Tulane QB Griffin not bad in blowout loss

Tulane Green Wave 2009 ... Head Coach: Bob Toledo

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 2-10
2009 Record: 2-6

9/4 Tulsa L 37-13
9/12 BYU L 54-3
9/19 OPEN DATE
9/26 McNeese St W 42-32
10/3 at Army W 17-16
10/10 Marshall L 31-10
10/17 Houston L 44-16
10/24 at So Miss L 43-6
10/31 at LSU L 42-0
11/7 UTEP
11/14 at Rice
11/21 at UCF
11/28  at SMU

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 5-7
2008 Record: 2-10

Aug. 30 OPEN DATE
Sept. 6 at Alabama L 20-6
Sept. 13 East Carolina L 28-24
Sept. 20 UL Monroe W 24-10
Sept. 27 SMU W 34-27
Oct. 4 Army L 44-13
Oct. 11 at UTEP L 24-21
Oct. 18 OPEN DATE
Oct. 25 Rice L 42-17
Nov. 1 at LSU L 35-10
Nov. 8 at Houston L 42-14
Nov. 15 UAB L 41-24
Nov. 22 at Tulsa L 56-7
Nov. 29 at Memphis L 45-6

Tulane Green Wave

Oct. 31
at LSU 42 … Tulane 0
Tulane never had a chance as LSU got up to an easy 21-0 halftime lead helped by a 19-yard Russell Shepard touchdown run and a 39-yard Brandon LaFell scoring grab. Charles Scott added two short scoring runs and LaFell made a 13-yard touchdown catch to turn the game into a blowout. Tulane managed just 216 yards of total offense and 26 rushing yards.
Player of the Game: LSU RB Charles Scott ran 18 times for 112 yards and two scores.
LSU: Passing: Jordan Jefferson, 11-17, 163 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Charles Scott, 18-112, 2 TD, Receiving: Brandon LaFell, 4-85, 2 TD
Tulane: Passing: Ryan Griffin, 21-29, 163 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 11-27, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 8-78
What It All Means: It was a blowout loss with the Green Wave painfully outmatched and outclassed, but there were some positives. Ryan Griffin didn’t come up with any scoring drives but he did a nice job of holding up under the pressure of the moment to complete 21-of-29 passes for 163 yards with a pick. That’s about all that was good about the ugly loss with the O line dominated by the LSU defensive front. After getting outscored 129 to 22 in the last three games, a nice performance against UTEP next week would be nice. 

Oct. 24
at Southern Miss 43 … Tulane 6
Southern Miss dominated from the start with DeAndre Brown touchdown catches from 21 and six yards out, a 16-yard fumble return for a score from Jamie Collins, and a 77-yard Andre Watson blocked field goal return for a score as past ot a 26-0 lead. Tulane got its only points on a one-yard Andre Anderson run, but USM responded with 17 unanswered points in the fourth. Tulane was sacked six times and gained 212 yards of offense.
Player of the Game: Southern Miss QB Martavious Young completed 13-of-15 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran five times for 38 yards.
Tulane: Passing: Ryan Griffin, 21-33, 158 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 19-92, 1 TD, Receiving: Casey Robottom, 5-61
Southern Miss: Passing: Martavious Young, 13-15, 127 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Tory Harrison, 12-93, 1 TD, Receiving: DeAndre Brown, 4-41, 2 TD
What It All Means: Chinonso Echebelem continues to be terrific for the defense, making 12 tackles, but he, along with 92 yards from RB Andre Anderson, were the only positives. The offense has gone from bad to worse, and if the 42-point performance against McNeese State was taken out of the equation, Tulane is averaging under 11 points per game. Considering LSU is up next, it’s not like the offense is going to suddenly find itself.

Oct. 17
Houston 44 … at Tulane 16
Houston struggled in the first half on the way to a 9-6 lead, and then the offense woke up in the third quarter with 20 straight points as Justin Johnson and Bryce Beall each ran for short scores and James Cleveland caught a six-yard touchdown pass. Case Keenum finished with two touchdown passes leading the Cougars to 516 yards of total offense. Tulane got three Ross Thevenot field goals and a four-yard Antoine Duplessis scoring run.
Player of the Game: Houston QB Case Keenum completed 30-of-43 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns
Tulane: Passing: Ryan Griffin, 12-18, 126 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 18-108, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 6-63
Houston: Passing: Case Keenum, 30-43, 334 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Bryce Beall, 16-64, 2 TD, Receiving: Chaz Rodriguez, 6-84
What It All Means: Generating consistent offense has been a problem throughout the season, but there was some decent production against Houston even with a mere 16 points generated. Ryan Griffin and Joe Kemp combined to completed 22-of-33 passes for 250 yards, but the points didn’t come. Andre Anderson ran well, averaging six yards per carry, but he only got 18 carries. The defense struggled, but Chinonso Echebelem made 13 tackles, 11 solo. 

Oct. 10
Marshall 31 … at Tulane 10
Tulane started off the scoring with a 32-yard Jordan Sullen touchdown run in the first five minutes, and then it was all Marshall the rest of the way with Darius Marshall scoring from 11 and five yards out and with Ashton Hall taking a forced fumble caused by Albert McClellan for a 29-yard touchdown. Tulane turned the ball over four times to ruin several decent drives. The Green Wave gave up 31 points before getting back on the board with a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Player of the Game: Marshall RB Darius Marshall ran 20 times for 98 yards and two scores.
Tulane: Passing: Joe Kemp, 14-23, 116 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 18-92, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 8-53
Marshall: Passing: Brian Anderson, 18-22, 207 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Darius Marshall, 20-98, 2 TD, Receiving: Antavious Wilson, 6-65
What It All Means: The offense moved the ball against Marshall, but it kept killing itself with turnovers and missed plays after scoring early on. The defense didn’t get into the backfield, and mediocre QB Brian Anderson was able to complete 18-of-22 passes in an efficient outing. That’s a problem with Houston’s Case Keenum up next. The Green Wave must find a way to manufacture a pass rush or it’ll be a 40 point loss.

