Duece was going to wear No. 7, but they got it done for me so that I could wear it."

What have you done best in your starts, and what do you need to improve on?

"Really just trying to be a leader and trying to get the best of the guys to rally around me and having trust and faith in me, which is pretty big, and just competing every day, getting better and making sure everybody is going 100 percent in practice, which has been huge. I feel like I've been getting better and better every week, and moving forward I just want to continue getting better with my athleticism, moving my eyes faster, reading defenses, picking up on blitzes and checking protections."

You throw a beautiful deep ball. Is that just a knack?

"I don't know. I guess it's just a natural thing. A lot of people either have it or they don't. It's something I've worked on a lot and coach Hall has done a good job of coaching me up on. But I feel like it's just something that comes natural."

Did you expect to be in this position?

"Yeah. To be honest, yeah. I didn't necessarily know it was going to happen this year, next year, whatnot, but that's the goal I set for myself and I worked my way towards that goal and finally achieved it."

Sincere Haynesworth did not participate in the last 45 minutes of practice today after getting a leg injury in the fourth quarter against East Carolina (he returned in that game), but Willie Fritz said he had done some work earlier and would be ready for Saturday's game against Army, which barely hung on in the coaches' poll at No. 25 this week after having its game against Air Force postponed due to Air Force's coronavirus issues. Corey Dublin shifted to center today, with Josh Remetich replacing Dublin at left guard. The rest of the offensive line was the same as last week, with Joey Claybrook at left tackle, Ben Knutson at right tackle and Tim Shafter at right guard.

Linebacker Marvin Moody returned to practice today after missing the last two games, so Tulane's defense should be close to full strength against an Army offense that struggled mightily against Cincinnati and The Citadel but put up good numbers otherwise against sub-standard competition. The defense will need to be on point Saturday because Army's defense has been outstanding, holding Cincinnati to fewer than 70 rushing yards in a 24-10 loss and ranking 15th nationally in rushing defense (103.6 yards per game). This version is much more like the ones in 2017 and 2018 under coach Jeff Monken than the sieve Tulane exploited in 2019.

One area in which Tulane has improved significantly this season is penalties. A year after ranking 123rd out of 130 FBS teams in penalties per game (7.92) and 118th in penalty yards per game (67.92), the Green Wave has reduced those totals to 6.5 penalties per game (ranking 71st) and 53.88 yards per game (ranking 58th). The AAC refs are flag happy, with six of the league's teams ranking 80th or worst in flags, and Tulane has racked up the fourth fewest penalty yards per game out of 11 teams (the official league stats have the Wave third, but they have an incorrect total for penalty yards).

Here are several observations after I charted every acceptedpenalty--25 on offense, 17 on defense and 10 on special teams.

--Willie Fritz harps on pre-snap and post-snap penalties the most, believing anything that occurs during the play is a judgment call, and Tulane has done pretty well there. By my count, the Wave has been flagged 10 times for false starts

--Tyrick James twice
--Claybrook
--Caleb Thomas
--Tuggle,
--Duece Watts,
--Shafter
--Remetich (the official box lists no one but I wrote it down at the time in the USM game)
--two unidentified, one of which came on a punt,

Tulane has been flagged six times for offside

--Jeffery Johnson twice,
--De'Andre Williams
--Marvin Moody
--Eric Hicks
--one unidentified

Tulane has been called twice for delay of game, and one of those was on an extra point).

--The unsportsmanlike conduct call on Amare Jones for slapping at an opponent post-play against East Carolina was the first of the year, as the Wave has done a good job of not losing its cool. Personal fouls, which often are live-ball penalties but not necessarily, are down, too, with only five, two of which were Chase Kuerschen on punts and another on Larry Brooks at the end of a 2-point conversion.

--The only game in which Tulane racked up double-digit penalties was SMU (11 for 86), with four offensive penalties on one drive that ended in a touchdown anyway, so the flags did not end up hurting the Wave as much as they could have.

--Ten of the penalties have come on special teams, which appears to be the biggest lingering problem.

--Maybe auditioning for a role with the Saints, Jaylon Monroe has been called for pass interference six times. The only other interference call came against Willie Langham.

--There have been 12 holding calls. The culprit was not identified in the stats on four occasions (twice against Southern Miss, where the stats crew had a rough day). the others were Claybrook twice, Dublin twice, James, Tuggle, Thomas and Kuerschen on a punt. Haynesworth has been penalized once all year, with an ineligible man downfield call against Temple.

--Defensive end Cam Sample has not drawn a flag all year. Patrick Johnson's only penalty was for roughing the passer in the opener at South Alabama. Jeffery Johnson drew Tulane's only two penalties at UCF on offside calls in an uncharacteristic game when UCF, which ranks second to last nationally in penalties, did not get flagged in the first half.

"That's something coach Fritz was pretty mad about last year," Patrick Johnson said. "He took it personal and really drove it to us like we've got to fix this because we would have won a lot more games if we didn't have a lot of stupid penalties. This year we've done a great job but I feel like we can do a whole lot better than we are. He talks about it every single Sunday or Monday when we come in (to review the weekend's game). The first thing he says is we have stuff to clean up because we had some penalties. No matter if we beat somebody 50-0 or we lose 50-0, he's going to teach us the same exact way because little things are going to matter."

--How much do penalties hurt? Consider this: Other than giving up a field goal after Johnson's roughing flag, Tulane's defense did not get off the field without allowing a touchdown on any drive it had an accepted penalty until the first half against UCF, which was the sixth game. The offense has been much better at overcoming penalties, which is a testament to Michael Pratt's passing. The Wave is much more capable of getting out of bad down and distance situations that it used to be.

A thorough beating as Tulane wins back-to-back AAC games by double digits in the same season for the first time since joining the league in 2014. The Wave whipped ECU at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Even though the last three opponents are a combined 13-4, all three games are very winnable--Army, at Tulsa, Memphis.

WILLIE FRITZ

"I'm really proud of the guys. I thought we played really well at times. We didn't close the door as much as I wish we would have, but there were long periods of times we played extremely well on offense, defense and kicking game. I just wish we would have closed the door a little bit more, but great job anytime you win on the road. This was a team that woulda, coulda, shoulda won at Tulsa last week, which is a good team, so we had to come out and play well in order to win. I'm also proud of old Patrick Johnson. He's the all-time sack leader in school history. That's a heck of a deal. They've been playing football here at Tulane for I think 127 yares, so that's a heck of a job by Patrick to be the all-time sack leader."

This is the second straight week you've really dominated a team on both sides of the line of scrimmage. How much easier does that make it?

