Tulane Football: Green Wave Dominate Charlotte 34-3 on Halloween Night

Joe Londergan | Nov 1, 2024

Dec 3, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave helmet on the field against the UCF Knights during the first half at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Tulane breezed to their seventh win of the season on Halloween night, taking down Charlotte 34-3 in North Carolina.

The Green Wave's offense dominated the time of possession battle, while the defense stepped up in major ways to protect the lead. By the time the final whistle sounded, Tulane had the ball for 40:30 compared to 17:50 by Charlotte.

Tulane Controls The First Half

The Green Wave only had three possessions in the first half, but they used them to effectively drain the clock.

Their first drive lasted a whopping 20 plays and ten minutes, 58 seconds. After moving the ball 80 yards, Tulane settled for a field goal. On their third possession, the Green Wave travelled 76 yards in 14 plays, taking another 5:46 off the clock, and adding a touchdown.

Charlotte's first three possessions were five plays a piece and ended in two punts and a turnover on downs.

Tulane looked as if they would take a 10-0 lead into halftime, but the Green Wave gifted Charlotte two big penalties to get them inside the ten-yard line inside the final minute. That turned into a Charlotte field goal to make it 10-3 at the break.

Defensive Highlights

As noted by the time-of-possession comparison, Tulane's defense got off the field in a hurry on most possessions. Charlotte only converted one third down out of nine on the day and did not allow any fourth down conversions on three attempts.

The defense also picked up some points when Micah Robinson jumped a short route on the outside, picking off a pass and basically walking it into twenty yards into the end zone for a pick six. Tulane now has six interception returns for touchdowns this season.

Effective Running Game

Tulane running back Makhi Hughes, perhaps predictably, had another strong night on Thursday. Hughes carried 27 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the fourth time this season that Hughes finished a game with multiple touchdowns.

Hughes also went over the 1,000-yard mark on the season, making him the third Tulane running back to run for 1,000 yards twice in a career.

Shaadie Clayton-Johnson also notched his first touchdown since 2022, powering in a five-yard touchdown rush late in the fourth quarter.

Now 5-0 in conference play and 7-2 overall, Tulane will return to New Orleans next Saturday for a homecoming showdown with Temple. Charlotte fall to 3-6 and will need to win their final three games in order to reach postseason eligibility.

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