I finally had a few hours of free time so I could go back and watch the Navy game in detail. Here's a full film study covering every drive in a game Tulane absolutely had to win and did in dramatic fashion.

TULANE'S FIRST DRIVE (starts at own 20)

Beautiful pass by McMillan to Mooney after a low snap. HIt him right where it needed to be on sideline floater to convert third down

Poor blocking by Dublin and Leglue messed up two running plays

McMillan stutter step before getting tackled on scramble for 2-yard gain

NAVY FIRST DRIVE (starts at own 8)

Great play by Chase Kuershen running down sweep from far side and delivering big blow to stop third-and-5.

TULANE SECOND DRIVE (starts at own 3)

Jabril Clewis drops slant pass that should have been in front of him, but he still should have caught it.

On third down, McMillan ducked under a sack attempt by a blitzing LB who was untouched and turned a negative play into a 2-yard gain. It was another example of how McMillan has a natural feel.

NAVY SECOND DRIVE (starts at own 17)

The first time Navy caught Tulane sleeping in secondary, Patrick Johnson did not cover RB and Rod Teamer was late to recognize it. Would have been about a 40-yard gain.

Once again, Kuerchen was right there to make a good tackle on second down

On third down, tight end OJ Davis had a sure 81-yard TD but Zach Abey overthrew him on a play similar to Tulane's winning 2-point conversion. No one was on that side of the field after Tulane lined up with 11 men in the box, and Davis faked like he was blocking, then drifted across the field. Abey, getting heavy pressure from a Zach Harris blitz, overthrew him.

TULANE THIRD DRIVE (starts at own 25)

Bad call on a good block by Marvin Moody on punt return. Cameron Carroll did push a defender in Amare Jones before he hit him out of bounds, but he made no attempt to avoid the contact. What could have been 15 yards in Tulane's favor turned into a 10-yard illegal block penalty, changing the field position from the Navy 48 to the Tulane 25.

Joey Claybrook missed a block on first down, dooming a Bradwell run.

McMillan pitched too early on option to Amare Jones, killing any chance for success.

The third down deep ball to Clewis was bad. It went out of bounds and he got no separation.

The awful series ended with a 21-yard punt off the side of Ryan Wright's foot.

NAVY'S THIRD DRIVE (starts at Tulane 46)

Great tackle by Donnie Lewis on run support second down.

Abey powered through De'Andre Williams for a first down on fourth-and-3 when it looked like he would be stopped.

Thakarius Keyes got crushed on a block as he pursued a receiver over the middle of the field. The flag that flew was picked up correctly because it was a legal block to the chest.

Fantastic play by Patrick Johnson on Malcolm Perry for a loss of 4 on a misdirection play on first-and-goal from the 9. He was not fooled and was not bothered by a block attempt, tackling Perry.

Another great force by Lewis on second down to blow up a play. Tulane totally sold out to stop th run.

Zach Harris defended the option the short side well, giving the third down play no chance and forcing Navy to try a 26-yard FG, which was no good. It was only Navy's second FG miss in 10 attempts. This was the last drive that Rod Teamer played. He was blocked to the ground on the last play, but I think it was his prior injury that kept him from playing the rest of the way. That's the second straight game he exited with a mystery injury, and he's a tough guy. He must really have a lingering, serious issue.

But the idea that Tulane struggled in pass coverage against Navy because of injuries was not totally accurate. The starters were on the field for both blown coverages in the first half. Navy just failed to capitalize. It capitalized on the coverage mistakes in the second half.

TULANE'S FOURTH DRIVE (starts at own 20)

Good first down deep out to Mooney. That's the variety Tulane needed more of on first downs this year.

McMillan threw a perfect 59-yard touchdown pass to Mooney at the end of the three-play,. all-pass drive. Mooney made a subtle move as if he were cutting outside and then took off straight downfield and was wide open. As long as McMillan did not overthrow him, it was a sure TD. He had more than five yards on the DB. McMillan raised his arms up as if was easy, his signature move and one that I don't think the coaches like.

NAVY FOURTH DRIVE (starts at own 25)

Jeffery Johnson was sealed and Williams was blocked out of the way on Navy's first successful run of the day, starting a short trend of success for the Midshipmen.

Jeffery Johnson was blocked effectively on a burst up the middle for another first down.

The line got whipped at the point of attack again on the next snap and Kuerschen overran the play, barely holding on for the tackle.

Jeffery Johnson was blocked again on another FB run.

Williams made a nice play to stop Abey on a third-down option, but Abey got the first on fourth down.

