Tulane’s Homecoming Game against Cincinnati at Yulman Stadium, also known as the “Ocean,” had fans on the edge of their seats this past Saturday. Cincinnati held on to a one point lead in the half, holding off the Green Wave to a final 17-16 win.
The first quarter started with 4 minute possession by Cincinnati, finishing their opening drive with a 25 yard field goal. Tulane answered on their possession when QB Jonathan Banks rushed for a 53 yard touchdown to close the first quarter 7-3, giving Tulane their first lead of the game.
Cincinnati rallied in the 2nd quarter when Hayden Moore connected with Devin Gray on a 39 yard touchdown to take back their lead at 10-7. The see-saw continued as Tulane answered with a 37 yard field goal by Merek Glover with 7:38 left.
The Bearcats didn’t respond and left 5:33 on the clock for the Green Wave. Despite moving the chains on their sixth 3rd down conversion with a pass from Banks to Jabril Clewis for 15 yards, Tulane was forced to settle for a 19 yard field goal by Glover, giving them a 13-10 lead at the half.
The third quarter pace was fast, with Cincinnati taking a 4 point lead off of a Mike Boone 5 yard rushing touchdown, giving the Bearcats a 17-13 lead, which they maintained for the rest of the quarter.
However, the Bearcats failed to convert on downs and missed a 40 yard field goal attempt in the 4th quarter. Tulane took advantage of field possession and smart clock management on their next possession. Rushing the ball 9 out of 11 plays, as part of the 5:33 drive, highlighted by a 32 yard Bank pass to Darnell Mooney, Tulane’s efforts were further rewarded by a 15 yard Cincinnati penalty, advancing the ball into the red zone. Failing to find the end zone, special teams was called upon to pull the Greenies within one point off a final Glover field goal, from 26 yards out.
It was too little too late for the Wave, however, as Cincinnati held on to their 17-16 lead for the final win, despite both teams playing hard defense and mistake free offense with no turnovers on either side of the ball.
Cincinnati offense dominated in the end with 456 total yds (208 rushing and 248 passing), winning their first conference game of the season.
The MVP of the game was Tulane’s QB Jonathan Banks. Jonathan “banked”a total of 301 yards, including a 53 yard rushing touchdown, 75 yards running and 226 passing.