"We Got Our Butts' Kicked"
Tulane used six takeaways to pick up a big win over the Tigers last week, but Saturday, October 24, the Green Wave found themselves with the turnover bug, leading to a bigger loss against UTSA.
The Green Wave lost four fumbles and threw two interceptions in a 42-19 home loss to UTSA.
Despite the loss coming after an important win, Tulane Head Coach Will Hall refused to call it a letdown, instead saying the team played poorly while UTSA played great.
"I don't think this was a letdown; I think this was a butt whippin'," Hall said. "[UTSA] out-physicaled us and they outcoached us."
The turnovers seemed to consistently come at the worst times for the Green Wave, down to the final interception that came with five minutes, killing the late comeback bid.
Each turnover killed their momentum in what Hall calls a solid game for quarterback Trace Johnson.
"[Turnovers] really killed our momentum," Hall said. "Trace was completing passes, our guys were making plays, and we were moving the ball, but the turnovers really took some momentum from us."
The
six turnovers are the most glaring issue from the loss, but the Green Wave's 67
net rush yards show a more persistent struggle.
Rushing Woes
Inconsistency in the rushing game has plagued the Green Wave all season.
In three wins, the Green Wave have averaged 214 rushing yards per game, while in four losses that average drops more than 60% to 84.5 yards per game.
Injuries to both their starting running back and offensive linemen have only worsened the issue, giving the Green Wave their lowest rushing total since netting 54 yards at Duke in week one.
"They kicked our butt tonight," Hall said. "We have to own that as a coaching staff and as a total offense, and we have to find answers, and that's gonna start right now."
Hall says that although Tulane still has a chance to compete for a conference, the first priority is the team improving their play to secure a win at Charlotte.
"We
have to play better this week. We can't even worry about that, we have to play
better at Charlotte," Hall said. "What we can control is how we attack [this
week of practice]."