Larry Bryant made a nice sack on third down when Tulane had a receiver blanketed for once, but Navy made a 48-yard FG.

TULANE FIFTH DRIVE (starts at own 23)

fantastic block by Corey Dublin on big Bradwell run up the middle.

The offense was in a good rhythm, with Jabril Clewis making back-to-back receptions.

Great fake by McMillan on long run, selling handoff to Bradwell and taking off full speed the other way, reading the play the right way.

McMillan showed his athletic ability on a keeper avoiding a tackler on his way to the end zone. He runs aggressively when he wants to.

NAVY FIFTH DRIVE (starts at own 25)

Patrick Johnson was terrific on a third-down option as the defense forced a 3 and out. Lawrence Graham was there, too.

TULANE SIXTH DRIVE (starts at own 25)

McMillan was off on an out pass to an open Mooney. Those are the plays he needs to clean up.

But McMillan was on the money on a slant to Mooney on the next play.

McMillan made a nice fake to Mooney on a slant two plays later, holding the ball and hitting Clewis behind him. This was the best play of Clewis' two-year career, as he converted in into a 52-yard TD. This was an excellent play design as Tulane appeared to take total control.

NAVY'S SIXTH DRIVE

A deep pass to Perry was almost completed, but Keyes had decent coverage and got his hand in there to keep Perry from holding on. Tulane forced a 3 and out and had a chance to go for more, but yet another block in the back on the punt return, this time by Keitha Jones, ended that opportunity.

The first of Tulane's two big recruiting weekends has brought three commitments, with 3-star WR Jha'Quan Jackson of Hahnville the latest tonight.

Jackson, Levi Williams and Armoni Dixon are a good start for what should be a strong finish. Tulane is up to 11 commitments two weeks before signing day and will have at least 12 more if Willie Fritz's Sunday prediction proves accurate.

CB Levi Williams committed today after his official visit.

He had offers from West Virginia and Iowa State and should be a good pickup.

I will try to reach him tomorrow.

Here is a thread to talk about Tulane's open offensive coordinator position.

No one has a clear indication of what direction Willie Fritz will go in hiring a new offensive coordinator, although I don't think the decision is imminent. The decision to replace Ruse has been firm for a while, I believe, but not the identity of his replacement. I would be surprised if he goes totally off his coaching tree and make a radical change from what he has done in the past, but we'll see.

Today, I will look at Bob DeBesse, Fritz's offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State in 2010-11. DeBesse was fired by New Mexico last December after a good six-year run there (he said it was a mutual decision that it was time to move on) and is at Georgia Southern this season. His offense has become very run heavy since leaving Fritz and would have to change his philosophy a bit to maximize Tulane's recruiting. Georgia Southern has thrown only 110 times in 12 games this year, including nine pass attempts in a 38-7 loss to Clemson and three times the following week in a 28-21 win against Arkansas State. There's no chance Tulane will take that approach.

When he was at New Mexico the previous six years, the Lobos threw 242 times in 2017, 179 times in 2016, 230 times in 2015, 149 times in 2014, 177 times in 2013 and 154 times in 2012. The passing was highly ineffective, too, with New Mexico completing 49.6 percent of its throws with 14 interceptions and eight TDs in 2017.

When he was with Fritz at Sam Houston State, the Bearkats threw 274 times in 2011 (15 games) and 249 times in 2010 (12 games), more in line with what Tulane has done under Fritz, but with Jalen McCleskey joining the fold, it seems like Tulane is moving in the direction of throwing more, not less.

Tulane threw 282 times this year, 241 times last year and 258 times in 2016. DeBesse's Minnesota teams in the 1990s (he was offensive coordinator there from 92 to 96) threw quite a bit, topping out at 500 times in 2003, but that's a different era of football and a lifetime ago.

DeBesse was the quarterbacks coach at New Mexico, so he can handle that duty.

Here are two stories on him when he took the Georgia Southern job. Given Fritz's statement about a philosophy change, DeBesse would appear to be an unlikely choice.

https://www.savannahnow.com/sports/...-inside-eagle-option-offense-with-bob-debesse

https://www.savannahnow.com/local-c...ern-coordinator-bringing-offense-similar-what

Alabama vs Oklahoma
Clemson vs Notre Dame

What do you guys think? Just for the heck of it I'm saying Alabama over Notre Dame.

How do you think UCF would have done? I think their team last year was better than this years team (even before the QB went down). Something is going to have to be done. They can take 8 or 12.
There are 11 FBS Conferences. Each Conference Champion can be invited and then have an at large. Or they can go to 8, invite the P5 Champions and 1 as they say Group of 5 and 2 at large.

