Two-Man Game, Spears and Carroll Lead Tulane's Rushing Attack
ORLANDO - UCF Football improved as a defensive group, holding its last two opponents to just one score each. The Knights earned season highs of six sacks and 10 tackles for loss against Memphis and then four sacks and seven tackles for loss against Temple. That same level of play will be needed by UCF’s defense when facing Tulane’s one-two punch at running back, Tyjae Spears and Cameron Carroll.
“They probably played Cincinnati as good as anybody, and Cincinnati I feel like is one of the best teams in all of college football, so this is a team that is talented,” Knights Head Coach Gus Malzahn said Monday. “They came up short on a couple of games that they could have won.”
Tulane’s offense is led by quarterback Michael Pratt, who has completed 59.0 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Pratt was out against Cincinnati due to a concussion but could return this weekend. If Pratt does not return to the lineup for the Green Wave, that will place more of an emphasis towards the running game to produce with its two talented players in the backfield.
Those two running backs would be redshirt freshman Spears, at 5’10, 195 pounds, and redshirt sophomore Carroll, at 6’0”, 225 pounds. It’s a good combination of one Spears being a powerful runner for his size, but possessing the ability to really make players miss in space. Carroll, meanwhile, already provided evidence that he can be a battering ram that moves the pile while also using the ability to make players miss.
The Green Wave have rushed the ball consistently, averaging 152.8 yards per game. The two talented running backs have combined for 723 yards and six touchdowns this season. During the past two contests, Spears and Carroll accumulated 165 yards and one touchdown versus SMU, and 170 yards and one touchdown against Cincinnati.
“Those two have been successful against good opponents, so it kind of goes back to if we can stop the run, we’re a really good defense,” Malzahn said.
In Tulane’s previous matchup at Cincinnati, Spears finished with 19 carries, 106 rushing yards, and one touchdown. A local three-star recruit out of Ponchatoula, La., Spears saw action in just three games during the 2020 season before he suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Despite playing in just three games, he still finished fourth on the team in rushing with 274 yards and averaged an eye-popping 7.4 yards per carry.
“I feel like I’m getting there,” Spears said on Oct. 27 about his recovery process. “I’m very competitive so there is still some stuff I got to work on but I’m getting there.”
Prior to Tulane, Spears earned three-star ratings from 247Sports.com and Rivals.com. He totaled 18 touchdowns in his senior season at Ponchatoula, recording 920 rushing yards and 880 receiving yards, to that produced a final total of 1,800 yards in his final year in high school.
Carrol made appearances in all 12 games in his redshirt sophomore season, finishing second on the Green Wave roster with 741 total rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2019, Carrol played in 11 games and finished fifth on the team in rushing yards with 364, a 5.1 yards per carry average, and four touchdowns.
Carrol was a three-year letter winner at Northwest Rankin High School in Brandon, Miss. He ran for over 100 yards in 14 games during his varsity career. As a senior, Carroll carried the ball 185 times for 1,370 yards and nine touchdowns while also hauling in 18 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
UCF must continue swarming to the ball and controlling the explosive play. The Tulane offense will try to wear down the Knights’ defense with their two-man attack and attempt to take pressure off the passing game. Slowing down Spears and Carroll will be pivotal for the Knights in defeating the Green Wave.
Game Notes
**UCF holds an overall 5-3 record, with a 3-2 mark within the American Athletic Conference.
**Tulane started the 2021 season with a 1-7 record, while being 0-4 within the American Athletic Conference.
**UCF and Tulane have met ten times in the teams' all-time series, with the Knights holding an 8-2 advantage.
**The Green Wave have played one of the tougher schedules in the nation this season, competing against five ranked teams through eight games. Tulane opened with a 40-35 loss to then-No. 2 Oklahoma and fell to the No. 2 ranked Cincinnati Bearcats 31-12 this past weekend.
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