"It makes it really easy. Our defensive line really did a great job not getting knocked off the ball, doing a great job of pressure, and we brought some second-level guys. Macon Clark had a real nice sack in there. The defensive line dominated the front and our offensive line was pretty darn firm in protection. Michael (Pratt) got sacked a couple of times, but he was holding the ball for a little bit. Most of the time he had a really clean pocket back in there. You see what happens, if he has a nice, clean pocket, he's very accurate. He did a great job throwing the ball downfield."

The first five plays were passes, but you still ended up running for close to 300 yards. How much does that passing dimension make the whole offense better?

"It was a great game plan by coach (Will) Hall and the offensive staff. They were blitzing and we had some good tips when they were going to blitz and where from, and he had some great calls dialed up. When you can run, it's hard to blitz a whole lot because you're giving up some gaps with second-level and third-level defenders. That's when the big plays happened. Cam (Carroll) had it and (Stephon) Hud (erson) had a few of them as well. One helps the other. This is what we've wanted to do with Mike and protecting it. Our wide receivers did an excellent job of getting open and making plays. It was a great job by the offense."

The secondary gave us some big plays late, but when the game was being decided, how well do you feel like those guys played?

"They did a good job. There were probably five or six really contested catches that they had in the first half where our guys were all over them. No.5 (C.J. Johnson) made a couple of spectacular catches against us. You've got to live with that just as long as you get them down and you don't give them a big one. For the most part we matched up favorably against them out on the perimeter with our DBs."

Cam Carroll had three long runs and two touchdowns. What about his performance impressed you the most?

"He hit the hole hard and he has great speed. Everybody knows he's got great size, but he's one of the fastest guys on our team. When he gets a crease, it's going to be hard for a guy to catch him in the open field. He played a very good game."

Near the end of the first half, you were up 14-7 and the defense came up with a stop and the offense scored to go ahead 21-7. How pivotal was that stretch?

"That was huge for us because they were receiving the second-half kickoff. That was really big to go on with those points to pad our lead."

Is it easier to game plan offensively as Michael Pratt's experience grows?

"Yeah, it certainly is. He's in coach Hall's hip pocket all week, watching a ton of tape. There were some really good keys that we had on what they were going to do. If you see all that pre-snap, the game slows down for you. It makes it easier to know where you're going to go to. He's getting better and better each week."

"ECU's running back had had three straight 100-yard games but was a total non-factor today. How important was that?

"We did a good job tackling. That was one of the better tackling games that we've had. We didn't tackle well early in the year. Part of that is my fault. I don't scrimmage as much maybe as some other people do, but our guys are doing a good job of playing with leverage, angles and not letting the ball cross their face. There were probably four or five times they blocked it up and our second-level or third-level guy came up and tackled him for a gain of 6. Early in the season we weren't getting that. They were breaking a tackle and getting a long run out of it. I don't think they had a run over 12 yards today."

Just like two years ago when you were 2-5, you could have gone in the wrong direction but the team stuck together. Do you like where this team is right now?

"I like where we are right now. It sure looks a lot better than it did two weeks ago, but it's a tough league. You've got to be on point and ready to play every single week and you have to play four quarters, so I'm glad the guys are playing better. We're getting better every week, and that's our goal to finish at the end of the season and be a better team than we were in week 10 and week 9 and week 8, so a good job by the guys fighting through a lot of adversity and getting back to even right now. We've got a tough one this week. Army is very good. Air Force wasn't able to play this week, so Army got a couple more days to prepare for us. I'm glad it's at home, and we just need to flip the page and get ready for that tough triple option they have."

As always, the Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first, neutral sites are designated and the point spreads come from VegasInsider.com consensus. I put a Friday night game on here because it's a late game, the Saturday lineup is lackluster and everybody has been getting their picks in well before then each week.

East Carolina (+5) Tulane
Notre Dame (+5.5) Clemson
Georgia (-3) Florida (Jacksonville)
Boise State (+3) BYU (Friday night)
Cincinnati (-13.5) Houston
Oregon (-10) Stanford
Indiana (+3) Michigan
Arkansas (+2) Tennessee

Arkansas had a backdoor cover in the final seconds. Penn State almost had one but missed a 2-point conversion. Navy scored two late meaningless TDs to push against SMU. Texas won in OT despite being nearly doubled in yards. Just another week in the pick 'em contest.

WEEK 8 RESULTS

7.5

WaveON
DrBox

6.5

charlamange8
buck2481
GretnaGreen
Wavetime

5.5

ny oscar
paliii
winwave
chigoyboy

4.5

MNAlum
Guerry
diverdo


OVERALL STANDINGS

36

paliii

33

ny oscar

32

buck2481

31

chigoyboy
Wavetime
WaveON

30

diverdo
Gretna Green
DrBox

29

MNAlum
Guerry

28

winwave

25

charlamange8


GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

Tulane 12 of 13
Cincinnati 13
UCF 8
SMU 8/Navy 5
Auburn 4
Arkansas 7
Texas 4
Ohio State 10

Today's practice was a lot like yesterday's, with the same guys sitting out and the same guys participating. In the only change, Marvin Moody had his helmet on, although I did not see him get a rep while I was there for the last 30 minutes. Willie Fritz said Moody would be a game-time decision, but if he can't go for the second straight week, the Wave will be in good hands with starters Kevin Henry and Nick Anderson and super sub Dorian Williams, plus Jesus Machado rotating in at times

"Jesus Machado is playing for us in the kicking game, but he has a real good feel for the game, fitting things up properly," Willie Fritz said. He's going to be a very good player for us. I've had no issues or problems with any of those guys on the field, off the field, in the classroom, wherever. They are fun to be around."

The starting offensive line definitely will be Joey Claybrook at LT, Corey Dublin at LG, Sincere Haynesworth at C, Timothy Shafter at RG and Ben Knutson at RT. Caleb Thomas did not practice again today, so it is unlikely he will play Saturday. Veterans who miss a full week of preparation can be ready to go, like Amare Jones was against Temple, but it is tougher for a redshirt freshman. Freshman Trey Tuggle will come off the bench after starting the first seven games, but his demotion is not a commentary on his playing level. It's a tribute to how well Ben Knutson played at left tackle while Claybrook sat out. The guys Knutzon blocked rarely came anywhere near Michael Pratt.

"Ben is playing his best football right now," Fritz said. "He was one of our better offensive linemen for those three games, probably in the top two for almost every game. He's got the body obviously, but he's starting to do a better job of punching with his hands."

Fritz is happy to get Claybrook back. He has been high on him since he became a starter in the second half of his redshirt freshman season in 2018.