If a team in any other sport goes undefeated and does not get into the playoffs then even ESPN would be screaming. I just find it amazing how the fox is watching the hen house here and there's not that much push back. What we need is a good ol fashion anti-trust lawsuit.

What bowl game do you guys want Tulane to play in?

Some of the potential matchups I've seen are terrible (Eastern Michigan in the Frisco Bowl? Oof.), although Tulane-Southern Miss in the Boca Raton Bowl is about as good as the Wave is going to get even though the stadium would be virtually empty.

I have bad memories from my last trip to that stadium, when no one knew where the media parking lot was and I kept getting directed to the wrong spot and told something different by each attendant. Then once the game started, Tulane lost linebackers/special teams coach Barry Lamb to health issues at halftime and the program went downhill from there. Nick Montana and Devin Powell combined to throw interceptions on the Wave's first four possessions of the second half and Tulane, 6-2 at the time, lost four of it last five and was non-competitive when it joined the AAC the following year, exhibiting the worst special teams play I've ever seen.

I've only heard bad things about the stadium in Frisco. Plus, that game takes place on Signing Day, which would create a logistical nightmare. The Boca Raton Bowl is a day before Signing Day. Regardless, Tulane's last recruiting weekend will be difficult to manage and may have to be scrapped.

It's not a sure thing the Advocate will pay for me to go to the bowl game, but I will go regardless of their decision, paying my own way if I have to. (I believe they ultimately will pay for me).

Tulane needs to win the bowl game. The 2013 team should have beaten ULL by double digits but did not get serious until it already was down three touchdowns in the first half. A win would give Tulane its fourth winning record this century.

If Tulane had not converted the 2-point play, the contest would be over and winwave would be the winner. But we're going to do a bowl edition, giving everyone else a chance to catch up ... oh, who am I kidding? Winwave has this one in the bag. Still, the bowl edition, coming up later this week, should be fun.

WEEK 12 RESULTS

6

Kettrade1

5

winwave
paliii

4

Golfer81
GretnaGreen
Guerry
WaveON
charlamange8

3

LSU Law Greenie
Wavetime
chigoyboy
highwave
St Amant Wave

2

mono41
DrBox
sscald


OVERALL STANDINGS

64

winwave

57

paliii

55

LSU Law Greenie
GretnaGreen

54

WaveON
Guerry

53

mono41
Golfer81
Kettrade1

52

sscald (missed 1 week)

51

Wavetime (missed 1 week)
highwave

47

St Amant Wave

46

chigoyboy

44

charlamange8 (missed 1 week)

43

diverdo (missed 1 week)

33

DrBox (missed 1 week)


GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS

Navy 3 of 16
LSU 10
Ohio State 4
Oklahoma 9
Washington 5
Alabama 7
Florida 13
USC 3

If UCF goes undefeated two years in a row and don’t even have a chance then no group 5 has a chance. I say it’s time for group 5 to separate and have their own playoffs. Some will say that this would further separate the group 5 teams but I actually think it would make the top teams in G5 stronger because kids nowadays want to play for something. Example championship fcs schools would beat 70 % of fbs schools

Here's what Fritz had to say today. He addressed the bowl game, recruiting and his search for a new offensive coordinator.

Opening Statement:

“We are very, very excited to be the 12th team in the 125-year of Tulane University to qualify for a bowl game. This’ll be the first time since 2002 that a Tulane team has ventured outside the state of Louisiana to play in a bowl game. I’ll admit it, I was a little bit partial to trying to get into that Cure Bowl. I think it’s an excellent bowl. A lot of things for our young men to be able to do during the time we’re going to be able to be there. We’ve got a lot of alums from that area of the state of Florida. That’ll be neat as well. Hopefully we’ll have a lot of people travel down from New Orleans and the state of Florida and around the country to celebrate the university and the football program going to a bowl game. We’re pumped up about it.”

On the process of deciding which bowl Tulane would be attending:

“You know I’ve really had our athletic director, Troy Dannen, handle everything. He talked with representatives from our conference, (Associate Commissioner for Football) Scott Draper in particular. Just was unsure exactly of what was going to happen and we wanted to wait until we had all the T’s crossed and the I’s dotted. ESPN is a big player in where you go as well. So we kind of had to wait for some of the games to get finished to decide what was going to happen. We had a pretty good idea that this was the bowl we would have the opportunity to go to, and it ended up working out. I’m was really happy with this option.”

