Tulane Green Wave Have Plenty To Work on Despite Blowout Victory in Opener
Thursday night was an exciting one for the Tulane Green Wave. They were kicking off their 2024 college football season at Yulman Stadium against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
The game went exactly how Tulane hoped that it would. They ran their opponents off the field, winning 52-0 in blowout fashion.
Anyone who is looking through the box score would believe that the Green Wave played about as good of a game as possible. A shutout is always nice and putting up 52 points, regardless of opponent, is impressive.
It was only the second time this century that a shutout was recorded. Yet, the takeaway from the performance is that there is plenty of work left to do.
Head coach Jon Sumrall came away from the game happy his team got a victory in his debut with the program, but he was less than thrilled by some of the execution on the field.
"The scoreboard looked nice, but we have a whole lot to clean up," Sumrall said, via Geurry Smith of NOLA.com. "That was a really average performance to be quite honest with you."
There was certainly a lot to like. Redshirt freshman Darian Mensah played incredibly well in his first career start, completing 10-of-12 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
He spread the ball around, as transfer wide receiver Mario Williams led the way recording four receptions for 124 yards, while tight end Alex Bowman and wide receive Yulkeith Brown caught the touchdowns.
While former five-star recruit Ty Thompson didn’t win the starting job, he will have a weekly role as a Wildcat formation quarterback. He had four carries for 23 yards and four touchdowns.
While the offense hummed, there were a few concerns to come from the defense. The final score is lopsided, but the trajectory of the game would have been different if not for a few fortunate breaks.
On the opening series, SELA running back Harland Dixon lost a fumble while approaching the red zone. A series that began on the six-yard line ended up being a missed 47-yard field goal after a sack and a 15-yard facemask penalty.
The Green Wave held a 14-0 lead as the Lions were threatening again. On the 18, Rayshawn Plesant recorded an interception that he returned 100 yards for a touchdown, giving Tulane all of the momentum.
Mental errors that drive coaches crazy, such as burning timeouts because of confusion on the field also happened to the Green Wave. Kickoff coverage was underwhelming and the tackling needs to be cleaned up.
Fans will be thrilled with a 52-0 victory to start the season. But, if Tulane plays that sloppy against Kansas State next week, the outcome won’t be as positive.
KENNETH TEAPE
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.