#Tulane
's Jon Sumrall: "We are going to make the college football playoff and we are going to win it. We are going to sell out this stadium every time we play in it."
#Tulane
breaks Yulman Stadium attendance record with 30,118, 18 more than the listed total for homecoming against SMU earlier this year. Far more bodies in the seats than in any game during the stadium's nine-year history.
#Tulane
is ranked 9th in final AP poll, rising five spots after Cotton Bowl win against USC, which drops to 12. Wave passed Trojans, Kansas State, Clemson, Utah and FSU from previous ranking.
""Celebration" is playing at Yulman Stadimum. Fans have covered 75 percent of the field. A special moment like this has been a long time coming for
#Tulane
, and people are savoring every second of the experience.
#Tulane
students and fans are rushing the field. Wave beats UCF 45-28 in AAC championship game and is Cotton Bowl bound. This team looked championship caliber in September, and it did all the hard work to get there.
Navy beats UCF 17-14 as 16-point underdog for second straight year. If
#Tulane
beats Cincinnati, Wave will host AAC championship game at Yulman Stadium on Dec. 3.
The official attendance at Yulman Stadium today is 30,100, breaking record of 30,000 listed for stadium's debut against Georgia Tech in 2014.
#Tulane
definitely making the crowd happy.
I do not think
#Tulane
will have a big rebuilding job next year. This is a special senior class, but there are a lot of talented underclassmen, too. This team has more depth than people realize.
To the victor goes the spoils:
#Tulane
's Willie Fritz is AAC coach of year.
QB Michael Pratt is AAC offensive player of year.
RB Makhi Hughes is AAC rookie of year.
Wave also had 7 players on All-AAC first team, 3 on second team, 5 on third team, 3 honorable mention.
I picked Temple to beat Memphis but that was an egregious replay overrule on Memphis catch that would have put it in field goal range. Never mind whether ball hit the ground (I don't think it ever did). No sane person can claim there was INDISPUTABLE evidence it hit ground
College fooball playoff selection committee chair Boo Corrigan on
#Tulane
being ahead of Air Force: "to go on the road and beat Memphis really stood out to the committee. Michael Pratt ... did not play against Ole Miss. ... That was a factor there."
#Tulane
set an NCAA record for passes defensed tonight with 20. As in all time. The previous high was 19 by South Carolina vs. Alabama on Oct. 2, 2000. Unbelievable performance by Green Wave secondary. Season high this year for any team had been 16.
#Tulane
is 25th in coaches' poll. First time Wave has been ranked in either of the two major polls since final one in 1998 season. AP one will come out soon.
Unless I am missing something,
#Tulane
's game with UCF next Saturday will be the first game where Wave and its opponent are ranked since 1973 Bluebonnet Bowl against Houston and the first home game where both teams are ranked since 1949 against LSU.
#Tulane
's dropping two spots in the AP poll despite covering the spread against Southern Miss and having opening-week victim South Alabama crush Oklahoma State 33-7 is another sign of the bias against non-Power 5 conference teams. Won't matter in the long run, but still strange.
#Tulane
fans storming the court after Jaylen Forbes blocks 3-point shot at buzzer in similar scenario to FAU ending, but no foul this time. Wave ends 24-year skid against ranked opponents, beats Memphis 81-79. First top-10 win since a pair in eight days in 1983 vs. Memphis.
If Memphis does not get into NCAA tourney, the selection committee (and the enablers who ape their thinking) will prove once again they are clueless about basketball. All that arbitrary Quad 1 garbage rather than looking at how good the team is. Memphis would beat Drake 74-38.
Georgia Tech job has been open since September. Of course they are going to negotiate with selected candidates. Any leak has nothing to do with
#Tulane
coach Willie Fritz, as stand-up a guy as I've covered in 32 years in the business. His focus is on UCF.
A source very close to the situation says
#Tulane
's Willie Fritz to Georgia Tech is not a done deal. Certainly does not mean it won't happen, but it is not settled.