On playing an in-state opponent in UL:

“I know coach Napier a little bit. We did some camps in the summer with him. He’s done a super job with their program. We played them a few years ago and Tulane played them in a bowl game last time they played in a bowl I believe. So, yeah, it’ll be a real good opponent.”

On energy in the program right now:

“They’re very excited. We had a great practice Saturday. It was neat because we had a bunch of recruits in and they were able to watch us practice which is a bonus we haven’t had in the last couple of years. They’re very, very excited. For all the hard work you put in, you want to have this kind of opportunity. I especially feel good for our seniors. They’ve really invested a lot in Tulane University, in particular the football program, this is a big deal for those guys along with the coaches and the administration, the fans. We’ve got a lot of loyal fans. They’ve stayed with us and they want to see this type of success. We’ve got the program going in the right direction, we need to go down there and play well.”

On who will call plays after offensive coordinator Doug Ruse was let go:

“Our interim offensive coordinator for this game will be Alex Atkins. He’s going to work in collaboration with the other offensive coaches. This will be a little unique. Coach Ruse did a great job for us. Unfortunately we decided to go in a different direction. Alex will do an excellent job.”

On what Tulane’s offensive will look like come the spring:

“We’re open…I always want to have a strong running game. That’s always going to be a part of our offense. I think teams that win big have got good running attacks. We’re certainly going to emphasize that. But, we’re also going to make some changes. There’s going to be some things we’re going to do a little bit differently. That’s going to be my job to find the right guy based on interviews and past successes the guys have had. We’ll get somebody really good in here.”

On what specific scheme he’s looking for an offensive coordinator to run:

“Right now we’ve got bowl preparation, we’ve got recruiting and also looking right now for an offensive coordinator. A bunch of people have applied for this position. That’s a good problem to have. I’m trying to really try to work it with four, five or six guys. But I’ve been really happy with the people who have applied. When you hire someone I think you have a vision as a head coach. Unless you’re the guy that’s specifically calling it, but you have a vision that you want the guy to be able to do for you. But I also think I’m open to new ideas. I’m sure I’ll hear some good ideas and make a good decision about the direction we’ll go in. I’m hoping that sooner rather than later, but I also want to make sure we do a good job with recruiting and bowl prep and I don’t want that to take away from me being around here. It’s hard to be in three different places.”

On whether how he recruits is impacted by the time of offense he’ll run:

“The big thing in recruiting is you’ve got to replenish the positions where you’re losing guys, and also you’re hoping to elevate the type of player that we’ve been recruiting. We feel like we’ve done that every year we’ve been here. We’re going to continue to keep doing that. But most offenses that I’ve been around that have been pretty good have got big, tall, fast physical guys. So we’re going to try to add those dudes. [laughs] I’m not trying to be a wise guy. We want good athletes. I want to be a 50-50 team. I’m not looking to – we’re not all of a sudden going to become an air raid team that throws 65 times a game, all that kind of stuff. We’re not going to do that. But I’m open to tempo. I still want to incorporate some option elements in our offense. But this is a great opportunity for me to learn more football. I love getting in these interviews and hearing these things. If you get a bunch of good guys, it’s a hard decision. I hope it’s a very difficult decision.”

On how logistically the timing of the bowl game will impact recruiting:

“I think it’ll help us, yeah. I do think that’ll help us. And then the other part we’ve got, too, that we’re having to juggle is finals. T his is our last week of class and then finals a week from Monday. We’re leaving for the game on Wednesday [December 12]. We’ve gotta do a whole lot of things. I’ve played in a lot of bowl games, but they haven’t been where you left this early. A lot of them were playoff games which are completely different.”

On Alex Atkins:

“Alex is our assistant head coach. He coaches our offensive line. I think he’s chomping at the bit. He’s never had an opportunity to call. This will give him some real good experience as well. I’m sure he’s going to take some suggestions from our other offensive staff as well as the head coach.”

On how the bowl impacts recruiting schedule:

“Yeah, normally, you have a weekend – that weekend, the 14th, 15th and 16th of December. Now we’re not going to be able to do that. That’s OK. We’ve got 25 schoalrships that we have available. I think we’ll sign 25 guys during that early signing period. If we don’t it might be one or two guys we sign in the February signing period. We’ve got a really good response to our season. I think people around the country understand – No. 1, I think we were the 12th-most difficult schedule in the country. We played some really good people. [Ed: Tulane’s schedule was 29th-most difficult based on FBS opponent winning percentage as of December 1] No. 2, I think they’re beginning to understand the level of play in the American Conference. It’s a really competitive conference from top to bottom. You’ve got a bunch of great teams. I wish UCF would have had the opportunity to maybe be in the Final Four. I don’t know what they ended up. Have they figured that out yet? [He is told UCF finished eighth in the final CFP rankings] They’ve done a great job this season. We’ve got a lot of good teams in this league. Kids are starting to understand that. When you combine that with the academics here at Tulane and also the city of New Orleans, you’ve got a lot of recruit towards.”

