Bowl Eligibility
Saturday afternoon, Tulane hosted a motivated University of Tulsa in the Mercedes Benz Superdome. Tulsa had decidedly won the previous eight meetings and was looking to improve this number to nine straight wins against Tulane. However, with a home win over Tulsa, Tulane would be eligible for a bowl game. The Green Wave won their last Bowl appearance, beating Hawai’i in the Hawai’i Bowl in 2002. Spoiler or bowl birth: who wanted it more on Saturday?
Batten Down the Hatches
In what became a gritty match in the bayou, Tulane triumphed in a hard earned 14-7 win. Tulane’s defense was ready and kept Tulsa scoreless in the second half. On the other hand, Tulane’s offense was having some problems, giving up two interceptions and missing a short field goal from their 18 yard line.
The Golden Hurricane struggled offensively as well. Tulsa’s Trey Watts led the team in rushing with only 63 yards on 21 carries. Averaging only 3 yards per run, Trey delivered one of two Tulane touchdowns. Tulsa freshman Dane Evans filled in for injured Cody Green. Evans was 13 of 30 for 139 yards. The freshman also threw three interceptions and sacked once. Tulane all but shut down the Tulsa O in the second half of the game.
Conference USA
Tulsa slid to a 2-5 record in what was their last season with Conference USA. With the win, Tulane becomes a favorite for the R+L Bowl with a solid 6-2 record, maintaining a perfect 4-0 conference record in C-USA play. They travel to C-USA newcomer Florida International this weekend to play their 5th conference match-up.
Sun Belt Conference
Louisiana Lafayette continued their quest for a repeat invite to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl with a solid win over Arkansas State this weekend. The 5-2 Ragin’ Cajuns are still unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play. They will need a win over Troy University during a Thursday night game on November 7th to keep the top spot all to themselves. Western Kentucky and Texas State have slipped back in the standings leaving only the Troy Trojans poised to challenge the boys from Lafayette.
Check back here on Thursday for the week 10 Game of the Week!
