First off, when I'm writing on deadline at night games, there is a whole bunch I miss. I will have a more thorough analysis later this week after watching the game again.
But some things were crystal clear last night as Tulane made a boatload of mistakes to lose a game in which it would have won the turnover battle 3-0 without the desperation play on fourth-and-25 in overtime. Willie Fritz is not having as much success in games when he wins the turnover battle by two or more at Tulane than he did at all of his other coaching stops.
First, Jonathan Banks has to play better. This is his team. He stays after practice every day. works incredibly hard and is the leader of the pack, and he simply did not execute well enough last night. They've changed the offense to take advantage of his passing along with the receiving skills of Terren Encalade and Darnell Mooney, but Banks repeated was off target in the first half. I keep hearing about all the drops by his receivers, but the only blatant one was the killer drop by Encalade on the opening possession. Jacob Robertson's drop was a very poor pass. He is not a good enough receiver yet to make that catch after having to jump high to get it. It should have been thrown right into his hands. Banks' sketchy first half not only kept Tulane from scoring points when it had the ball in Wake territory, it forced the defense to be on the field too much. and it wore down in the second quarter.
And it's not just the missed throws. Banks has to make better pre-snap decisions. A lot of the apparently mystifying run calls on third and long were RPOs that he read wrong, handing the ball off when he needed to throw. Going forward, that may be the bigger issue. He has not proven yet that he can consistently make the right decisions. His passing will get better, but he needs to cut down the misreads. If he does, his dynamic playmaking ability won't go to waste. This is not a new issue. On that key fourth down gamble against SMU last year when he got sacked, he rolled the wrong way and away from his blockers, dooming it from the start.
Second, Tulane simply is not good enough to commit as many costly penalties as it did last night and expect to get away with it. The illegal block personal foul by Kendall Ardoin, which no longer is allowed, was a killer in the first half. And the last two penalties--the false start on Stephon Huderson when Tulane was knocking on the door for the winning field goal and the face mask by Noah Fisher--sealed the deal. The 83 yards on eight penalties was the fourth highest of Fritz's tenure, and Tulane is 0-4 in those games.
Tulane did not deserve to win last night, but after forcing the three and out in a tie game late in the fourth quarter, the Wave should have found a way to steal the game. Everything was set up for it, but then Huderson's penalty hurt and Banks, after stepping up in the pocket, woefully underthrew Encalade on a pass that would have set Tulane up for a chip shot field goal. It was not an easy throw, but it was one the team's catalyst needed to make.
Although the defense struggled to stop Wake Forest after the first two possessions, it made enough big plays for Tulane to win. It looks like the young line will be effective this year, but it's hard to gauge after one game. Lawrence Graham was very active at linebacker. Donnie Lewis played well at cornerback.
Other than that, I'll reserve judgment until I re-watch the game. Tough, tough loss because it was there for the taking in the final minute of regulation.
But some things were crystal clear last night as Tulane made a boatload of mistakes to lose a game in which it would have won the turnover battle 3-0 without the desperation play on fourth-and-25 in overtime. Willie Fritz is not having as much success in games when he wins the turnover battle by two or more at Tulane than he did at all of his other coaching stops.
First, Jonathan Banks has to play better. This is his team. He stays after practice every day. works incredibly hard and is the leader of the pack, and he simply did not execute well enough last night. They've changed the offense to take advantage of his passing along with the receiving skills of Terren Encalade and Darnell Mooney, but Banks repeated was off target in the first half. I keep hearing about all the drops by his receivers, but the only blatant one was the killer drop by Encalade on the opening possession. Jacob Robertson's drop was a very poor pass. He is not a good enough receiver yet to make that catch after having to jump high to get it. It should have been thrown right into his hands. Banks' sketchy first half not only kept Tulane from scoring points when it had the ball in Wake territory, it forced the defense to be on the field too much. and it wore down in the second quarter.
And it's not just the missed throws. Banks has to make better pre-snap decisions. A lot of the apparently mystifying run calls on third and long were RPOs that he read wrong, handing the ball off when he needed to throw. Going forward, that may be the bigger issue. He has not proven yet that he can consistently make the right decisions. His passing will get better, but he needs to cut down the misreads. If he does, his dynamic playmaking ability won't go to waste. This is not a new issue. On that key fourth down gamble against SMU last year when he got sacked, he rolled the wrong way and away from his blockers, dooming it from the start.
Second, Tulane simply is not good enough to commit as many costly penalties as it did last night and expect to get away with it. The illegal block personal foul by Kendall Ardoin, which no longer is allowed, was a killer in the first half. And the last two penalties--the false start on Stephon Huderson when Tulane was knocking on the door for the winning field goal and the face mask by Noah Fisher--sealed the deal. The 83 yards on eight penalties was the fourth highest of Fritz's tenure, and Tulane is 0-4 in those games.
Tulane did not deserve to win last night, but after forcing the three and out in a tie game late in the fourth quarter, the Wave should have found a way to steal the game. Everything was set up for it, but then Huderson's penalty hurt and Banks, after stepping up in the pocket, woefully underthrew Encalade on a pass that would have set Tulane up for a chip shot field goal. It was not an easy throw, but it was one the team's catalyst needed to make.
Although the defense struggled to stop Wake Forest after the first two possessions, it made enough big plays for Tulane to win. It looks like the young line will be effective this year, but it's hard to gauge after one game. Lawrence Graham was very active at linebacker. Donnie Lewis played well at cornerback.
Other than that, I'll reserve judgment until I re-watch the game. Tough, tough loss because it was there for the taking in the final minute of regulation.