#Tulane
's Kai Horton on gutty last 2 drives: "All the guys came up to me were like, 'we believe in you, Kai.' That means a lot. Being a backup, they might not trust me, but all of the guys told me you got this. I told them right back, 'I promise you we're not losing this game.'"
Massive recruting day for
#Tulane
football, which has gotten former 5-star wide receiver Mario Williams from USC and former 4-star receiver Shazz Preston from Alabama (St. James product) out of the portal and former Auburn CB commitment Jayden Lewis, also 4 stars, as HS commit.
When ESPNU announcer and ex-
#Tulane
coach Perry Clark was not given loud enough applause when introduced at this media timeout, Ron Hunter walked to the middle of the floor and directed the student section to increase the noise, which it did. Clark led the Wave to 3 NCAA tourneys
Former Alabama walk-on had outstanding year at safety for Tulane after two seasons as a reserve is headed to Florida. Sure tackler. Never got beaten deep.
#Tulane
is 24th in college football playoff rankings, one spot ahead of Air Force. If Wave keeps winning, it may not need undefeated Air Force to lose to get the New Year's Six Bowl bid that goes to top-rated Group of Five conference champion.
#Tulane
RB Tyjae Spears covered his ears when Willie Fritz praised him in postgame interview while Spears was on deck. He really is humble and does not like to hear everyone gushing with praise for him.
On Mel Kiper's new draft board,
#Tulane
has three players ranked in the top 10 at their position (Dorian Williams 5, Tyjae Spears 8, Tyrick James 10) and USC has two (WR Jordan Addison 3, DT Tuli Tuipulotu 4).
#Tulane
coach Willie Fritz says after practice Michael Pratt will start against Nicholls. His reasoning is simple: Pratt is healthy. Could have played v. USM but was not quite ready.
The
#Tulane
defense still has not been penalized once through three games. I can't recall any unit I've covered since I became a beat writer in 1991 that went that long without a flag.
Money quote a/b recruiting ratings by Willie Fritz on
#Tulane
signee Angelo Anderson, a Curtis star who led state in sacks. "He was a 4-star guy, and then he committed to us and dropped down a star without playing a game. He was the No. 12 player in the state and now he’s 37th."
Now that he has played in 75 percent of
#Tulane
's games to qualify for NCAA statistics, Michael Pratt officially ranks third nationally with pass efficiency rating of 180.7, trailing only LSU's Jayden Daniels and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.
The
#Tulane
-Memphis game will be on ESPN2 next Saturday night. Network chose that game tonight over Washington State-Colorado, which will air on ESPNU.
Tyjae Spears catches 10-yard TD pass from Kai Horton and
#Tulane
goes crazy. Wave ends four-game OT skid, six-game conference-opening road skid under Willie Fritz and gets incredibly gutsy, dramatic win at Houston to improve to 4-1.
As much emotion as Kai Horton showed after he ran for the tying touchdown in the third quarter against Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl on Wednesday, he sure did not look like a player who was planning on leaving
#Tulane
. His announcement he was staying today is no surprise.
#Tulane
beats UTSA 29-17 and will host SMU next Saturday in the AAC Championship Game at 3 p.m. on ABC. Wave looking to win its second consecutive conference title and lock up its second consecutive New Year's Six bowl bid as well.
North Texas has had six winning seasons out of 26 since joining FBS.
Rice has had six winning seasons out of 21 in the 2000s.
Charlotte has had one winning season since it began playing football in 2013.
FAU has had five winning seasons since become a full FBS member in 2005.
What has Will Hall's impact been at
#Tulane
? With bowl game left, Wave's average of 455.2 yards is 2nd highest in school history behind 1998, and the scoring average of 33.3 is a shade behind 1997 and the 3rd best in school history. All v. toughest sked since joined CUSA in 1996.
Jackson Linn with the bomb with two strikes and two outs.