"It's going to be big for us," Fritz said. "He played a little bit last week and coming out of the game he felt OK on Sunday, felt much better on Monday and Tuesday it was good for him to have that time off."

With Ygenio Booker having surgery to repair a torn MCL today and likely missing the rest of the season--Fritz held out hope he could return for the finale against Memphis--Tulane is down to three scholarship running backs, but Fritz does not anticipate a change in philosophy because of the depth shortage.

"Not really," he said. "We're still able to run two back. We're still able to line them up wide. All of them do a good job of running routes and catching the ball, so we're very fortunate that we had a deep group there because we certainly needed it this year."

Ryan Wright was added to the Ray Guy Award watch list today. He has not always been consistent this year, but he leads the AAC by a wide margin with a 47.1-yard punting average and has a slight lead in net punting at 42.4. He had a perfect punt against Temple right before halftime, sending a 62-yarder that bounced out of bounds at the 1. I talked to him, Sincere Haynesworth and Jaylon Monroe yesterday, so here are there quotes along with the rest of Fritz from today.

RYAN WRIGHT

On how he feels about the way he is punting right now:

"I'm feeling a lot better with the way I'm kicking this year. I lost a lot of weight over the offseason and feel a lot more explosive and quick to the ball. First of all, none of this would be possible without Ethan Hudak, our long snapper, and the rest of our coverage team and my shield. The funny story about that 62-yarder. I thought that was going to the end zone. I didn't really know what was going on until I heard those cheers."

Hoping for safety after that punt:

"We've gotten safeties off of punts inside the 5 before. We won the game. Offense played great and defense played great, so a safety wouldn't have mattered too much at that point."

Why lose weight:

"I just felt really slow. Running was hard on me last year and my leg swing was not exactly where I wanted it to be speed wise. Now that I'm more explosive I'm able to swing my leg all the way through the ball. I definitely believe that losing the weight is one of the factors that has helped me this year, but I went to a bunch of punting coaches. I drove nine hours to Tennessee during the offseason for just countless hours of training.

What learned there:

'Just refined my technique, keeping my steps shorter. I have a lot faster off time this year because of the consistent catch and a consistent drop and consistent steps. Last year our off time was close to 2.5 and now we're averaging about 1.95ish."

Weight loss:

"I got down to 235 and then put some more back on in muscle. I was pushing 260 last year."

What changed:

"Less snacking. I went running almost every day. I got a personal trainer back home in California that helped me stay away from the fatty foods. Just lean meats, greens and the right carbs. There's bad carbs and good carbs. Having some red potatoes, cauliflower has some good carbs in there. But just eating right and working out a lot more helped me get to the weight my body looks compared to what it did last year."

Where needs to improve:

"There's always improvement I can make towards my punting technique. This is still only my third year as a full-time punter in my life, so I'm still making adjustments to be the most consistent punter that I possible can be."

SINCERE HAYNESWORTH

On importance of playing really well against Temple:

"It was huge, especially for us. We haven't won too many games yet. Beating Temple and playing as well as we did was a good benchmark point for where we go up."

On Claybrook returning:

"That's huge. It's always good to have a vet, especially at a tackle spot, left tackle especially. He's a guy who has played the position, knows the ropes and can get it done and has the mental part of it down easily."

On Knutson moving to starting right tackle:

"He stepped up big time. I'm really proud of how he played. We can play him anywhere on the line--guard and tackle on both sides. That was huge."

Overcoming injuries on offensive line:

"That's pretty impressive that we can just plug and play. It's always next man up in football and it says a lot about the competition they have brought in."

Ran well against Temple:

"The biggest thing is just knowing our assignments. We got a little lackadaisical on that, and we really got back to it in practice and have been harping on it, just knowing our assignments and being able to execute with confidence. Confidence leads to speed and speed leads to power, so we've gotten a lot better on that."

JAYLON MONROE

Challenge of facing ECU:

"As far as being a defensive back, that's the type of game we like to play, a passing game. I feel like the game is on us, so we've got to get the job done and slow down their offense, contest passes, break passes up and get turnovers. We should be in great shape from a defensive back standpoint. This is the type of game we like to play."

Confidence coming from Temple performance:

"We never lost confidence, but we definitely needed that win to get a good taste back in our mouth. We just have to keep that going. We were in this position as far as our record two years ago, and we went on a run. I feel like we're going to do the same thing this year."

A lot still in front of them:

"Oh yeah, most definitely. We just have to put our head down, keep working and be positive and go out there and execute the game plan and we should be in great shape. We still can accomplish some great things, so we have to keep going."

Difference against Temple:

"We were playing much faster and communicating as a whole on the defense. We trusted each other more. I said before the (UCF) game we had to trust the game plan and we did that much better."

FRITZ

On where Wright can improve:

"The big thing that Ryan has got to do is just consistency. He's got as strong a leg as anybody in the country. He really does, but the distance, the location and the hang time, we want all those things to match. He's really got a strong leg. It's just the consistency. He does a great job of getting the ball off quickly. If we just had the snapper and the shield, I think it's going to be tough for him to get back there and have a chance to block a punt. His catch to get-off is extremely quick. He's taken tremendous strides, and if he improves on his consistency, he can be one of the top punters in the country."

On coaches encouraging Wright to lose weight:

"We really talked to him a whole bunch about it for about a year and a half. I told him it's not going to happen until you want it to happen, and he decided that he wanted to have it happen, and over the pandemic break he lost probably 20 to 30 pounds. You can see the difference in his flexibility. I think that has also contributed to his improvement."

On coaching help for Wright:

'I know that he worked with Jamie Kohl, but I'm really fortunate that (special teams) coach (Chris) Couch can really watch video tape and relay to me what Ryan needs to work on because it's very position-specific as far as technique and fundamentals are concerned. Jamie is someone we really trust. He works with the Bears kickers and punters, and all the top kickers and punters and even some snappers go to his camps, and we value his opinion."

First, the news. As mentioned here in a post by buck on Monday, Kyle Meyers no longer is on the team. I asked Fritz about it today and he was terse, but he said it was a coaches' decision rather than Meyers' decision. Meyers, a 4-star recruit when he signed with FSU out of Holy Cross, impressed me in preseason drills, but both Fritz and Jack Curtis were a little lukewarm about him when I asked them how good he was. Curtis pointed out Meyers was out of shape after not going through spring practice at FSU. Then, once the season started, Meyers was a major disappointing. He did not start the opener against South Alabama, losing out to Willie Langham, but took over as the starter the next two weeks because Langham was dismal against the Jaguars. Early in his second start, though, Meyers gave up a completion in one-on-one coverage against Southern Miss, then failed to make the tackle with a lame effort as the Golden Eagles scored an 88-yard touchdown. He was benched for most of the rest of the day and did not start again. He did not play at all against SMU and finished his seven-game career at Tulane with six tackles and no break-ups. Langham moved back into a starting role and had his first career interception Saturday against Temple, when Meyers played sparingly.

