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Tulane Has No Answers to This Year’s Test as Shown by UTSA Loss
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- Tulane Has No Answers to This Year’s Test as Shown by UTSA Loss
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Things are always going to be doomed for a football team who turns the ball over six times. The Memphis Tigers learned that the hard way against the Tulane Green Wave , who proceeded to turn around and award the UTSA Roadrunners six game-changing possessions in an absolutely mind-boggling 42-19 loss .
The incredibly touted running game that had a strong start to the year completely evaporated. The team had less than 20 yards rushing heading into the fourth before Johnnie Daniels broke through on a long run.
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Every inch of progress that the receivers made in re-learning to catch footballs backslid in critical moments.
What we saw on the field Saturday, plain and simple, was not the Tulane standard.
As a brief disclaimer, I will not ever give opinions on people being fired on Tulane Roundtable. While I cover the program as a writer, I am the team's sideline reporter first and foremost and that will always be priority. This analysis will be concerned with what's on the field.
There was plenty to be concerned about. And unfortunately, it feels like it's wasting the talents of true freshman quarterback Trace Johnson in the process.
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He showed real ability to execute an offense – one designed around him – while handling pressure and being a real gunslinger. Johnson has an arm and a willingness to throw that should take this team far.
But alas, the Green Wave beat the Green Wave in ways that haven't been seen in this program in years.
That included decision-making to run things like the option through now two quarterbacks who clearly struggle with it. Both drives on the first half that Tulane was humming in saw things go up in flames with turnovers, first on a poor pitch and then a reverse that wasn't correctly executed and saw guys run into each other.
It simply put too much pressure on a defense who immediately tried to set the tone with a pick-six. Those efforts were squandered, and then that side of the ball just broke down as the Roadrunners kept driving down for touchdown after touchdown, sandwiched between punts at best and turnovers at worst for the Wave.
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The penalties were another dagger that played a major role in points early.
It felt like watching a team in the preseason take one on in their penultimate season matchup.
It puts this team on the outside looking in and nearly eliminated for contention for the conference championship.
A win against the Charlotte 49ers won't move the needle at all. This was the one that mattered, and they squandered it.
A trip back to the title game would require the rest of the conference melting down, which certainly isn't out of the question.
But it would require a Tulane team that at this point seems miles away, with an answer finally at quarterback and yet no real answers elsewhere across the board.
