Tulane Football

Green Waves don’t play for overtime.

Tulane stunned the Houston Cougars in a 38-31 victory in Thursday’s American Athletic Conference showdown with an incredible touchdown on its final offensive play. With the game tied and 12 seconds remaining at the snap, Justin McMillan rifled a pass through multiple defenders before Jalen McCleskey did the rest.

WHAT A FINISH! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/SEtz8djsTG

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 20, 2019

McCleskey caught the ball and stayed on his feet despite a stumble and broke free from the three defenders in the area for a 53-yard touchdown.

Tulane was only in position to win with the dramatics because of a fake kneel down that resulted in an 18-yard run from Amare Jones on the previous play. 

It was only fitting that such a back-and-forth game ended in memorable fashion. Tulane marched 93 yards in 10 plays to tie the game late in the third quarter and then benefitted from a missed Houston field goal on the ensuing possession. The two sides then traded field goals before the Green Wave’s head-turning final touchdown.

McMillan was just 7-of-20 passing for 186 yards, but he ran for 91 yards and a score. He also threw for three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while his counterpart, D’Eriq King, had two touchdown throws and one pick to go with his 229 yards through the air.

King added 116 rushing yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to counter Tulane’s offense.

The Green Wave will look to keep the momentum rolling with a game against Army on Oct. 5, while Houston turns its attention toward a contest against North Texas on Sept. 28.

After four seasons as head football coach at Tulane, Curtis Johnson has reportedly been fired by the school following a 3-9 record in 2015. 

Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated first reported Johnson's firing. ESPN's Brett McMurphy confirmed the move by Tulane.

Johnson's firing isn't a surprise, as it has been a matter of when, not if, Tulane would opt to go in a different direction. Dan Wolken of USA Today reported Wednesday the school was "set to part ways" with the 54-year-old. 

Johnson took over a bad situation, as the Green Wave won two games the season before he arrived, and briefly turned the program around, with seven wins in 2013 and a bowl appearance. He won just six games combined the past two years, though, leading to his firing. 

Fletcher Mackel of NBC New Orleans reported that Tulane could look to hire former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan as its next head football coach if current deputy athletic director Barbara Burke becomes the full-time AD.

It would mark the second consecutive time Tulane has gone to the NFL for a head coach. Johnson came to the school in December 2011 after spending six seasons as a wide receiver coach with Sean Payton's staff with the Saints.  

When Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette face off in the New Orleans Bowl, the intrastate rivalry will hinge on the performance of a handful of players.

UL-Lafayette is looking to continue its latest tradition. In the 38 seasons before Mark Hudspeth took over as head coach in 2011, the Ragin' Cajuns had never made a single bowl appearance. They have travelled south to the New Orleans Bowl in each of the past two seasons, and they have won both times.

The Ragin' Cajuns will look to take their explosive offense to the Superdome. If they can put their playmakers in the best position to succeed, they'll emerge victorious yet again.

That said, they face an unusual challenge this season: When they meet Tulane, they will be playing on the Green Wave's home field.

Prior to this season, Tulane had not appeared in a bowl game since winning the 2002 Hawaii Bowl. The Green Wave made it back to postseason play this season behind their defense, but they will have to keep pace with their upstate opponent to have a chance at winning.

QB Terrance Broadway, UL-Lafayette

Of course, Tulane's task will be significantly easier if Terrance Broadway can't suit up for the Cajuns.

After breaking his throwing arm on November 30, Broadway is being considered a game-time decision just three weeks later, per Trey Iles of The Times-Picayune. Given what Hudspeth is saying, his starting quarterback will not be himself even if he does play.

“It’s the old adage we’ve got to decide if, first of all, is he going to be okay to put him in the game?,’’ Hudsepth said. “Can he stay healthy if we put him in? And also by putting him in can he be effective? He won’t be 100 percent. We still have two days to decide. But right now, the freshmen are looking pretty good.’’

Broadway was the engine behind the Ragin' Cajun offense this season. He picked up big chunks of yardage through the air with 9.2 yards per passing attempt, throwing for 19 touchdowns and adding another eight on the ground himself.