On winning a bowl giving Tulane a winning record:

“It’s a big deal. I talked to our guys about that. I told them that getting prepared for this game and playing the very best you can and winning the game, that’s first, it’s second, it’s third, it’s fourth, it’s fifth. Having a good time is [moves his hand toward the floor] it’s down here. We want to go out and represent Tulane University and our conference in the right way. I believe it’s five winning seasons in the last 36 years here at Tulane. We want to be six.”

On the Cajuns’ running game:

“They’ve got some good backs. I’ve had a chance to watch a little bit of their game yesterday. You’ve got to defend both against them. I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t watched a whole lot of tape on them. I know that a team that plays for the Sun Belt Conference Championship is a good ballclub.”

Here's what I have:

ALREADY COMMITTED TO TULANE

Jackson Fort
Sincere Haynesworth
Kiland Harrison
Conner Richardson

UNCOMMITTED

1) Armoni Dixon, a 2-star, 6-3, 218-pound OLB from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.

Comment: Has offers from Cincinnati, Syracuse and Navy among others. Loyola won state title in 8A, the largest classification in Illinois, holding four playoff opponents to combined 19 points and avenging 35-3 regular season loss to Brother Rice in championship game, winning 13-3. He had 86 tackles and 18 for loss according to Maxpreps.

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2) Ton'Quez Ball, a 2-star, 5-11, 186-pound WR from South Doyle High in Knoxville, Tenn.

Comment: Has offers from low profile FBS schools Appalachian State, Middle Tennessee State and Miami (Ohio) among others. Visited Middle Tennessee last week. Had 766 receiving yards and 11 TDs this season.

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3) Levi Williams, a 2-star, 6-0, 180-pound CB from Bloomingdale High in Valrico, Fla.

Comment: Has offers from Iowa State, West Virginia and South Florida among others. Committed to Iowa State briefly in June. Rushed for 683 yards and eight TDs and had 42 tackles according to MaxPreps. Bloomingdale finished its best season in school history with a Class 7A QF loss at defending state champion Venice and led Venice at the half before falling 57-32.

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4) Marcus Harris, a 2-star, 6-2, 236-pound DE from Park Crossing High in Montgomery, Ala.

Comment: Has offers from a bunch of CUSA and Sun Belt schools, including ULL and FAU.

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5) JhaQuan Jackson, a 3-star, 5-10, 173-pound WR from Hahnville High rated the No. 37 overall prospect in Louisiana.

Comment: De-committed from SMU in mid-November. Has offers from West Virginia, Memphis and Navy among others. Hahnville played without its starting QB all year before he was cleared to play in the playoffs, where it lost to Zachary in the second round.

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6) Neal Johnson, a 2-star, 6-4, 220-pound TE from West Mesquite High in Texas.

Comment: Has offers from ULL, Western Kentucky and Wyoming among others. A receiver prospect who started at quarterback, rushing 67 times for 531 yards with a 99-yard TD according to MaxPreps.

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7) Jakoby Jones, a no-star, 6-3, 290-pound OT from East Mississippi CC.

Comment: Has offers from FAU, ULL, USM and UAB. Last Chance U won another JC national championship last night, beating Garden City 10-9 in the final. His team averaged 400 yards and 38.5 points this year. Played high school ball in Starkville, Miss.

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8) Kanyon Walker, a no-star, 6-0, 188 pound CB from Wildwood High in Florida.

Comment: Has offers from Army and Air Force. Visited Army on Nov. 2. Wildwood reached he second round of the Class 1A playoffs.

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9) Zach Edwards, a 3-star, 6-3, 217-pound OLB from Starkville (Miss.) High rated the No. 19 prospect at his position nationally and the No. 17 overall prospect in Mississippi.

Comment: Was committed to LSU from March to July but no longer is in consideration there. Also has offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Was a one-time 4-star recruit.

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ALREADY COMMITTED ELSEWHERE

1) Jalil Clemons, a 3-star, 6-3, 240-pound DE from Starkville High in Mississippi. Rated the No. 23 overall prospect in the state.

Comment: Committed to Tennessee in June. Has offers from ULL, ULM, UTSA and Memphis. Had 57 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 7 sacks according to MaxPreps. Starkville reached the Class 6A semifinals, losing 35-14 to undefeated, eventual state champion Horn Lake.