I don't know if there was an off-the-field incident, a blowup in the locker room or what, but Meyers is gone. Tulane's backup cornerbacks are true freshman Kevaris Hall, who had a big interception return to turn around the USM game, and redshirt freshman Kiland Harrison, who is untested.

Meyers' departure is another example of how Tulane did not hit on its grad transfers this year. Although linebacker Kevin Henry (Oklahoma State) has been excellent, offensive lineman Jaylen Miller (Duke) has not started a game even though he began preseason drills as a first-teamer and there have been injuries at both starting tackle spots. Miller rotated in quite a bit, but today he lined up as the backup right guard behind former walk-on Timothy Shafter, who was there because Caleb Thomas is injured.

Wide receiver Mykel Jones is playing regularly but has not been the impact player many expected when he transferred from Oklahoma. We are seeing why he caught only two passes last year for the Sooners, but he still has a chance to make a significant impact in the final four games. His most notable moment against Temple was a drop of a perfect deep ball from Michael Pratt, but he has five catches for 90 yards and started two games.

The other grad transfer, Ajani Kerr, has played a lot in the secondary, primarily at nickelback, but has not started since the Southern Miss game. He has 13 tackles and two break-ups as the top reserve for a secondary that has struggled.

In other news, the injury I did not see looks like it will cost Ygenio Booker the rest of the season. Fritz said he had a torn MCL and would undergo surgery tomorrow after getting hurt late in the fourth quarter against Temple. Booker's ratio of practice reps to playing time has been higher than any other player this year, He has nine carries for 41 yards and only one catch for minus-3 yards despite receiving being his speciality in practice. He got most of his practice work as the second-team super back behind Amare Jones.

The offensive line has undergone another change due to injuries. With Thomas not practicing today--Fritz refused to rule him out of Saturday's game against East Carolina--Shafter moved in as the starting right guard. With Joey Claybrook practicing at left tackle after missing all of two games before returning for spot duty against Temple, surprising success story Ben Knutson moved to first-team right tackle. Fritz said Knutson was one of the two best linemen for most of his three starts in Claybrook's absence, so he will see if he can translate his success at left tackle to the other side of the line. If he continues to play like has the last few weeks, Tulane will have found its best tackle combination. True freshman Trey Tuggle, who started the first seven games at right tackle, was on the second team today along with left tackle Cameron Jackel, left guard Rashad Green and Miller. Corey Dublin was the second-team center, I guess because they don't think anyone behind Sincere Haynesworth is worthy of playing against East Carolina if Haynesworth were to get hurt. Michael Remondet subbed in for Dublin at times at right guard to give him some rest today. Thomas does not look far away from playing. He did agility exercises on his own while watching the offense practice against the scout team.

On defense, Marvin Moody did not practice again today. I will ask about his status tomorrow. Carlos Hatcher remains out, too, as does wide receiver Sorrell Brown on offense.

Tulane normally closes its Monday practice and does not do interviews, but with the NCAA mandating Tuesday as an off day due to the election, they opened it this time. The Green Wave is dealing with a couple of injuries on defense, Defensive tackle De'Andre Williams, who has not been as productive statistically this year as last and did not start against Temple for the first time since 2018, sat out practice along with linebacker Marvin Moody, who was a late scratch Saturday. Moody has had a good year, but the Wave did not miss him. Replacement Nick Anderson stepped up to make a career-high 14 tackles, eight more than any of his teammates, and with 48 for the year, he is now third on the team in tackles behind leader Dorian Williams (54)and Moody (52). The fourth linebacker who plays a lot, starter Kevin Henry, is fifth with 39 stops, so it easy to see where the strength of the defense has been.

Neither Williams' nor Moody's injuries look long term. Eric Hicks, who made his first career start instead of Williams and had four tackles on Saturday, worked with the first unit today. The second-team defensive line had Angelo Anderson, who did not play against Temple but likely will get his first action of the season at East Carolina, along with Noah Seiden (Alfred Thomas got some reps, too), Adonis Friloux and Darius Hodges. Friloux, who started playing well right after I tweeted he was a non-factor on one particular play in the first quarter against UCF ( l learned he has quite the support system on twitter), was credited with half a sack against Temple, and Hodges had his first career sack. Tulane needs that production from its second unit, similar to what it received in 2018 from Juan Monjares, Carlos Hatcher and Davon Wright. Hatcher and Wright are still on the team but neither is healthy enough to practice at the moment.

Chase Kuerschen remains the starter at free safety, but Cornelius Dyson is getting more and more reps with the first unit. Dyson had two tackles and a pass breakup against Temple. Kuerschen had four tackles and a pass breakup, but the breakup should have been a pick 6 when he jumped a route near the sideline and dropped an easy interception with only green turf in front of him.

Phat Watts was back at practice today after missing the Temple game with a leg injury. His twin brother Duece Watts was named to the AAC weekly honor rolle along with Anderson after catching five passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Sorrell Brown sat out again, though, and appears unable to shake recurring knee soreness stemming from his two ACL surgeries in his first two years. He did not dress against Temple, missing his third game of the season after playing in the previous two.

Josh Remetich was at practice but did not suit up today as he continues to recover from mononucleosis. Caleb Thomas has played pretty well in place of him the last three games, but Thomas left the Temple game with an injury and was replaced by Tim Shafter. It will be interesting to see how that all sorts out later this week.

Tulane should have a good three-man rotation at running back against East Carolina, which allows 205.2 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry, the second highest figure in the AAC. Amare Jones had the best day of his career running the ball against Temple, gaining 92 yards on 12 carries. Until he fumbled as he crossed the goal line early in the third quarter, almost all of his previous 12 runs had been productive. Incredibly, he had not posted 60 yards from scrimmage in a game since going over 100 yards receiving against Army on Oct. 5, 2019, a string of 14 games. This is a guy who was receiving national recognition as one of the most versatile players in college football entering the season, but his most notable moment in the first six games was a dropped third-down pass that might have given Tulane a 31-0 lead on Navy early in the third quarter of a game the Wave ended up losing 27-24. The decisiveness he showed on his cuts against Temple was much better in the past. Assuming Stephon Huderson is not still in the doghouse after fumbling for the second time in as many weeks--he was put on ice for a long time after that early mistake on Saturday, the three-headed running of him, Jones and Cameron Carroll should be very effective the rest of the way. Carroll had his ninth touchdown of the season Saturday, and the trio combined for 190 yards on 28 attempts. Huderson had 20 of them on a sweet run in garbage time after getting only two touches before then, a sharp contrast to his workload the previous two weeks.