If the junior QB is unable to go, either Brooks Haack or Jalen Nixon, both of whom are redshirt freshman, will take his place under center. That makes the difference between an imposing UL-Lafayette attack and a very beatable one.

RBs Alonzo Harris and Elijah McGuire, UL-Lafayette

Considering UL-Lafayette's limitations at quarterback, the team will need to lean even more heavily on its backfield.

Alonzo Harris and Elijah McGuire have given the Cajuns a thunder-and-lightening tandem at the running back position.

The steady vet in his junior year, Harris has taken the bulk of the carries, churning out 4.7 yards per rush on 186 reps and scoring 13 times. He'll give his team a reliable source of offense if the passing game struggles, although he should see tighter running lanes if the QBs struggle.

Fortunately, Harris' backup has the game-breaking ability to create space for himself.

As a true freshman, McGuire has dominated both on the ground and through the air. He has run for 818 yards and seven touchdowns on just 92 carries, tacking on 290 yards and three more scores on 15 catches. That's good for 10.4 yards per touch, making him very dangerous despite his limited experience.

QB Nick Montana, Tulane

On the other side, the Green Wave will need production out of their own passing game to defend their home field.

Nick Montana has been shaky throwing the ball this season, completing just 53.1 percent of his passes and averaging only 5.3 yards per attempt. Even if Broadway isn't fully healthy on the other side, Montana's usual play isn't going to cut it.

The low completion percentage deflates that YPA figure, and it's instructive on what Montana needs to do against the Cajuns. If he can be more efficient on his deeper throws, his yards per attempt will look more favorable, and the Green Wave will be able to match UL-Lafayette more easily.

WR Ryan Grant, Tulane

A big game from Montana's top receiving option will surely do the quarterback well.

Fifth-year senior Ryan Grant has played for four different head coaches and weathered four losing seasons as a member of the Green Wave. Now he's finally winning at Tulane, and he'll be hungrier than anyone to go out with a victory.

Standing 6'1", 191 pounds, Grant is not exceptionally big, but he is still a real threat in the red zone. Though his 70 catches, 926 yards and 13.2 yards per attempt are all lower than his stats from his junior season, his nine touchdown receptions are a team high and a career high.

Only running back Orleans Darkwa has as many scores among position players, but the running game is going to be more of a focal point for UL-Lafayette. Offensively, it is imperative the Green Wave can put up points through the air, and that means Grant is going to have to come through one more time.

CB Jordan Batiste, Tulane

With seven interceptions and two touchdowns, Lorenzo Doss is the Green Wave's lockdown guy at cornerback, but Jordan Batiste gives the defense some much-needed versatility.

Batiste only picked off one pass this season, and at just 169 pounds, it doesn't seem like he'd be much help in anything other than pass coverage. But make no mistake: The kid can hit, leading the Green Wave with four forced fumbles while nearly always being lighter than the man he's tackling.

He'll also be instrumental in shutting down the Ragin' Cajun passing game by blitzing from the outside. Batiste creates havoc in the pocket, using his speed to rip around the edge and record 5.0 sacks on the year, second among Tulane players.

If he can get after the Cajun passer and turn some potential big gains into losses or even turnovers, his Green Wave will be positioned that much better to win.

Tulane kicker Cairo Santos has won the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in college football for the 2012 season.  

The Lou Groza Award for Best Kicker goes to Tulane's Cairo Santos.

— Eye on College FBall (@EyeOnCFB) December 7, 2012

Santos beat out fellow finalists Caleb Sturgis from Florida and Dustin Hopkins from Florida State. 

Reliable kickers are rare in college football, but Santos proved to be incredibly valuable to the Green Wave this season and was one of the team's few bright spots. 

Tulane went 2-10 this season, but every time Santos came out to attempt a field goal, he converted. He made all 21 of his attempts including a 57-yarder against Rice. 

Santos was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but attended high school in Florida. He is a junior this season, and although he was productive during his first two years in New Orleans, he has taken an incredible leap forward in 2012.

He missed three filed goals as a freshman and seven as a sophomore. The drop-off was due to more attempts from long distance in his second season, which he did not do well with.