Oct. 3
Tulane 17 … at Army 16
Ross Thevenot, who missed an overtime kick to lose to Army two years ago, nailed a 23-yarder late in the game for a one-point Tulane lead, and Army’s Alex Carlton blew his chance for the win missing a 37-yarder in the final seconds. Carlton had hit three field goals earlier in the game to go along with a one-yard Trent Steelman scoring run, but Tulane got a 15-yard Jeremy Williams scoring grab in the back of the end zone in the second quarter and scored the final ten points of the game helped by a one-yard Andre Anderson score.
Player of the Game: Tulane DB Travis Burks made 12 tackles
Tulane: Passing: Joe Kemp, 14-24, 166 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 17-70, 1 TD, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 6-108, 1 TD
Army: Passing: Trent Steelman, 3-5, 26 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Trent Steelman, 20-95, 1 TD, Receiving: Damion Hunter, 3-26
What It All Means: After struggling so much over the first three games against the run, the Tulane defense came up with a whale of an effort against the quirky Army running attack and might have gotten its season on track. Now the run D will have to be even better with Darius Marshall and Marshall coming to town, and it’ll be a must for the defensive front to start doing more to get into the backfield and to the quarterback. The punting game is currently the worst in America. That can’t happen for a team with such a bad offense. 

Sept. 26
at Tulane 42 … McNeese State 32
Andre Anderson ran for four touchdowns and Joe Kemp connected with Jeremy Williams on touchdown passes from 40 and 34 yards out in a wild shootout game. McNeese State stayed alive into late in the third quarter on two Todd Pendland touchdown runs and a seven-yard Richard Conner scoring grab, and then Anderson took the game over tearing off a 63-yard scoring dash and putting it away with a two-yard score.
Player of the Game: Tulane RB Andre Anderson ran 28 times for 199 yards and four touchdowns, and Jeremy Williams caught all ten completed passes for 222 yards and two scores.
McNeese State: Passing: Derrick Fourroux, 16-25, 221 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Toddrick Pendland, 25-134, 2 TD, Receiving: Chad Davis, 4-38
Tulane: Passing: Joe Kemp, 10-13, 222 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 28-199, 4 TD, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 10-222, 2 TD
What It All Means: At least the offense started to work. The defense was a nightmare against McNeese State, which isn’t a positive going against the quirky Army attack next week. Andre Anderson finally showed off why he’s such a talent when he finally got a little room to move, but the Green Wave has to be prepared to get the offense going even more to make up for the struggling defense that’s not generating a pass rush and is getting torched in the secondary.

Sept. 12
BYU 54 ... at Tulane 3
The Cougars had few problems on either side of the ball outgaining the Green Wave 527 yards to 162 and 35 first downs to nine, with Bryan Kariya scoring twice in the second quarter with a one-yard run and a 12-yard catch, and J.J. Di Luigi running for two short scores in the second half. McKay Jacobson caught a 38-yard touchdown in the third, and Jordan Pendleton returned a fumble for a score in the fourth. Tulane's only points came in the second quarter on a 29-yard Ross Thevenot field goal.
Player of the Game: BYU QB Max Hall completed 24-of-32 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns with an interception
Tulane: Passing: Joe Kemp, 14-19, 101 yds
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 12-36, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 5-56
BYU: Passing: Max Hall, 24-32, 309 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: J.J. DiLugi, 12-71, 2 TD, Receiving: Dennis Pitta, 4-47
What It All Means: It's going to be a while before the Green Wave is remotely productive. After two home games against two wide-open offenses, and getting blasted by Tulsa and BYU in both, Bob Toledo has to find something that works. Andre Anderson isn't getting any room to move, Joe Kemp and the passing game don't have the firepower to keep up the pace against a good offense, and there are too many problems that need to be corrected, Ten penalties for 102 yards and four turnovers made the blowout an embarrassment.

Sept. 4
Tulsa 37 … at Tulane 13
The Tulsa defense swarmed over Tulane, holding the Green Wave to 39 rushing yards, and came up with a key third quarter goal line stand to hold off a potential run. Kevin Fitzpatrick hit three field goals and G.J. Kinne ran for a 15-yard score on the way to a 23-3 lead before Tulane struck with a 20-yard catch and a dive for a score from Casey Robottom, but Tulsa answered, and put the game away, with a 66-yard punt return for a score from Damaris Johnson.
Player of the Game: Tulsa LB Mike Bryan made 11 tackles, five tackles for loss, forced a fumble, and came up with an interception.
Tulsa: Passing: G.J. Kinne, 15-20, 211 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: G.J. Kinne, 13-77, 1 TD, Receiving: Slick Shelley, 5-68
Tulane: Passing: Joe Kemp, 16-26, 278 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 19-49, Receiving: Casey Robottom, 6-82, 1 TD
What It All Means: Andre Anderson was way too tentative. The Tulsa defense might have been all over the place, but Anderson, a good NFL prospect, was the best offensive player on the field and he didn’t run like it. He only gained 49 yards on 19 carries and wasn’t forceful enough on a key four-down sequence around the goal line. The defense did a nice job of getting to the quarterback, but it still gave up 201 rushing yards and two scores.