Tulane Green Wave- 34 

@

Charlotte 49ers- 3

By: Patrick Harkness

Spread: Tulane -16.5

Total: 55.5

Tulane came into this game with one thing on their mind. Control the game, limit mistakes, and run at will. They certainly obtained their objective in this AAC matchup with the Charlotte 49ers. Tulane rushed for over 200 yards yet again keeping them ranked in the top 10 in the nation on average yards rushing. With the Green Wave being able to control the game and the line of scrimmage, their time of possession was 42 minutes and Charlotte with almost 18 minutes, it was clear Tulane knew they could out physically play this 49er defense and slowly bury them as the game went on. The first half was a little frustrating to watch but when your offense gets backed up deep in your own territory they wanted to limit any mistakes from a young freshman QB on the road. Trust me I also wanted to see them open up the playbook a little more, but when your best player is top 5 in the nation running the ball, just feed Makhi. The second half you could see Tulane's offensive coordinator open up the playbook more because the green wave had way better field position to deal with unlike the first half. Let's get into the player breakdowns   

Offense

Quarterback- Battle of the young QBs

You can see the development week by week from the young QB. His pocket presence and awareness have greatly improved from the week 3 loss to Oklahoma. Mensah has shown great ability to escape the pocket when things start to break down. I just wish he'd tuck it and run a little bit more but he does a good job keeping his eyes down field and trying to find an open receiver. A Lot of young QBs would give up on the pass and just take off. On the night Mensah went 21/29 with 214 yards passing with no touchdowns.     

Ty Thompson

Ty didn't get a whole lot of action in this game. Kinda surprising because the team had a strong desire to run the ball. Thompson had 4 carries for 16 yards with a long of 13 

Running Back

Makhi Hughes had yet again another stellar performance collecting over 100 yards in 4 straight games. He tacked on 2 more touchdowns in this game bringing his total up to 11 and has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with 1,056 on the year with an average of 5.5. He's currently in the top 5 for rushing yards in the nation.

Shadie Clayton got some good runs in at the end of the game with 6 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown. It was good to see him get back to his old self. Even catching a pass for 10 yards. Would still like to see him utilized more in the passing game.

Arnold Barnes finished the night with 7 carries for 28 yards. He was struggling to find some open lanes Thursday night. 

It's good to see Tulane have a different RB2 almost every week step up if one is struggling. Between Shadie, Arnold, Trey, and McClure Tulane has an embarrassment of riches at the running back position. 

Receiving Game-

It was good to see Shazz Preston get his first action of the season for Tulane. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to haul in any catches, let's hope that changes against Temple next week. Yulkeith Brown and Mario Williams were the main focal points in the passing attack for Tulane. Mario caught 6 passes for 96 yards and Yulkeith assisted with 7 catches for 53 yards. Alex Bauman tried to get his hands on a couple of passes but was unsuccessful including a touchdown pass that just sailed over his head. Dontae Fleming also recorded 3 catches for 35 yards. Phat Watts got a decent amount of playing time as well in this game. Mensah missed him in the passing game early on, he was wide open for an easy touchdown in the red zone. 

Offensive Line

The offensive line was able to wear down the athletic defensive line of Charlotte as the game went on. Tulane's rushing attack surpassed 200 yards yet again. It wasn't the best day for the oline with penalties and giving up 2 sacks but as the game went on the running attack got stronger and stronger. Shadre Hurst and Josh Remetich had some nasty pancakes throughout the game and should be prepared to earn some all-conference recognition at the end of the season. That also could be said for the rest of the oline. Wouldn't be surprised if all 5 players on the line get recognized for all conference first/second/third team. Josh Remetich did get banged up but returned later on.

Player of the Game: Makhi Hughes 

Defense

Defensive Line- Sack Lunch 

The Dline had an ok game, they weren't the best stopping the run giving up 120 yards 5.5 average, but they certainly stepped-up creating pressure on the young QB of Charlotte which led to a pick six for Micah Robinson. On the night Kam Hamilton and Adin Huntington both had a sack, bringing Hamilton up to 3.5 sacks on the year and Adin with 2. Pat Jenkins returned and finished with 2 tackles on the night and Terrel Allen continued to impress after moving from bandit to DT. He had 1 tackle for loss on the night and was creating a lot of pressure. 

Linebackers

Tyler Grubbs had another good game finishing with 4 tackles, a tackle for loss, and almost collected his 3 interceptions on the year but it went right through his hands. Dickson Agu got into the backfield and recorded his first sack of the season. He now has a total of 19 tackles on the year and is a very valuable backup/passing down linebacker, maybe even unlocking some pass rushing ability. Sam Howard finished early with 2 tackles and an injury. He was later carted off from the sidelines. X-rays came back negative, so it seems to be some sort of sprain.

Secondary- Down with the O”Mega

The secondary showed up in Charlotte with Micah Robinson, Rayshawn Pleasant, and Jack Tchienchou leading the way. Micah had a pivotal pick 6 that essentially put the game away. He had a great burst on the receiver's comeback route and read it perfectly to make the catch and record Tulane's 6th defensive touchdown and 5th pick six. Which all lead the nation. Micah now has 2 interceptions and 6 pass break ups on the year. He finished Thursday night's game with 3 tackles. Jack Tchienchou led the team in tackles with 4, while Rayshawn tacked on 3 tackles. Bailey Despaine and Kevin Adams continued to rotate in and out as the game progressed, they each totaled 1 tackle and Despaine had a nice pass break up. The Key to the game was to shut down the speedy receiver of Charlote Omega Blake and they were successful only allowing 3 catches for 52 yards. As a whole the unit only allowed 7 catches for 69 yards. Great day for the secoundary.

Player of the Game: Micah Robinson

Special Teams

Kicker/Punter/Return Game

K-Jacob Barnes went ⅔ on field goals with a long of 34 and 4/4 on XP 

P-Will Karrol had one awful punt for 36 yards that went out of bounds, look for him to bounce game against Temple

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Roll Wave!!

This is Patrick Harkness and you can follow me on X @RollDatWave, Facebook, Instagram, and @BeInTheKneaux everywhere.