In 2011, he converted on just five of his 11 tries from 40 or more yards. But this year, he sent all 12 of his attempts from this distance sailing through the uprights.

Current NFL kickers Sebastian Janikowski, Mike Nugent, Kai Forbath and Dan Bailey are all past winners of the award, and this honor gives Santos an excellent chance to take the next step in his career.

While being a professional kicker is certainly not a stable job, NFL teams always have room for a reliable player with a big leg, and Santos has proven this season that he has both of those qualities. 

The Big East expanded today adding East Carolina as a football-only member and Tulane as an all-sports member. It was a surprisingly uninspiring expansion effort by the most dominant of the non-contract Football Bowl Subdivision conferences.

ESPN's Scott Van Pelt came across the most apropos fan tweet ever concerning the Big East's effort. The fan tweeted this advice for the conference.

"Go home, Big East...You're drunk!"

As dead on as that sounds to both sports fans and realignment followers, the funny thing is that the Big East expansion meltdown may have been much, much worse than that fan even knew.

Allegedly, the drunken booty calls by the Big East went out to more schools than just that duo.

There are tweets out there saying that the Big East also invited Air Force, Brigham Young, and even Fresno Freaking State...and were turned down by those schools.

Here's one of them from "CFB Insider." On his profile he claims to "work in the athletic department of a well-known university."

"My sources have confirmed to me that #BYU, #AFA, and #Fresno all turned down #BigEast invites. #BigEast in damage control trying to keep BSU"

I don't mean to disrespect the man, I just don't put much stock into tweets. Still, I am inclined to believe this one.  

With the Atlantic Coast Conference destined to raid the Big East any moment, there is every reason to think the Big East membership might overreach and little reason to doubt this occurred.

Lets just take a moment to review why those were exactly the wrong schools to invite at this moment.

The Big East just took a major kick in the crunch in losing Rutgers and is likely about to take another as the ACC back fills. Today the Big East looks weak.

Last week ESPN's Brett McMurphy reported that BYU, Boise State, and San Diego State were thinking about rejoining the Mountain West Conference as a group. That report is perfectly consistent with BYU and Boise State's actions in conference realignment, but not so much with SDSU's. Not surprisingly SDSU came out and insisted the story had no legs...as far as they knew and could confirm.

The ESPN story suggested additional weakness in the Big East.

To offer the Big East's primary targets, BYU and Air Force, the same deal they already rejected, reinforces the idea the Big East is seriously compromised.

BYU and Air Force turned down the Big East when the Big East had Rutgers and Notre Dame (ie. access to much, much more TV money).

Let's run that through a filter.

"OK, BYU we get ya. You said you won't take $6-8 million a year to join our conference with two other western members—How about $3 million with the same western members?"

"OK, Air Force, you said you won't join us because you feel loyalty to your long-time MWC conference mates. We haven't added anyone new from over there, why don't you join us anyway?"

Obviously you have to be seriously delusional or drunk to think that works.

And Fresno State? What is that about? If the Big East invites Fresno State, they should at least say yes to the invite... unless they happen to know for a fact that MWC has been in talks with BYU and Boise State.

Fresno State is an athletic program built around a football coach who doesn't work there anymore. Why should they be an initial candidate? And logically why would a school making $800,000 in annual TV money say no?

Fresno State had no problem looking out for themselves over their conference mates when the WAC was trying to lure in BYU. What has changed?

Face it guys, if you were actually turned down today and you looked at the facts, then it looks like Boise State sold you out.

BYU, Fresno State, and Air Force would much rather be in a rebuilt MWC than a nationwide Big East—even if they leave a trivial amount of money on the table—and it would seem those schools know Boise State is interested. How would they know that?

This has more than a passing similarity to a failed booty call. Whether or not alcohol was involved, the Big East membership thought they were far more attractive than they actually were and it ended embarrassingly.

And Tulane...What the heck is that about?

Before I get started, Tulane is not the worst school in the world to be added. I think someone needs to say that.