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2) Tyler Guidry, a 3-star, 6-3, 225-pound ATH from Southern Lab in Baton Rouge.

Comment: Committed to ULL in July. Southern Lab, the No. 1 seed in Division IV, lost in the semifinals of the playoffs last Friday to Lafayette Christian. Guidry played tight end as a sophomore and DE as a junior. Not sure where he lined up this year.

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Interesting that Bradwell and Mooney are close approaching a thousand yards. This is very impressive since we all know about the predictability of the offense.
Bradwell in his second year of playing running back and to become just the sixth running back in Tulane football history to do it. Also he has manage to be fifteenth all time rushing in two years and never every starting more than 5 games. Also never been anointed the guy at the position is a great accomplishment,
Mooney has made plays all year. To do this in a heavy run offense with qb play that hasn't been the best says a lot about his skills and talent. I can imagine him in a more pass happy offense. These guys has accomplish some good things this year and to do it with a possible winning season.

As awesome as the BOWL anticipation is...man it feels like we won a game every day...recruiting for the early signing day is heating up with some official visits this weekend ....here is who I believe to be visiting this weekend...

Armoni Dixon OLB Loyola Academy, IL
Conner Richardson TE Germantown, TN Committed
Jackson Fort OL College Park, KS Committed
Kiland Harrison WR/S Saint Joseph, MS Committed
Ton'Quez Ball WR/CB South Doyle, TN


More updates as they become available.

I hear there is a change being made?

Like the season a lot of ups and downs today. Started slow and missed open receivers. The running game was going nowhere. Luckily we were stopping their run game and on their few pass attempts in the first half Abey was missing guys who were wide open. Then we started hitting our passes and looked headed to a blow out. In the second half we looked like we were going to choke again. They came out passing and Abey started hitting those wide open receivers. Then thankfully we put together a great drive to get the win.

Now we need to pull against SMU to guarantee a Bowl game. They are down 21-7.

He’d be IDEAL for us. Would have to sit out a year which isn’t a bad thing. And I know it probably isn’t happening but one can dream

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-transfer-from-arizona-due-to-oc-noel-mazzone

I don't have the complete list this time, but here are the headliners.

1) Cooper Dawson, a 3-star, 6-5, 245-pound DE from Hanahan, S.C.

Comment: Clemson has offered him at OT, but he wants to play defense. Visited UCF recently, already visited Army, will visit Vanderbilt next weekend. Seems like a great fit.

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2) Tyler Judson, a 3-star, 5-11, 180-pound safety from Zachary rated the No. 36 overall prospect in Louisiana.

Comment: Committed to Ole Miss in June but de-committed before the Egg Bowl debacle against Mississippi State. Also has Baylor, Houston and a host of smaller FBS programs.

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3) Chandler Whitfield, a 2-star, 5-8, 157-pound WR from Zachary.

Comment: Has been committed to Nicholls State in June. Also has an offer from ULM. Zachary. the No. 6 seed in the 5A playoffs, faces No. 3 Acadiana tonight and has scored 40 or more points in four consecutive games.

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4) Kevin Hester, a no-star, 6-5, 238-pound DE from North Cobb High in Marietta, Ga.

Comment: Intriguing. He never had played football until May. specializing in hoops. Although he does not have any stars, he has offers from Boston College, Wake Forest, UConn and Southern Miss, getting the offers from BC and USM a week after he started playing football.

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5) Brant Banks, a 3-star, 6-8, 250-pound OT from Houston Westbury Christian

Comment: Visited Nebraska, Missouri and UTSA already. Has offers from Houston, Boston College, California, Pittsburgh, Baylor and Virginia among others. 247 Sports lists him as 265 pounds, which makes more sense than 250.

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Our regular season is over and we get ready for our second bowl game in 16 years. With less than a month to early recruiting, I thought it time look at our needs for next year.

We went 6-6 this regular season which shows a good trend—from 3 to 4 to 5 to 6 regular season wins over the past four years and a share of the top spot in the Western Division. Had we beaten SMU (which we squandered the opportunity to do) we’d be playing Central Florida for the AAC title this week and going to a bigger bowl regardless of outcome. We need to continue our progress, win our bowl game and get at least seven regular-season wins next year.

But the more important need for next season is to establish the foundation of a program that has players and fans expecting to win against whatever competition, to view seven wins as an “off year,”and going to a bowl that few people have ever heard of as a slight. Our goals should be much higher than “eking” into a bowl. For the moment they should be AAC Championships and bowls where we can “show our stuff” against P5 competition and come away with victories. To do that, we need to get better in virtually every department. I

Roll Wave!!!