#Tulane
wins AAC tourney! Second homer of the day for the best 9-hole hitter in the country. His fourth homer of the week. Wave first-ever team to win AAC tournament in back-to-back years.
#Tulane
picks up commitment from 4-star QB Ty Keyes out of Taylorsville, Miss. Had offers from Auburn, Oregon, Miss St. and Ole Miss among others. The only 4-star prospect Wave signed in Rivals' current incarnation, dating back to 2002, was Darion Monroe in 2012.
#Tulane
does it! After incredibly close play on stealing second has out call confirmed upon review, next pitch is fly ball out. Wave headed to a regional. Wow. Just wow.
It's official: Will Hall will be
#Tulane
's next offensive coordinator. Memphis coach Mike Norvell confirmed it to the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper.
If
#Saints
make the playoffs, they will be the 7 seed and play at the Rams in wild card weekend. There is no other scenario because Rams have to win next week for Saints to get in, and win would lock Rams into 2 seed.
Tyjae Spears was extended an invite to the Senior Bowl tonight, joining Dorian Williams.
#Tulane
coach Willie Fritz invited Spears' parents into the locker room after the 59-24 destruction of SMU to celebrate the news with the team.
#Tulane
is trying to get to 6-1 this Saturday at South Florida in what would be another landmark victory. The Wave has been 6-1 or better only three times since the 1930s: 6-1 in 1948, 6-1 in 1973 and 7-0 in 1998. Happened seven times before 1940.
#Tulane
beats South Florida 45-31, gets sixth win at earliest date (Oct. 15) in school history. Even in perfect season of 1998, Wave's sixth game did not come until Oct. 24. Wave, now 3-0 in league, has eyes on AAC Championship game.
#Tulane
's Willie Fritz asking for nice crowd vs. UAB after Thursday practice: "Everybody's champing at the bit to do something. I can't think of anything better than coming over and watching the Green Wave play. If you haven't been here, you need to come. Its a very neat venue."
#Tulane
rallies to beat California 84-81 to get third place in SoCal Challenge. Kevin Cross ties career high with 27 points and Cal can't hit the same 60-footer at buzzer it hit to end first half. Important win for Wave without coach Ron Hunter, who missed game with illness.
Final:
#Tulane
30, USM 13. Wave trailed 13-0 after each team had ball twice and dominated the rest of the way. Senior class has 23 wins, the most for any class this century. First back-to-back bowl wins in school history, first back-to-back winning records since 1997-98.
Darnell Mooney with 5 catches for 123 yards and Cairo Santos with the game-winning field goal on final play as Bears beat Lions. Another good day for the two ex-Tulane stats.
I can confirm Marshall DC Lance Guidry is about to become
#Tulane
's new defensive coordinator, although nothing is official yet. News first reported by Football Scoop earlier today. Guidry, who was the McNeese head coach from 2016-18, had the 8th-ranked D in country this year.
Idle
#Tulane
will move up at least three spots to No. 20 in AP poll tomorrow (passing Kentucky, Cincinnati and Syracuse) and might pass Wake Forest and Oklahoma State, both of which got trounced today. Wave could be as high as No. 18.
#Tulane
is 23rd in the preseason coaches' poll. Another first for the Wave, which never has been ranked in the preseason poll since it started in 1978.
#Tulane
signees Justin Ibieta, Angelo Anderson and Josh Remetich all made The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate All-Metro team. Wave not settling for seconds in local players under Willie Fritz.
Fresno State and Air Force lost again tonight, so the Mountain West has no one-loss teams left. Coast is totally clear for
#Tulane
, SMU, Memphis or UTSA to earn the New Year's Six Bowl bid unless James Madison wins appeal of its ineligibility, which is unlikely.