As those of you who regularly follow my realignment editorials know, before the Big 10 wrecked the ACC and Big East last week, I was three-fourths of the way through a four part series on the rebuilding of the Big East for maximum financial gain and influence in the Post-BCS world. The last part of the series was going to name the schools needed to maximize the value of the conference.

Tulane didn't make my final cut (football-only ECU did) but Tulane was not far from it.

Tulane has a lot of solid attributes. They have a noteworthy media market—although it isn't large enough to drive up media payouts.

They are a relatively strong draw in football for a private school playing in the shadow of the NFL's Saints.

They have a solid stadium situation. They have had moments in basketball. They would be a welcome addition in the eyes of the Texas schools that the Big East absolutely needs to retain. Houston would like the proximity; SMU sees them as a local and familiar peer.

Tulane is right next to one of the key football talent recruiting areas in the country (southern Louisiana & Mississippi). It is an area that loves to eat and loves football. That is a great place to land huge, athletic defensive tackles—the hardest position to fill in college football. Having them can really increase a team's ability to compete with elite programs.

Tulane is a decent add for a lot of reasons...but one suspects they were added for the wrong reason.

There was an article last week out of the Providence Journal suggesting the Olympic members of the Big East were preparing to vote the Big East out of existence should the ACC steal an FBS school from the Big East.

There are seven Big East Olympic members. Should the Big East lose a football member, there would only be three FBS schools currently in the conference, giving the Olympic members a 7-3 edge...more than the two-thirds vote required to terminate the conference.

In such a scenario, the NCAA tournament financial units the Big East owns would revert to the schools that earned them. The BB Big East would walk out with a large number of units from Villanova, Georgetown, and Marquette. The football schools would not only not have a conference, they would also see all the units earned by Syracuse and Pitt disappear...as well as much of their eastern media appeal.

That is not a recipe for strong sales pitches to candidate schools.

This article was probably put out there by the Olympic member schools to get a better deal in the conference. Without Rutgers, an Olympic share dropped from a fairly likely $3 million to maybe as low as $1-2 million—assuming the Big East continued splitting the money roughly 70/30 between football only and Olympic sports schools. (All-sports members get both the Football-only and Olympic sports shares).

It seems they may have ironed that out and it seems very likely the eastern private schools may be calling the shots in this round of realignment.

That would make sense of the Tulane addition. Like SMU, Tulane is more similar in character to the Providences and Georgetowns of the world. They are a private school in a large metro area.

While one can live with the addition (and even leverage it to good affect), it doesn't necessarily equate to delivering a bigger TV deal or securing a prominent place above the other non-contract conferences in the post-BCS world.

It makes some political sense in the conference for the Olympic schools to bring in a private school that plays football, but it doesn't make financial sense to do it too often.

ECU Helps a lot

The ECU addition was a great move. Fans blow the small local DMA argument way out of proportion with ECU. ECU football has undisputed statewide support in a state of 10 million with several large TV markets.

They will prove to make TV sense and they also are a big help with bowl credibility. They draw large crowds, are regularly bowl eligible, and are near large bowls who have contracts with the Big East.

Adding them as a football-only member keeps slots open for other schools.

They are a problem-solving bargain at the cost of a single football-only slot.

Just a sensible addition.

So...where to next?

I still intend to publish the fourth part of the series that names the schools the Big East should invite by this time next week, so I don't want to ruin the appeal and surprises of that article, but I will make some suggestions today.

Boise State appears to be a cancerous problem that will ruin this conference if not addressed.

Look, if it did happen—and the Big East schools know if it did—the Fresno State rejection told the Big East membership all they needed to know about what Boise State is doing.

If the Big East schools let Boise State hang around, the Big East is only increasing the chance it will lose San Diego State, as well as Houston and SMU to the MWC.

The Big East needs to secure what they want in the disputed territories (Texas and the Southwest) before they deal with Boise State.

More on that in my next article. Tune in.

In an effort to keep up with the trend of conference expansion, the Big East will make Tulane its newest member.

Joe Schad of ESPN first reported the news via Twitter:

Tulane will join Big East for all sports

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) November 27, 2012

Tulane currently plays in Conference USA, but it appears that it will follow Houston, Central Florida, Memphis and Southern Methodist in the move to the Big East.

