Mostly good news from practice today:
Jabril Clewis is fine. His strange injury at the end of practice yesterday apparently amounted to nothing because he was running around well today.
Rae Juan Marbley was back at practice after missing Tuesday and Wednesday for the birth of his baby daughter. He and his wife welcomed Isla into the world yesterday.
"We're just happy for him and his wife," Willie Fritz said. "I've been through it three times, and the good thing about it is he's always tuned in. Him missing a couple of practices isn't like some other guys missing a couple of practices."
Cameron Sample was not at practice again, and I believe he is under concussion protocol. Willie Fritz told the CBSSports crew the same thing he told us earlier in the week, that Sample may be ready, but I don't think he will play after not practicing at all this week.
Tulane's starting D will be Robert Kennedy at left end, Sean Wilson at nose, Ade Aruna at right end, Luke Jackson flanking Kennedy at OLB, Marbley (I assume) and Zach Harris at inside linebacker, Jarrod Franklin at nickelback, Parry Nickerson and Donnie Lewis at cornerback, Chase Kuerschen at free safety and Rod Teamer at strong safety, although Kuerschen practiced in a no-contact red jersey today. I did not see Marbley getting reps at the end of practice, but he was on the field in uniform. Lawrence Graham is his backup.
The latest forecast for Greenville on Saturday calls for lows in the upper 20s and a high in the mid-40s under clear skies. The temperature for the 7 p.m. Eastern time kickoff could be in the 30s, which would make it the coldest game Tulane has played in a while.
"There's not a lot you can do," Fritz said. "Maybe it was good that when we came out here it was a little chilly this morning."
I did some closer research on the top 20 teams in fewest turnovers last night, and the actual record of the 19 teams other than Tulane in that category is 126-46 for a winning percentage of .733. Tulane is 3-6 for a winning percentage of .333.
I asked Fritz about Tulane being 3-6 despite having committed only six turnovers. His thoughts:
"It is unusual. We're doing a good job with ball security. We need to get a few more takeaways. That's something we emphasize. We should be good at it. Obviously we'd like for that to be something that's indicative of winning. We need to keep plugging away."
Tulane is plus-7 in turnover differential. Of the 20 best teams in that category, the Wave and Texas Tech, which is also plus-7, are the only ones below .500. The Red Raiders are 4-5.
Tulane is 0-4 in games in which it committed at least one turnover, losing to Oklahoma (2), Florida International (2), South Florida (1) and Memphis (1). Tulane is 3-2 when going without a turnover, still managing to lose to Navy with a plus-2 in turnover margin and neither giving up or forcing a turnover against Cincinnati.
It is Thakarius Keyes' birthday today. With Donnie Lewis continuing to struggle at times giving up big plays, I know a lot of people wish Fritz' gift to Keyes was a starting assignment.
East Carolina, by the way, has four wide receivers who have gone over 100 yards in a game this year. Those guys will be challenging for Tulane's secondary to cover.
I've been light on the quotes this week because talk doesn't mean much right now. All that matters is beating East Carolina. I've heard players and coaches talk about staying positive and still believing ad nauseum over my years covering this team, and it never amounted to anything tangible in the past. They said basically the same stuff this week. We'll see if it translates into something positive this time.
Jabril Clewis is fine. His strange injury at the end of practice yesterday apparently amounted to nothing because he was running around well today.
Rae Juan Marbley was back at practice after missing Tuesday and Wednesday for the birth of his baby daughter. He and his wife welcomed Isla into the world yesterday.
"We're just happy for him and his wife," Willie Fritz said. "I've been through it three times, and the good thing about it is he's always tuned in. Him missing a couple of practices isn't like some other guys missing a couple of practices."
Cameron Sample was not at practice again, and I believe he is under concussion protocol. Willie Fritz told the CBSSports crew the same thing he told us earlier in the week, that Sample may be ready, but I don't think he will play after not practicing at all this week.
Tulane's starting D will be Robert Kennedy at left end, Sean Wilson at nose, Ade Aruna at right end, Luke Jackson flanking Kennedy at OLB, Marbley (I assume) and Zach Harris at inside linebacker, Jarrod Franklin at nickelback, Parry Nickerson and Donnie Lewis at cornerback, Chase Kuerschen at free safety and Rod Teamer at strong safety, although Kuerschen practiced in a no-contact red jersey today. I did not see Marbley getting reps at the end of practice, but he was on the field in uniform. Lawrence Graham is his backup.
The latest forecast for Greenville on Saturday calls for lows in the upper 20s and a high in the mid-40s under clear skies. The temperature for the 7 p.m. Eastern time kickoff could be in the 30s, which would make it the coldest game Tulane has played in a while.
"There's not a lot you can do," Fritz said. "Maybe it was good that when we came out here it was a little chilly this morning."
I did some closer research on the top 20 teams in fewest turnovers last night, and the actual record of the 19 teams other than Tulane in that category is 126-46 for a winning percentage of .733. Tulane is 3-6 for a winning percentage of .333.
I asked Fritz about Tulane being 3-6 despite having committed only six turnovers. His thoughts:
"It is unusual. We're doing a good job with ball security. We need to get a few more takeaways. That's something we emphasize. We should be good at it. Obviously we'd like for that to be something that's indicative of winning. We need to keep plugging away."
Tulane is plus-7 in turnover differential. Of the 20 best teams in that category, the Wave and Texas Tech, which is also plus-7, are the only ones below .500. The Red Raiders are 4-5.
Tulane is 0-4 in games in which it committed at least one turnover, losing to Oklahoma (2), Florida International (2), South Florida (1) and Memphis (1). Tulane is 3-2 when going without a turnover, still managing to lose to Navy with a plus-2 in turnover margin and neither giving up or forcing a turnover against Cincinnati.
It is Thakarius Keyes' birthday today. With Donnie Lewis continuing to struggle at times giving up big plays, I know a lot of people wish Fritz' gift to Keyes was a starting assignment.
East Carolina, by the way, has four wide receivers who have gone over 100 yards in a game this year. Those guys will be challenging for Tulane's secondary to cover.
I've been light on the quotes this week because talk doesn't mean much right now. All that matters is beating East Carolina. I've heard players and coaches talk about staying positive and still believing ad nauseum over my years covering this team, and it never amounted to anything tangible in the past. They said basically the same stuff this week. We'll see if it translates into something positive this time.