Tulane upset the University of Houston Cougars 20-17 on Nov. 18, washing them out of the Big Easy. With this win over Houston, there’s still hope in seeing Tulane in a bowl game this year, which they haven’t been able to make since 2013.
In honor of Tulane’s Senior Night, students came in droves to support and show up for what could have been their last game in Yulman Stadium.
In fact, seniors were key players during the game, especially on defense. Rae’Juan Marbley, Parry Nickerson, Robert Kennedy, Ade Aruna, Luke Jackson and Sean Wilson all did a tremendous job on their side of the ball.
The Green Wave only allowed Houston to have possession of the ball for 15:12, while the Tulane offense was able to control the ball for 29:48. In the third quarter, Parry Nickerson made a huge play when he intercepted the ball for a touchback, which was nearly a touchdown for the Cougars.
Seniors Sherman Badie and Dontrell Hilliard controlled the ball on their end of the ball as well. Badie left the game with 7 yards receiving, 25 yards rushing and a 16 yard touchdown. Hilliard rushed for 52 yards, which was enough for him to reach over 1,000 yards for the season.
Tulane led the game in passing yards for a total 251 yards. The Green Wave rushed for a total 166 yards, 68 of them produced by quarterback Jonathan Banks. Jonathan Banks had a career-high of 251 yards with the longest of the game being 64 yards. That long of 64 yards was completed to Terran Encalade for a game saving touchdown.
Cougars quarterback D’Eriq King lead his team in rushing as well, with a total of 141 yards and passing for a total 225 yards. Up until this game, he hadn’t thrown any interceptions in his college football career.
This is the first time Tulane has won 2 consecutive games in November since 2007. Can they go for 3 and make an appearance in a bowl? We’ll see this Saturday when the Green Wave take on SMU’s Mustangs in Dallas, Texas at 11 a.m.