Boise State and San Diego will also join the conference for football, along with Navy in 2015.

This decision comes after the recent developments that Rutgers will join the Big Ten.

In addition, the ACC is reportedly looking to add either Louisville or Connecticut to its roster in the coming week to replace Maryland, who also joined the Big Ten conference. Jeremy Fowler of CBS Sports reported the following:

ACC presidents could vote on a Maryland replacement as early as this week, but two league sources believe an expansion to 16 is unlikely at this time. UConn and Louisville are the favorites for the league's future 14th team.

The future for the Big East has been murky, especially for football. The conference has been poached by other associations and the level of play has hurt its ability to compete on a national stage.

In the latest BCS structure, the Big East is now on equal footing in a "Group of Five" that also includes Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt and the MAC (via Brett McMurphy of ESPN). This is a far drop from previously being one of the six power conferences.

Tulane helps slightly from a competitive perspective—only one bowl appearance since 1999—but it will certainly be of assistance financially.

The school is located in New Orleans, which according to ESPN Media Zone, is the No. 5 market for college football in the country.

If the Big East can get into this market, it will help secure the future financially for all teams involved. In this age of conference shifting, money is the biggest thing that makes the decisions.

Follow @TheRobGoldberg

Certain events make you forget the game at hand, and Tulane safety Devon Walker's injury against Tulsa on Saturday falls in that tragic category.

Walker was injured in a head-to-head collision with his teammate Julius Warmsley while trying to attempt a tackle at the end of the first half. KTUL-TV reporter John Moss had some news concerning the senior safety's condition:

According to a TU trainer, Walker suffered a broken neck & collapsed lung. He had to be revived on-field, & a tracheotomy was performed.

— John Moss (@JohnMossTV) September 8, 2012

That report was followed by Times-Picayune reporter Tammy Nunez on NOLA.com stating that "Tulane spokesman Roger Dunaway said the Green Wave medical staff did not provide the info on Walker's injuries and Dunaway said he had no update on Walker's condition."

UPDATE: Sunday, September 9 at 9:32 p.m. ET by Tim Keeney

Devon Walker underwent surgery on his spine on Sunday, but it will still take some time to fully know more about his condition. The news comes from ESPN's Joe Schad:

Tulane's Devon Walker underwent surgery this afternoon to stabilize his spine and it will take several days to assess his condition.

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) September 9, 2012

Now, unfortunately, we must play the waiting game.

It could be seen as a positive sign that Walker was stable enough to undergo surgery, but we will just to somehow try to wait for updates regarding this disastrous situation. 

------End of Update-------

UPDATE: Sunday, September 9 at 11:00 a.m. ET by Adam Wells

According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, reports of Walker needing to be revived and a tracheotomy are false. 

Tulane medical officials say Devon Walker did not stop breathing and did not need a tracheotomy contradicting some reports.

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) September 9, 2012

Obviously, the most important thing is that Walker is in stable condition. The incident had that sense of dread surrounding it when it first happened. 

I guess you can look at Dodd's update as a positive development, though Walker still has a long recovery ahead of him. 

-------------------END OF UPDATE----------------

UPDATE: Saturday, September 8 at 10:46 p.m. ET by Michael Moraitis

Tulane has issued a statement in regards to the injuries suffered by their football team's safety, Devon Walker, per ESPN.com staff.

Tulane issued a statement Saturday night on Walker's condition: "Devon Walker sustained a cervical spine fracture. He is at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa where he is in stable condition. Currently, he is in traction with a lot of swelling in his neck and he is undergoing treatment for the swelling. The current plan is for him to have surgery in the next one to two days. He is being treated by specialists. The Tulsa physicians did a great job taking care of Devon."

----End of Update----

UPDATE: Saturday, September 8 at 4:23 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

KTUL-TV reporter John Moss gave the Twitter world one more update on Saturday:

Update from #Tulane team Dr. Buddy Savoie: Walker suffered a cervical spine fracture, and is expected to undergo surgery in the next 2 days.