Tulsa beats SMU. I can see us getting matched up with USM in a Bowl. Looking forward to it.

It is not my intent to make this thread an indictment in any way of Coach Fritz. I personally think he is a very good coach who has begun to put together a winning program at Tulane. Although the bar is not very high (quite low), he has already clearly exceeded the results gained by Scelfo, Toledo, and Johnson. I expect us to be a “bowl team” almost every year he is here. We’ll see.

That said, I can only wonder what would have happened seven years ago if we had signed Mike Leach to be our head coach. Between the time we offered Rich Rodriguez and his acceptance of the Arizona job, Leach was contacted by Washington State, offered the job, and came to an informal, but not announced agreement. Had we offered Leach first, would he have accepted and come to New Orleans? “Spilt milk;” we’ll never know.

At Washington State, a perennial cellar dweller in the PAC 12, he inherited a team that had gone 9-40 the previous 4 years. After going 12-25 in his first three years, he has gone 35-14 since. This year will mark his 5th bowl appearance in seven years after the school had gone 10 years without going to a bowl.

So, what would have happened at Tulane? I think we can be sure that he’d be able to recruit QB’s and WR’s rather quickly. His name and system would virtually assure that. His personality and style of play would likely have drawn crowds, fueling improved recruiting. By now, he’d have probably left for “greener” (meaning P5) pastures, but it might have been fun.

Roll Wave!!!

As always, the Tulane game counts double, home teams are listed first and the point spreads come from VegasInsider.com consensus. This is the final regular season edition, but if Tulane wins, there will be a special bowl game edition.

I have included two Friday night games this time because the Saturday lineup is pretty tame.

Tulane (-7) Navy
Texas A&M (-3) LSU
Ohio State (+4) Michigan
West Virginia (+1.5) Oklahoma
Washington State (-2.5) Washington
Alabama (-24.5) Auburn
Florida State (+6) Florida
Southern California (+10.5) Notre Dame

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Here's hoping Tulane can make it a good weekend on Saturday and give fans something to be thankful for after the holiday for the first time in five years.

Nobal Days, 3 star PF from Racine, WI and former Badger commit. 6’9 1/2

https://journaltimes.com/sports/hig...cle_e19f0256-d918-5008-972d-479c7df02ba3.html

As of tonight, there are 72 bowl-eligible teams to fill 78 spots nationally. Three more are definitely going to be filled in matchups of 5-6 teams (Baylor v. Texas Tech, Indiana v. Purdue, Vandy v. Tennessee) and Tulane is one of 15 other teams with a chance to become bowl eligible this weekend, while Akron can become bowl eligible by beating Ohio and South Carolina the next two weeks (good luck with that).

The games (teams seeking their sixth win are on the left):

SMU at Tulsa
Tulane v. Navy
FSU v. Florida
Wake Forest at Duke
TCU v. Oklahoma State
Kansas State at Iowa State
Maryland at Penn State
Minnesota at Wisconsin
FAU v. Charlotte
Southern Miss at UTEP
Wyoming at New Mexico
Arizona v. Arizona State
USC v. Notre Dame
Colorado at California
Coastal Carolina at South Alabama

The only favored 5-6 teams on the list are SMU, Tulane, FAU, Southern Miss and Wyoming, while Coastal Carolina is pick 'em against South Alabama, so there might not be more than 80 bowl eligible teams.

The only way Tulane could be in trouble with a win is if SMU beats Tulsa (the Mustangs are favored by 2 1/2) and UCF loses in the AAC title game, forcing it to miss out on a major bowl and fall to one of the AAC's seven bowls. Even though UCF almost certainly would be the highest ranked Group of Five team, the rules state only conference champions are eligible for the Group of Five spot in the major bowl. I can't see UCF losing to either Houston or Memphis in Orlando.

Although the AAC has secondary tie-ins with the Independence Bowl and the Liberty Bowl, that spot is available only if the primary conferences for those bowls (ACC/SEC in the Independence and Big 12/SEC) do not produce enough bowl eligible teams. The only shot there is the Big 12, which will have only six bowl-eligible teams if TCU loses to Oklahoma State (toss-up in my view) and Kansas State loses to Iowa State (almost certain). If one of them wins and Oklahoma gets to the college football playoff, the league would fall short, too.

