It was not a pretty game for the Tulane Green Wave this past Saturday. The Wave fell to Duke in the season opener, 17-3 in a game that the Blue Devils owned from the opening drive.
Each week, Pro Football Focus (PFF),grades teams and individual players on their performances. The scale is a simple 0-100. PFF is a sports analytics website and company that specializes in in-depth data, advanced statistics, and performance grades for every player on every play of every game in the NFL and NCAA.
If got to see any of the game, you will notice that you and PFF are probably on the same page as to what the Greenies did well and what they didn't.
The Wave offense hurt itself seemingly more often than not, piling up penalties and, in one instance, losing the ball after a long gain. PFF graded the Tulane O at an overall 56.5, probably higher than you might have expected.
The highest score was given to the Tulane passing game, getting a 68.1from PFF, while the running game was given a solid 63.0. The lowest was given for pass blocking, a bleak 26.1grade from PFF.
Scoring the highest individually for the Green Wave was running back Johnnie Daniels,who played for 27 snaps, less than half of the total Tulane had offensively. The transfer topped the entire Tulane offense with a 74.3 overall grade, most of which came from his 75 in the run game.
Center Gavin Marksand guards Gresham Perryand Reese Bakerplayed the most snaps on the offense with sixty apiece.
We thought the Tulane D did better after the first drive, and PFF agreed, giving the Wave defense an overall score of 59.6for the game. The highest grade was for the Tulane pass rush, given a 62.8by PFF. Coach Will Hall said after the game he was disappointed in his defense's tackling in that first series. So was PFF, giving that side of the ball a 29.9score for tackling.
Playing only 23 snaps in the game, outside linebacker Warren Roberts Jrscored over twenty-points higher on the PFF scale than any defender for the Green Wave, hitting a score of 89.2for the game, his run defense scoring the highest at 87.7.
The player with the most defensive snaps was cornerback E'zaiah Shinewho was on the field for 74 snaps, all but three of the times Duke had the ball on offense.
For funzies, let's look at Duke, the team that most of us were saying dominated Tulane from start to finish:
- Overall Offense - 74.6
- Overall Defense - 81.1
This weekend, Tulane opens its home season with South Alabama coming to Yulman Stadium for a Saturday, 6:00 p.m. CT kickoff.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tulane as The Weekly Look at PFF Scores for the Green Wave in its Game vs Duke .