— John Moss (@JohnMossTV) September 8, 2012

----End of Update----

UPDATE: Saturday, September 8 at 4:19 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

Tulane released Walker's official condition via Twitter late Saturday afternoon:

Safety Devon Walker is stable in St. Francis hospital per team doctor

— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) September 8, 2012

This is great news considering the initial fears regarding his injuries. Keep an eye out for more updates as we get them.

------End of Update-----

Dunaway did confirm that Walker was stable upon leaving the field.

This is obviously a very serious situation, regardless of his confirmed injuries. FOX Sports' sideline reporter stated (per CBS Sports) that "CPR had to be administered and an IV was put in to Walker on the field as he had stopped breathing. He was resuscitated and reported to be in stable condition as he left the field."

Stable is an encouraging word to see here. Watching the play happen on the field was scary, to say the least, and being stable is an encouraging step in the right direction.

We don't know the specifics concerning Walker's injuries, but there is no doubting the gravity of the incident.

Keep an eye out for updates concerning Walker's condition. Dunaway hoped to have an update by the conclusion of today's game, so we will have to wait for the details regarding his status.

College football has quite the coaching carousel. One moment you think that you have a program that is being led by a head coach that is going to take your program to the promise land. Then the next moment your coach is losing and you want that person gone.  

It happened to Mike Stoops at Arizona earlier this year, as he was fired just a couple of weeks ago.  

It more than likely will happen to Houston Nutt at Ole Miss.  

Once the season ends, there will be a handful of coaches that will be looking for employment after they did not live up to their end of the bargain.  

It’s why, when Scott Kushner, a Tulane reporter, tweeted out that the University of Tulane, is considering hiring former West Virginia and Michigan head coach, Rich Rodriguez.  

Rodriguez was one of the hottest coaching prospects just a couple of years ago, when he led the University of West Virginia to a 60-26 record in seven seasons, with six bowl games, two of those games being BCS bowls.  

But, what Rodriguez is known for, is the way he performed at the University of Michigan, where he went a disappointing 15-22 in just three years. In those three years, he did improve every year, while setting up this Michigan team for their 7-1 record they have now.  

Rodriguez did get his start with this Tulane program, as in 1997-98 he was the offensive coordinator, before moving onto Clemson.  

It will not be a homecoming, as say a coach coming back to a place that they once played at.  

But, for Rodriguez, if he is able to take over as the head coach of this Tulane program, it will give them an excellent coach, recruiter and offensive mind that the program has never seen.  

Currently, Tulane is sitting through another disappointing year, as they just lost their head coach, Bob Toledo, who resigned on Oct. 18 after a 2-5 start to the year.  

If Tulane is going to make this hire, it will turn around a program that has seen only two winning seasons, in the last 12 years.  

Tulane’s best season as a program, was Rodriguez’s last year with the Golden Wave, when the team went 12-0. 

Hiring Rodriguez will not bring Tulane back to 12-0 in their first year, maybe not the second year, but come year three and beyond, Rodriguez will have this program among one of the best of the non-BCS schools. 

You can follow me on Twitter as well by clicking follow: Follow @tjmcaloon

Saturday’s game against Tulane left many fans as well as myself pretty much speechless. I mentioned last week that Tulane was a solid team and was going to come to play us hard and they did just that!

Tulane didn’t win the game cause they had better athletes than Rutgers, they won because they did more of the little things right and/or they did them better than Rutgers did! They converted the third downs they needed to convert, they made open-field tackles and got turnovers, which are some of the basics to winning a game in any conference.

Rutgers now has a short week to try and fix their issues before UConn comes to town Friday night to kickoff Big East play!

For Rutgers to win Friday night and the rest of the games this season, they have to find out who they are as an offense. Right now they look confused.

An offense's objective is to create confusion for the defense, not confuse themselves! One second they are a gun-run offense, then a wild cat offense, then a pro-style offense...there is no consistency or rhythm to the offense.

Their inconsistency is hurting the team because they are not sustaining any long drives, which is not allowing the defense time to rest and tired defenses give up big plays and points!

Continue Darnell's article on Double G Sports.