WILLIE FRITZ

"We practiced today a little bit more than we normally do on Monday because of tomorrow. The NCAA's mandated that tomorrow is a day off for all the student-athletes, so we're not doing anything tomorrow. It's good. Guys can go out and vote. I did a straw poll when we were done with practice, not who they were going to vote for, but how many guys had voted. It looked like we've had 75 percent of the guys vote. I'm proud of the fact that we've got 100 percent of the guys registered, all the coaches, support staff, everybody involved in the program. That's our right as a U.S. citizen and we want to take advantage of it.

"It was a good practice. We've got a big test ahead of us with East Carolina on Saturday."

On East Carolina being hopping mad about being cheated by refs against Tulsa:

"I've got a lot of respect for coach (Mike) Houston. He's a really good guy who does things the right way. I'm probably similar to him in the fact we've gone from Division II to 1-AA and then up to Division I (Houston was head coach at D11 Lenoir-Rhine from 2011 to 2013 before stints at The Ciadel and James Madison and now ECU starting in 2019). I really think they're talented. They moved the ball extremely well against Tulsa. The quarterback's back. He's a dangerous guy. They've got a lot of weapons on offense and play well on defense. They force a bunch of takeaways as well and there was probably one more they would have liked to have had (a clear Tulsa fumble on Tulsa's winning TD drive was called a fumble on the field but then overruled by a clueless replay booth official, leaving Houston apoplectic along with two other controversial calls down the stretch). We're going to have to play great on Saturday. It's a great place to play. We've been up there to play before (an OT win in 2017 that I covered). Nice stadium. Good grass surface. We're looking forward to the challenge."

On Holton Ahlers' improvement at QB after struggling mightily against Tulane as a true freshman two years ago (he went 21 of 67):

"He's really accurate. He can buy time in the pocket. He has a strong arm. He's an excellent quarterback. He's really good. A couple of weeks ago he didn't play (in a 27-23 loss to Navy) and I saw their numbers were down and I kind of wondered why and that was the reason. He's a good player."

On Amare Jones:

"I sure hope so. Other than the fumble he played really well, and that was without practicing all week. One of the things I talked to him about is we've got to get his stamina going to be able to play more. We were wanting to feed the ball to him and you've got to be out there to feed you the ball. He's a darn good player. I thought he had some excellent runs. He's more physical than probably people give him credit for. They had a few times where tacklers kind of bounced off of him a little bit. We want him to have a big end of the season. He's certainly capable of doing that."

On Jones being capable as a pure runner:

"The thing we've done is we kind of have the super back position. When guys got injured in the backfield and then Amare got hurt and missed the game two weeks ago and wasn't able to practice all last week, we kind of limited that package a little bit, but we're going to be back doing some things with that package and taking advantage of his strengths. That positions does both receiver things and running back things."

On using Jones in return game after Jha'Quan Jackson's ascendence as punt returner in his absence:

"We are going to have Amare return kicks and Jha'Quan return punts."

On defense picking up where it left off against Temple:

"We did a much better job tackling. We did a much better job of playing with leverage. That's the key no matter who you play. The thing that ECU does is they really get the ball out on space quickly and then they have the guts on third-and-long to go ahead and run the ball if you're not out-populating them in the box. They have a very potent overall attack with running the ball, throwing the ball, using the field horizontally, using the field vertically, and it all starts with the quarterback. A lot of talented players over there."

Tulane made enough early mistakes that it would have been in trouble against a better team, but you have to start somewhere to end a skid and the Wave dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage. If it cuts out the mistakes and wins at East Carolina next Saturday--requiring better pass defense than we have seen to this point-- running the table is possible. Army's strengths play into Tulane's strengths. Tulsa is good but hardly great and not nearly as sophisticated in the passing game as Houston, SMU and UCF. Memphis has one of the worst defenses in AAC history in what could be a very high scoring season finale.

WILLIE FRITZ

"This is the first time I've looked forward to coming in here and talking to you guys. It's not your fault. It's my fault. We didn't play great, but he kids kept fighting through. We had some unforced turnovers and some silly penalties at times, but we needed to get back on track and get the W and feel good about things. Any time you hold anybody to three points, I don't care if the quarterback's out or not, that's doing a good job. We played poorly in the kicking game early and then we kind of calmed down there a little bit, and offensively we were able to run and throw. What put us behind the chains once in a while was getting a sack or a holding call. If we could clean those things up, I think we could have put up 60 points on these guys. The big stat for us was 7 of 11 on third-down conversions and they were 4 of 16 on third-down conversions and also 0 of 2 on fourth. Good job by our team on third downs and doing a much better job than what we've done the last few weeks."

On defense bouncing back after three bad games:

"It was very refreshing. I realize their quarterback did not play today and he's good, but this day in age it's hard to hold anybody to 3 points. It's very difficult, especially at the college level. They have had some good players over there. They have a couple of pros. Scouts called me this week and were talking about a couple of their guys. I think it's good back, No. 13 (Re Mahn Davis, who had 15 yards on 10 carries). No. 1 (Branden Mack, who had three catches for 54 yards) is a big-time receiver. They had a good solid offensive line, but our guys really dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I don't know if anybody's said this or not, but this is the first time Tulane's beaten Temple since 1934 (season) in the Sugar Bowl, so a couple years. I always find these stats out every once in a while and I'm like, 'Oh, God almighty.'" I'm glad nobody told me before the game."

On Michael Pratt's poise after offense's early miscues:

"He's got tremendous poise. He plays way beyond his years. There were a few plays early on he would probably have liked to have had back, but he really plays with a lot of poise and he's into the game. It doesn't surprise me because he prepares all week. It's really interesting. The guys that really put a whole lot into it and prepare, they seem to play well when you get there on Saturday. The guys you have to get up there, they sometimes struggle, so it doesn't surprise me that he plays extremely well."

On defense getting stops after two early turnovers:

"Huge, because we haven't been doing a good job of that, particularly on third down. I think they started seeing midway through the second quarter that if we did a good job of tackling and playing with leverage, they got us a couple times on speed sweeps and quick screens through the perimeter that we just didn't leverage as well as we needed to. I think our guys started seeing that hey, man, if we do a good job on these few plays, we are going to have a chance to really get after them. I was happy with the defense. We've had a couple of tough games against really good offensive teams in SMU and UCF. They bounced back today in a big way."