Clearly, the key is for Tulane to beat Navy. If that happens, there is probably better than a 90 percent chance Tulane will get to a bowl. There is precedent for an AAC team being left out--remember Temple celebrating its ugly 10-3 season finale win at Yulman Stadium in 2014 because it thought it was getting a bowl bid and then being left home anyway?

I am hearing Tulane will end up in either the Frisco Bowl (Dec. 19, at-large opponent), the Cherry Bowl in Boca Raton (Dec. 18, CUSA) or the Armed Forces Bowl in Forth Worth, Texas (Dec. 22, Big 12) if it gets a bid. The Big 12 opponent probably would be the Baylor-Texas Tech winner or TCU or Kansas State if they win Saturday.







'

If Tulane does not go to a bowl game, this will be last practice update of the season because the Thanksgiving workout is closed. I got there earlier than usual today as a result to get a good look.

Although he has not been ruled officially, don't look for safety P.J. Hall to play Saturday. He took a nasty leg injury when his cleat appeared to get stuck in the turf during the Houston game. He is a walking boot and not moving well--I am not even sure he would be ready for a bowl game--but the Green Wave may not need him Saturday anyway. Navy seems like a natural opponent for 2017 starting free safety Chase Kuerschen, may be more suited to facing Navy anyway. He made eight tackles against the Midshipmen a year ago--the third highest total on the team--and forced a fumble at the goal line that Navy recovered for a touchdown anyway.

Roderic Teamer, who left the Houston game early in the third quarterback because he was "banged up" in Willie Fritz's words, was in a red no-contact jersey today without his helmet but stood on the field close to where he would normally stand and took mental reps. His body language indicated he will be ready Saturday, and the Wave will need his tackling ability and experience at the back end of the defense. Taris Shenall joined Kuerschen as the first-team safeties today.

Redshirt freshman cornerback Willie Langham, who actually looked like Antonio Langham when he broke up a pass in the back corner of the end zone against Houston with a terrific rip after the ball hit a receiver in the hands, practiced today. He left against Houston with a leg injury, too, and I don't think he returned, but he was fine today. Langham, I believe, is ticketed for stardom at Tulane as early as next year.

Cam Sample practiced full go today, so he will play Saturday unless he suffers a setback on his injured ankle. He did not get all of his normal reps with the first-team defense, but he got plenty of them. When he was not in there, De'Andre Williams moved to end with Jeffery Johnson, Davon Wright and Patrick Johnson the other first-teamers. Tulane will have to make due without Robert Kennedy, who tore his ACL against Houston, so the the entire defensive front will be freshmen and sophomores, which is not ideal against Navy. Still, the way these guys play, they should handle themselves well against the triple option unless someone is cut blocking them on the knee while they are being engaged by another lineman.

With the injuries in the secondary, Larry Brooks got some reps. He has played in nine games, I believe almost exclusively on special teams, but he almost made the play of the day, ranging across the field to get a hand on a pass and almost bringing it in with that hand before the ball slipped out of his grasp. Keitha Jones got some reps at linebacker, but i don't expect him to play since he already has been in four games this year.

On offense, Keyshawn McLeod has reclaimed his starting spot from Joey Claybrook. McLeod started against Houston and received all of the reps with the first-team unit while I was watching today. Claybrook did not play a down against Houston but was not limited in practice today.

Here is what Fritz had to say.

What happened to Rod Teamer against Houston?

"He got banged up a little bit, so we are being a little slow with him."

How has practice gone this week?

"OK. Not bad. It's a big game. The big thing you want to have is guys that are ascending at the end of the year mentally and physically. We've had very few guys that have been descending and tailing off. We have a bunch of guys that are doing a great job of getting better every single week, and that's what you've got to have."

There are nine fifth-year seniors who have been around the program since 2014--Kendall Ardoin, Terren Encalade, Zach Harris, Devon Johnson, Charles Jones, Robert Kennedy, John Leglue, Donnie Lewis andPeter Woullard. What are your thoughts on them?

"Some of those guys are going to be really successful (in life). They've got a tremendous work ethic. They've embraced a change with coaching and have just been extremely easy to work with. A bunch of those guys I'm really, really proud of. It would be great to give them an opportunity to play in a bowl game. They deserve it. The've worked extremely hard."

What can you say about Darius Bradwell's year?

"He's had a good year. He's gotten better as a player. His blocking, which was something that we've been really working with him on, he's becoming more of a complete player. It's hard to play a guy when there's some things he does well and some things he doesn't do well. He's really improved."

Amare Jones was running hard on kickoff returns and had the touchdown run against Houston. How much has he impressed you?

"He's got a lot of savvy. The game's not too big for him. He loves to compete, get out there and go."