#Tulane
will return to Yulman Stadium to play UAB on Sept. 25 for the first true home game of the season. No parking on campus will be allowed because students will be returning that weekend, but it sure beats the alternative of playing Blazers in their hometown of Birmingham.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco on
#Tulane
: "They are really good. We are supposed to have a really good offense and we got outhit three days in a row. That shows you it wasn't a fluke."
#Tulane
sophomore DL Noah Seiden one of 67 finalists for Burlsworth Trophy, which goes to most deserving player who began career as a walk-on. Seiden started three games this year and had 12 tackles with a sack. Awarded scholarship before the opener.
Noah Taliancich is playing his final college football game in the Military Bowl, electing to move on with two years of eligibility left due in part to a chronic sports hernia issue. But the lifelong
#Tulane
fan still feels blessed.
#Tulane
's Ethan Groff is AAC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. In five games, he went 11 for 17 with 10 runs, 8 RBIs, 6 walks, 2 HBPs, 4 doubles and 2 home runs, including walk-off shot in 10th inning v. Miss St. Those are national player of week credentials.
Every single time he was asked about Senior Night,
#Tulane
LB NIck Anderson said it was "potentially" his last home game. Navy leads UCF 14-6 at halftime. If that leads holds and Tulane beats Cincinnati next Friday, AAC championship game will be at Yulman Stadium.
#Tulane
's Willie Fritz reiterates what he's said before about Michael Pratt: "I think he's the best quarterback in Tulane history." Adds that he is not trying to minimize the accomplishments of great QBs in past, but looking at Pratt's overall record of performance and winning.
It's over.
#Tulane
run-rules FAU 13-1 and Billy Price pitches complete game. Wave will be rested and ready to face winner of upcoming ECU-Wichita State game in championship matchup tomorrow.
Fifth-year walk-on Rishi Rattan made the most of his opportunity as a starting cornerback in
#Tulane
's spring game. A scholarship and significant playing time could be next.
#Tulane
officially announces Chip Long as new offensive coordinator. Wave is getting a guy who was a Broyles finalist in 2018 as the top assistant in the country.
#Tulane
linebacker Nick Anderson is the AAC Defensive Player of the Week after tying career high with 14 tackles and forcing a fumble that was returned for TD in 27-24 OT win at Houston. Third time in five weeks a Wave defender has gotten award (Macon Clark, Dorian Williams).
I’m thankful and excited to say that I’m coming back to help lead Tulane to the 2024 CFP and another conference championship. 🌊🌊Let’s go!
#RollWave
@FTWCollective
Jaylen Forbes' 37 points on 9 of 15 shooting (7 of 10 from 3-point range) are the most for a
#Tulane
player since Ledaryl Billingsley had 38 in an OT game vs. Charlotte in 2001. Most in regulation for Wave player since Jerald Honeycutt had 38 vs. Xavier in 1997.
#Tulane
LB Jesus Machado is unanimous selection for Louisiana defensive player of the week by the Louisiana Sportswriters Association. He had 10 tackles against Nicholls and returned a second-half interception 17 yards to the 10 to set up Wave's final touchdown.
#Tulane
running back Tyjae Spears has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for November. Yeah, that makes sense. He gained 589 yards with six touchdowns while averaging 8.4 yards per carry.
Jon Sumrall said he wanted another receiver or two on Thursday night. One down. Wideout was at Idaho for four years and had 50 catches for 737 yards in 2021.
Ethan Groff drills first pitch over the left field wall under the scoreboard!.
#Tulane
rallies from 10-2 deficit to beat Miss St. 11-10 and even series. Huge, huge comeback victory for the Wave.
Attendance today is 55,329. Huge turnout of
#Tulane
fans and better-than-expected showing by USC fans. Number beats the 54,828 total for Penn State-Memphis three years ago.
#Tulane
QB Michael Pratt would be leading the nation in passing efficiency if he qualified. NCAA requires playing in 75 percent of a team's games, which he won't reach for three more games. Pratt's rating of 207.4 is just higher than No. 1 Caleb Williams of USC (206.4).