On Duece Watts going over 100 yards:

"He's getting better and better each week. The big thing for him is his sophomore year over there at Jones (Community College), he got banged up a little bit. I think they had some quarterback difficulties and didn't really throw the ball much, so this is really the first time he's been in an offense that's running pro routes. I really like what we do. I don't get to watch much pro football, but when I do I'll see different route concepts that we're running. He's starting to understand what he needs to do and prepare during the week. He's got all the talent in the world. He's tall, he's long, he's fast, he's got good hands, and when he knows what to do, he can be an excellent receiver in this league."

On having dominant game on tape to show team what it is capable of:

"It's big for us. We love having a win. I love having a win where we can show mistakes we made that are correctable, and we had a bunch of them. We're going to get better, and in order for us to keep winning, we can't make mistakes like this, and our guys know that, but it sure does feel good to have a win. We needed it, and it's been a little while. We've had some tough, heartbreaking losses, so it's great to have the W and learn from a win rather than learning from a loss."

MICHAEL PRATT

On connection with Duece Watts:

"Just the game plan going in was big. I love having him backside X. I know he's capable of making big time plays, and we work all day in practice and the chemistry between us has grown every day. That's just built a lot of confidence and opened up a lot of opportunities for us."

On getting first win:

"It feels great. We've had a lot of adversity in a lot of different ways. Today, just coming out and competing and executing our game plan was huge. A huge shoutout to the defense just getting a ton of stops and giving us the opportunity to get out there and do what we're capable of doing. It was huge for us and it all just came together."

On his improvement:

"Every week just the comfort level has gone up. Coach (Will) Hall has done a great job of preparation. I definitely think every week the game starts getting easier and easier and it really starts to slow down for us and allows us to make blitz checks, things that I can see, that coach Hall doesn't necessarily have to signal in. Just every week we get more on the same page. We talk about things on the sideline and it's just all coming together."

Bouncing back from offensive mistakes early:

"Just confidence in our guys. That's football. That's how things go. You know you're not going to make every play that you have. I'm not going to complete every ball that's open. Receivers aren't going to catch every single ball, but you've just got to keep your composure and that's what we did. We got a lot of opportunities and we just started capitalizing on them. It came together and we were able to execute really well."

TDs last three series:

"It was great. It build a lot of confidence and just the character of our guys. The defense was getting stops. We'd score and then we were quick to get back out there. We'd have the momentum going and we executed all our plays and that was it was. We had a lot of fun doing it. That's was the biggest thing. Once we get in our groove and start executing and doing the things we're supposed to do every time, we just have a lot of fun out there. The game takes care of itself."

On play of defense:

"It was awesome. I have a lot of faith in these guys. The energy that we give them and they give to us. When the offense plays well, the defense tends to play well. We just have to mutually stay on the same page and feed off of each other. The defense was just out there balling. We had some struggles early on and the defense didn't let off the gas. That was really gave us the opportunity to start making some big-time plays and boosting our confidence."

On students at game:

"It was awesome. Hopefully we can keep getting more people in and just having more of a game experience."

On comfort factor growing:

'Like I said, every week the biggest thing is the game just slows down. Just building experience and getting in the film room and seeing the things I could have done better or if we had a play that might get 4 yards on a run but if we would have checked to this, we could have scored. Something like that. Those are the things that we see on film, and coach Hall does a really phenomenal job of implementing those things into our mind and speaking over and over and over that when you see it, it's oh, we do this every single day and it makes everything really easy for us."

I will transcribe Dorian Williams and Nick Anderson a little later.

Tulane’s Baseball Twitter has some interesting stats from the first week of practice. Specifically it lists the fastball speeds of a number of our pitchers. If accurate, some of the “new guys” can really “bring it.” Tyler Hoffman (95.3), Blake Mahmood (95.2), Jake McDonald (94.9), and Turner Thompson (94.6). Others with 90+ fastball recordings include Zach Davito (91.4), Aaron Ball (91.1), Kennedy Norton (90.3) and two-way player, Camryn Szynski (90.1).

Some of our returners appear to be throwing harder than I recall also: Keegan Gillies (94.6), Donovan Benoit (94.3), Brandon Olthoff (93.8), Trent Johnson (92.5), Robert Price (90.7), and David Bates (90.6).

Whether they can consistently reach those speeds in a game or whether their pitches have the necessary movement is yet to be seen. But those numbers are impressive.

Roll Wave!!!

I don't know how people who regularly bet on sports do it. Maybe it's because I hate losing more than I love winning, but games like Oklahoma State-Iowa State would have had me pulling my hair out if I had money on it, with the Cyclones QB throwing a gorgeous pass on third-and-forever to a receiver who made a nice catch in the corner of the end zone for a meaningless TD in the final minute to cover by half-a-point. Yeah, I know that's the risk you take when you pick a team to cover with a 3 1/2-point spread, but still.

A few more games went down to the wire. Tulane needed UCF to take a knee from the 1 on the final play to cover. Houston rallied from a halftime deficit against Navy to cover a 14-point spread. Memphis almost covered against Temple after trailing at halftime, but not quite.

WEEK 6 RESULTS

6

paliii
GretnaGreen
Wavetime
chigoyboy

5


MNAlum
buck2481
diverdo
WaveON
ny oscar

3

Guerry
winwave
DrBox

1

charlamange8


OVERALL STANDINGS

30.5

paliii

27.5

ny oscar

25.5

buck2481
diverdo
chigoyboy

24.5

MNAlum
Guerry
Wavetime


23.5

GretnaGreen
WaveON

22.5

winwave
DrBox

18.5

charlamange8

12

LSU Law Greenie (missed 2 weeks)


GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

Tulane 11 of 13
Houston 6
Cincinnati 11
Temple 0
LSU 3
Iowa State 3
Notre Dame 8
Michigan 6

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

Tulane (-4.5) Temple
Cincinnati (-6.5) Memphis
Houston (+2.5) Central Florida
SMU (-14) Navy
Auburn (+3) LSU
Texas A&M (-12) Arkansas
Oklahoma State (-3.5) Texas
Penn State (+12) Ohio State

Freshman Angelo Anderson, one of the most highly rated members of a highly rated signing class, moved from scout team defense to regular defense today and may make his season debut against Temple. He looks good and was lining up inside of Patrick Johnson in the early reps he received against the scout-team offense and at defensive end in the later reps. Carlos Hatcher did not practice and was on crutches, so there is an opening on the depth chart. Hatcher's 10 tackles are the most for a reserve, with Darius Hodges right behind at 9, Adonis Friloux at 8, Eric Hicks and Noah Seiden at 5 and Alfred Thomas at 4.

