TAKEAWAYS: Tulane and Mensah Show Growth In 45-10 South Florida Rout

Joe Londergan | Sep 29, 2024

Sep 14, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall reacts during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Tulane dominated in all three phases of a 45-10 win over South Florida on Saturday. In Jon Sumrall's first AAC game as the head coach of the Green Wave, he gets his team off to a 1-0 start in conference play and 3-2 overall. Here's what stood out from Tulane's big day in New Orleans.

Mensah's Best Outing Yet?

True freshman quarterback Darian Mensah is clearly still learning the ropes, but he's looking more and more comfortable under center for the Green Wave. He threw for a season-high three touchdown passes on Saturday to go along with 18 completions for 326 yards. It's also the second time he's gone for over 300 yards through the air.

"The kid's got really good poise good, awareness, good anticipation on the throws that we asked him to make," Sumrall said of Mensah postgame. "He's growing right in front of our eyes I think my most exciting thing was watching him tuck the ball a couple times and go get the first down on a scramble...That's a pretty good stat line for the day in a first conference game."

Altogether, Tulane's 528 yards of offense were the team's most since the Cotton Bowl win over USC at the end of the 2022 season.

Three-Year Sack High For Tulane

The Tulane defense sacked USF QB Byrum Brown six times on Saturday. It's the most sacks Tulane have produced in a game since 2021. Gerrod Henderson led the way on that effort with two sacks, while Tyler Grubbs and Patrick Jenkins were credited with one full sack each.

What Now For USF?

USF were expected to challenge for the AAC crown this season, and certainly still can. However, a sound defeat in their conference opener makes it clear that Alex Golesh's team have a lot of work to do. The Bulls were outgained 528 to 201 in this game.

USF are 2-3 and 0-1 in conference play to begin the season. It doesn't help that Brown left the game in the third quarter with an injury and did not return.

Tulane are back in action this Saturday at UAB. USF head into a bye week now to prepare for an October 11 showdown with Memphis.

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