Willie Fritz is not big on injury information, but he said today that three players who sat out all or most of the Tulsa game with injuries should be able to play against South Florida.
Cornerback Thakarius Keyes, who got dinged up early in the game after starting, did not practice today but took mental reps as he watched. I did not see tight end Kendal Ardoin or wide receiver Jacob Robertson, who I knew were hobbling, practice today either, but none of their injuries appear serious.
First, here's Fritz on Keyes.
"He started cramping up and just was having a hard time warming up throughout the game," he said. "We just felt like it would be better to keep him out. Hopefully he'll be fine this week."
I don't get the cramping thing, but Jaylon Monroe played a heck of a game in Keyes' absence, showing the ball skills he exhibited in preseason camp before losing some of his confidence when he gave up plays early in the season. I like Keyes, but he might lose his starting spot if he has another cramping issue because Monroe has a lot of ability, too. As I tweeted at the time, you won't see a cornerback make a better play than he did when he deflected a perfectly thrown deep ball down the sideline as he ran stride for stride with a Tulsa receiver in the second half.
"He really stepped up and played well. That was the best look and demeanor I've seen from him during a game. He got beat on a play right after he got in and he didn't let that affect him. Corners have got to have a short memory, and he really played well throughout the rest of the game. I'm really proud of his approach and how he competed. He's another young guy starting to grow up and play a lot of meaningful minutes and play better and better."
Fritz did not specify what the injuries were for Robertson or Ardoin.
"I think they'll be ready this week," he said.
Freshman Tyrick James started at tight end against Tulsa, with Charles Jones and Will Wallace playing, too. Tulane picked Wallace as one of its offensive Waves of the week along with Corey Dauphine and Dominique Briggs, so he must have graded out extremely well offensively. Briggs got the nod because he is from Tulsa.
Robertson was not missed much because the receivers not named Encalade or Mooney get very few looks. Jabril Clewis caught one pass against Tulsa, and the rest of the wide receivers were shut out on a day when Tulane ran effectively and Justin McMillan threw ineffectively.
Look for McMillan to have a bigger passing day against USF, which has been really poor defensively for much of the year. Georgia Tech ran for 419 yards and even threw for 183 yards, which might be close to its high in the Paul Johnson era--against the Bulls. UMass threw for 401 yards and Houston threw for 419 on its way to an obscene 682 total yards.
USF's rushing defense has been very forgiving. Houston (263), UConn (322), Tulsa (220), Illinois (212) and even Elon (192) have had a lot of success on the ground against the Bulls.
Clearly, Tulane has a realistic chance to win Saturday, but it will have to play better than it has to this point. USF has found ways to win games it looked like it would lose, rallying from a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Tulsa 26-24, rallying from a 19-7 fourth quarter deficit to beat Illinois 25-19 and rallying from a 38-28 fourth quarter deficit to beat Georgia Tech 49-38. Very few teams win three times in the same season after trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter, and although Tulane finished well against Tulsa, finishing has been a team weakness.
This is a game that will define Tulane's season. Win, and the Wave will have realistic bowl hopes, a chance to finish above .500 in conference play for the second time since the perfect season of 1998 and an outside chance to win the AAC West.
Lose, and Tulane would be 3-6 with a trip to Houston still on the docket.
Cornerback Thakarius Keyes, who got dinged up early in the game after starting, did not practice today but took mental reps as he watched. I did not see tight end Kendal Ardoin or wide receiver Jacob Robertson, who I knew were hobbling, practice today either, but none of their injuries appear serious.
First, here's Fritz on Keyes.
"He started cramping up and just was having a hard time warming up throughout the game," he said. "We just felt like it would be better to keep him out. Hopefully he'll be fine this week."
I don't get the cramping thing, but Jaylon Monroe played a heck of a game in Keyes' absence, showing the ball skills he exhibited in preseason camp before losing some of his confidence when he gave up plays early in the season. I like Keyes, but he might lose his starting spot if he has another cramping issue because Monroe has a lot of ability, too. As I tweeted at the time, you won't see a cornerback make a better play than he did when he deflected a perfectly thrown deep ball down the sideline as he ran stride for stride with a Tulsa receiver in the second half.
"He really stepped up and played well. That was the best look and demeanor I've seen from him during a game. He got beat on a play right after he got in and he didn't let that affect him. Corners have got to have a short memory, and he really played well throughout the rest of the game. I'm really proud of his approach and how he competed. He's another young guy starting to grow up and play a lot of meaningful minutes and play better and better."
Fritz did not specify what the injuries were for Robertson or Ardoin.
"I think they'll be ready this week," he said.
Freshman Tyrick James started at tight end against Tulsa, with Charles Jones and Will Wallace playing, too. Tulane picked Wallace as one of its offensive Waves of the week along with Corey Dauphine and Dominique Briggs, so he must have graded out extremely well offensively. Briggs got the nod because he is from Tulsa.
Robertson was not missed much because the receivers not named Encalade or Mooney get very few looks. Jabril Clewis caught one pass against Tulsa, and the rest of the wide receivers were shut out on a day when Tulane ran effectively and Justin McMillan threw ineffectively.
Look for McMillan to have a bigger passing day against USF, which has been really poor defensively for much of the year. Georgia Tech ran for 419 yards and even threw for 183 yards, which might be close to its high in the Paul Johnson era--against the Bulls. UMass threw for 401 yards and Houston threw for 419 on its way to an obscene 682 total yards.
USF's rushing defense has been very forgiving. Houston (263), UConn (322), Tulsa (220), Illinois (212) and even Elon (192) have had a lot of success on the ground against the Bulls.
Clearly, Tulane has a realistic chance to win Saturday, but it will have to play better than it has to this point. USF has found ways to win games it looked like it would lose, rallying from a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Tulsa 26-24, rallying from a 19-7 fourth quarter deficit to beat Illinois 25-19 and rallying from a 38-28 fourth quarter deficit to beat Georgia Tech 49-38. Very few teams win three times in the same season after trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter, and although Tulane finished well against Tulsa, finishing has been a team weakness.
This is a game that will define Tulane's season. Win, and the Wave will have realistic bowl hopes, a chance to finish above .500 in conference play for the second time since the perfect season of 1998 and an outside chance to win the AAC West.
Lose, and Tulane would be 3-6 with a trip to Houston still on the docket.