Anderson looks the part. The question is his lack of experience and health.

"He (Anderson) did a nice job prior to getting injured, but we want to be careful," Willie Fritz said. "He's definitely going to play this year but we don't want to rush him into it if he's not ready to go. We're kind of talking about that."

Marvin Moody was back at practice today, so Tulane will have its full compliment of four starter-quality linebackers against Temple. Kevin Henry continues to work out in a no-contact jersey, but he looks totally fine and is not missing any of his normal reps.

Cornelius Dyson got reps at free and strong safety today. He made a nice tip over the middle to break up a pass.

No Amare Jones again today. We'll see if he is ready by Saturday.

Since Fritz talked about how Tulane was good at getting teams in third-and-long yesterday but poor at getting off the field in those situations, I decided to chart every third down in the first six games. I got an average of third-and 7.7 yards but cannot find any stats for college football on the internet. You probably have to subscribe to advance metrics for a fee to get those numbers, but 7.7 sounds like a long distance.

SOUTH ALABAMA (8 for 17)

3-4: rush for minus-2.
3-13: completion for 32 yards
3-9: INC
3-14: completion for 23 yards
3-1: rush for 18
3-10: completion for 34 yards and TD
3-5: completion for 27 yards
3-25: INC
3-13: Sack for minus-6 by Sample
3-2: rush for minus 2
3-6: sack for -11 by Patrick Johnson
3-10: INC
3-8: completion for 12
3-5: completion for 10
3-3: completion for 15
3-7: sack for -10 by Patrick Johnson
3-21: INC

Navy (5 for 16)

3-5: rush for minus-3
3-10: rush for 1
3-6: rush for 3
3-7: rush for 2
3-8: rush for minus-6
3-4: rush for 1
3-7: completion for 7
3-1: rush for 5
3-18: rush for 2
3-G-1: rush for TD
3-6: INC
3-3: rush for 2
3-2: rush for 2
3-10: rush for minus-1
3-8: rush for 9
3-3: rush for 1

USM (6 for 17)

3-7: completion for 9
3-7: completion for 22
3-10: INT
3-4: completion for 1
3-1: rush for 4
3-9: INC
3-9: INC
3-12: rush for 1
3-3: rush for 3
3-5: completion for 4 (converted 4th)
3-7: INC
3-13: INC
3-10: sack for minus-8 (Sample)
3-14: sack for minus-7 (Patrick Johnson)
3-11: Sack for minus-7 (Friloux)
3-13: completion for 15
3-3: completion for 12

HOUSTON (6 FOR 13)

3-6: rush for 2
3-4: INC
3-11: completion for 19
3-G-1: NG (scored next play)
3-10: completion for 22
3-1: rush for 2
3-10: completion for 23 and TD
3-14: INC
3-3: rush for 4
3-1: rush for 2
3-4: completion for 3 (converted 4th down)
3-19: rush for 1
3-5: rush for minus-1

SMU (10 for 18)

3-3: completion for 31
3-5: INC
3-4: completion for 4
3-2: completion for 23
3-11: completion for 41
3-7: sack for minus-6 (Jeffery Johnson)
3-5: completion for 10 and TD
3-5: rush for 6
3-10: rush for 14
3-16: rush for 6
3-21: completion for 61
3-5: rush for NG
3-10: sack -10 (Kevaris Hall)
3-8: completion for 22
3-5: completion for 8
3-11: completion for 40
3-11: INC
3-4: rush for 2

UCF (10 of 17)

3-5: rush for 6
3-G-6: NG
3-2: rush for 6
3-6: completion for 23
3-5: INC (failed on 4th down)
3-3: rush for 5
3-2: rush for 5
3-2: rush for 3
3-3: rush for 8
3-12: INC (TD on fourth down)
3-8: completion for 41 and TD
3-10: completion for 9 (converted 4th down)
3-8: INC
3-24: Sack minus-4 (Nick Anderson)
3-1: rush for 5
3-6: rush for 4 (converted 4th down)
3-2: rush for 4

Comment: Opponents have converted a whopping 17 third downs of 7 or more yards, including nine of 10 or more. Again, although I don't have numbers to compare it, too, I've been watching college football long enough to know those are very high numbers. Tulane has to get better in third and long.

That said, Tulane also has given up 11 touchdown drives when the opponent never faced a third down, another one when Navy's only third down was from the 1-yard line and another when SMU did not face a third down until throwing for a 10-yard score on third-and-5. The Wave's defensive problems, particularly defending the pass, have been multiple, but getting better on third-and-long would be a good start for improvement.

Cantrell is allowing high schools at outdoor stadiums to have 50% occupancy.

Wonder why wouldn’t Tulane try to capitalize.

50% is much better than the 3,000 for the Saints. They should be pushing for that also.

It's WR Jaden Williams, who was committed to ULL but now will play football and basketball for Tulane. He's a point guard in hoops.

Who is the last scholarship player to play both sports simultaneously at Tulane?

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Amare Jones did not practice today and was wearing a bigger brace on his right leg than last Thursday, but Willie Fritz said he was optimistic Jones would be ready for Temple. Jones was in good spirits on the sideline, playing toss with newly injured wide receiver Phat Watts for part of the workout.

Linebacker Marvin Moody, who started the first six games, sat out with an unspecified injury. The other regular starter, Kevin Henry, wore a no-contact red jersey but took all of his normal reps. Nick Anderson, the only one of Tulane's four starter-quality linebackers who did not start in the 3-3-5 formation it trotted out unsuccessfully against UCF, replaced Moody. Freshman Jesus Machado got second-team reps, playing alongside Dorian Williams, who is not a starter but would be my choice for MVP of the defense through six games. His textbook hit on UCF running back Otis Anderson drew a flag for targeting on Saturday, probably because the hit was so violent, the referees assumed he'd done something wrong, but the replay review overturned the penalty and allowed him to stay in the game.

Angelo Anderson returned to practice today after missing several weeks, but he worked with the scout-team defense. He was easy to spot because he did not look like a typical scout-team guy. Alfred Thomas was back, too, after missing the last two games, so Tulane's depth up front is improving.

