This past Saturday, Tulane University squeaked by a feisty University of Louisiana at Lafayette squad on the road with a 41-33 victory, bringing their record back to even at 2-2 before conference play. 

Makhi Hughes headlined the game and continues to prove that he is a future NFL running back. He finished the game with 23 carries for 166 yards and a touchdown, flashing his vision, balance and strength. Starting quarterback Darian Mensah only threw the ball 17 times, completing 11 of his passes for 83 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. This was a step in the right direction for Mensah, especially after committing game-changing turnovers against Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma. 

After a weak first quarter, Tulane revved its engine by once again using quarterback Ty Thompson, who ran for a 2-yard touchdown to open the second quarter. Midway through the period, Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Ben Woolridge threw an interception to Green Wave safety Jack Tchienchou, who ran 38 yards to the house to break the 10-10 tie. After a Ragin’ Cajun field goal, Tulane was up 17-13 at the half. 

Kick returner and defensive back Rayshawn Pleasant provided the spark that Tulane needed in the second half. He caught the kickoff to open the third quarter and shot out of a cannon, running it back 94 yards for a touchdown. This proved to be important, as after the kickoff, Tulane allowed running back Bill Davis to run 73 yards to the 2-yard line. Woolridge capitalized on the opportunity and threw a short touchdown pass to tight end Caden Jensen.  

On the following drive, Mensah found tight end Reggie Brown on the move for a 33-yard touchdown, making it a two-score game. Brown has caught a touchdown pass in back-to-back weeks, proving to be a reliable option for Mensah. After Louisiana-Lafayette drove down and scored again, Makhi Hughes thrashed the defense and scored to put Tulane up 12 going into the fourth quarter.  

The fourth quarter opened with Woolridge’s second rushing touchdown of the day, putting Tulane in the danger zone. Tulane then drove down and converted a field goal attempt, bringing the lead to 8 points.  

On the next drive, the Wave forced a turnover after going-for-it on a fourth down. Soon after, the Green Wave missed a field goal, keeping the score at a one-possession lead as the kicking woes continued. Louisiana-Lafayette did what they could to tie the game before the end of regulation, but Tulane’s Jalen Geiger intercepted Woolridge on a fourth down to seal the deal with 54 seconds left.  

Despite the win, head coach Jon Sumrall was very disappointed with the defense. “We’ve got like 500 things to fix on defense. And we only played 62 plays,” he said to Guerry Smith of NOLA.com after the game. And this may be true. 

But, if Makhi Hughes continues to roll, so will the Wave.