Caleb Thomas and Ben Knutson continued to start on the offensive line, and I finally found out what the issue is with true freshman Josh Remetich. I hesitate to ask Willie Fritz about specific injuries at times because he does not like to give out that information, but I whiffed on this one. It turns out Remetich was not injured. He had mono and was taken out after the first series of the Houston game. Since I was on deadline for that one, I never even realized he had been replaced, and I never got to watch the replay because of DirecTV's stupid system where all college football games you record are under the title of the most recent one you recorded. I recorded Florida-Texas A&M two days later, decided not to watch it when the Gators lost and erased Florida-Texas A&M on the screen, unwittingly getting rid of all four games I had recorded, including Tulane-Houston, so I know less about what happened at Houston than anyone who watched the game on TV.

Anyway, Fritz said he doubted Remetich would be ready for Temple but expected him to be ready for Army. Mono differs in seriousness from case to case and can linger a long time.

As for Joey Claybrook, who I did see get hurt against Houston, his ankle injury was pretty significant. Fritz almost never rules out players during the week unless they have season-ending type injuries, but I would expect Knutson to make his third straight start. The offensive line needs Claybrook to get healthy, but Knutson has fared better than I anticipated the last two games.

Wide receiver Jacob Robertson practiced today after missing the UCF game with an injury. If Phat Watts returns later in the week, the Wave will be a full strength at the position.

Tulane worked on onside kicks today during the special teams portion of practice. Merek Glover's first one against UCF was poor when he tried to surprise UCF and kicked it too far up the middle. His second one was excellent, putting one UCF player against three Tulane players. Unfortunately for the Wave, the guy made an excellent play fielding it cleanly off the hop.

I will post quotes from Fritz, Dorian Williams and Corey Dublin shortly.

Quarterback Anthony Russo, who has led an unusually productive offense for the Owls, had an MRI on his shoulder yesterday. If he cannot play, the Owls will have to go with a sophomore QB who played in two games last year. That's a big difference, particularly considering Tulane's struggles defending the pass.

Here is a Philadelphia inquirer story on Temple's mounting injuries.

https://www.inquirer.com/college-sp...njuries-anthony-russo-rod-carey-20201026.html

It does not look like Amare Jones will play against UCF. I did not ask about him because Fritz shies away from talking about injuries, but he was wearing a brace on his right leg today for the first time and did not have his helmet at practice. Ygenio Booker, who has played sparingly to this point in his career, figures to have a stepped up role Saturday.

Although Fritz did not close the door on Josh Remetich or Joey Claybrook playing against UCF, neither of them has practiced this week, so look for Caleb Thomas and Ben Knutson in starting roles for the second straight game. I asked Fritz about the decision to use Knutson at left tackle instead of other options, knowing Cameron Jackel nor Jaylen Miller did not play well when they replaced him in the Houston game, Knutson moved to left tackle from backup right guard in the first practice after that loss.

"He'd started a little bit at tackle at Virginia," Fritz said. "We are always trying to put the best five out there. Center is a unique position, but otherwise if you give a guy a week's preparation when you move him from right guard to left tackle, that's usually enough. Obviously some guys are tailor made for tackle and some guys for guard, but the main objective for us is to get the best five out there on the field."

Stephon Huderson will be a pivotal player for Tulane on Saturday. He is coming off a career-best game against SMU and needs to have an even better day to give the Wave a chance to beat UCF, keeping the Knights' offense off the field as much as possible with a ball-control offense. Huderson, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown against UCF last year, may be the primary returner again considering Jones' status.

"He's a good all-around athlete," Fritz said. "He's a really good athlete. He's just a little vertically challenged (5-9) rather than a tall guy. He's got great movement, good speed, he's tough inside and hard to arm tackle. Pound for pound, he's probably pretty close to being our strongest guy. He does a real squat, top of the thigh breaking parallel to the knee, 550, 570 pounds, something like that. He power cleans 330, 340. He's a very strong guy. If he were 6-0, he'd probably weight 235, 240, It's just hard to get a good, clean shot on him."

Freshman safety Cornelius Dyson got plenty of reps today. He will not start against UCF but figures to play more than in any other game. He has three tackles in three games after missing the first two due to coronavirus contract tracing issues.

"I'm really impressed with him," Fritz said. "He played linebacker, a little bit of corner, tight end, running back, wide receiver in high school, but never played any safety really. We recruited him really based on projecting him through his athletic ability and what we saw on film that he could be a safety. You worry, but he understands the game. He's picked it up faster. Most of the time the freshmen that play for you, it really isn't because of their athletic ability. It's that they pick the game up the and difference of the complexity of college football compared to high school football. We thought there would be a learning curve for him, and there hasn't been. He's going to play more and more. He rolled last week and he's going to roll this week. He plays in the kicking game, is very competitive and has an excellent demeanor for practice and for games. His dad was a real good player and signed with LSU out of high school and played at Southeastern Louisiana and played Arena Football when Lafayette had that team a few years back, so he's been around the game."

Tight end Tyrick James made a nice catch on the sideline on a deep out from Michael Pratt today. Tulane sure could use that in a game because James, who had worked his way into a significant role in the passing game during the preseason, has been shaky with six catches for 88 yards and a few drops through five games. As Pratt continues to get better, the development of the receivers will be pivotal the rest of the season because he will give them the opportunity to make big plays. Mykel Jones showed flashes against SMU and needs to show up against UCF. Of Tulane's five grad transfers this year, only one--linebacker Kevin Henry--is producing at a high level. Kyle Meyers, Ajani Kerr, Jaylon Miller and Jones all were starting at some point in the preseason or the beginning of the season and are in reserve roles now.

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

Central Florida (-19.5) Tulane
Navy (+14) Houston
SMU (-2.5) Cincinnati
Memphis (-13.5) Temple
LSU (-7) South Carolina
Oklahoma State (-3.5) Iowa State
Pittsburgh (+10.5) Notre Dame
Minnesota (+3) Michigan

Two games were postponed, but GretnaGreen had an almost perfect week in the six games that were played.

WEEK 5 RESULTS

6

GretnaGreen

5

MNAlum
buck2481
ny oscar
paliii

4

Guerry
diverdo
chigoyboy
WaveON
DrBox

3

winwave
Wavetime

2

charlamange8

1

LSU Law Greenie


OVERALL STANDINGS

24.5

paliii

22.5

ny oscar

21.5

Guerry

20.5

diverdo
buck2481

19.5

MNAlum
winwave
chigoyboy
DrBox

18.5

Wavetime
WaveON

17.5

charlamange8
GretnaGreen

12

LSU Law Greenie (missed 1 week)


GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

Tulane 12 of 14
BYU 3
Alabama 8
Memphis 6
Navy 11
Arkansas 3

I resurrected my old favorite feature for the first time in a couple of years.

By the Numbers