Tulane continued their fantastic start to conference play on Saturday by defeating the University of Alabama at Birmingham 71-20. The fantastic offensive display made history for the Wave, as it was their largest output in the 21st century, and their first 70-point game since 1998. The Green Wave’s defense was dominant as well, holding UAB to just 6 points heading into the fourth quarter. 

Through Tulane’s first two conference games, the Wave has outscored the University of South Florida and UAB by a whopping 116 to 30 points. The Wave also has more than doubled USF and UAB’s total yards on offense, 1,025 to 506, over the past two conference games. To further prove the sheer dominance of the Wave in conference play thus far, Tulane has scored 14 touchdowns over the last two weeks, while USF and UAB combined for just three touchdowns. Tulane has also won the turnover battle 5-0 as they’ve avoided mistakes while forcing USF and UAB into plenty of them. 

 There truly isn’t anything to speak negatively about regarding the Wave following Saturday’s matchup with UAB, as the Green Wave came out clicking on all cylinders and never took their foot off the gas en route to 71 points. Tulane’s starting quarterback, Darian Mensah, didn’t have to be a hero this weekend with the running game doing all the heavy lifting, but he still finished with an efficient 12-for-15 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown. 

 The rushing game was otherworldly, with 317 total rushing yards and three rushers over 80 plus rushing yards on the day. The rushers averaged a combined 6.3 yards per rush, led by star running back Makhi Hughes, who finished with 119 rushing yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Backup running backs Jamauri McClure and Arnold Barnes III got plenty of action as well with 84 and 82 rushing yards apiece, with McClure getting one score and Barnes III two scores. Hughes, McClure and Barnes III all averaged at least 7.5 yards per carry as the UAB defensive line got pushed around at the line of scrimmage and had no answers for the Wave’s rushing attack. 

 Tulane’s offensive line showed out on Saturday, being a main catalyst for the 317-yard rushing, but also did a fantastic job of protecting quarterback Mensah, as UAB recorded zero sacks and only two tackles for loss. Compare that to Tulane’s three sacks of UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna and 11 tackles for loss, and it is obvious that Tulane’s backfield was a much more pleasant place to be on Saturday than UAB’s.  

 With the rushing game taking over, the wide receivers had a relatively quiet day. Yulkeith Brown was the best of the bunch with four receptions for 60 yards and two touchdowns, but besides him, there wasn’t another Tulane receiver with more than two receptions or 35 yards this weekend. 

 Defensively, it was truly a collective effort for the Wave, as defensive linemen Kameron Hamilton and Patrick Jenkins, and linebacker Matthew Fobbs-White all recorded a sack apiece. Hamilton and Fobbs-White also both recorded 1.5 tackles for loss, leading the team, but an impressive 14 Tulane defenders recorded at least 0.5 tackles for loss on Saturday. 

 The Green Wave will try to keep their stellar conference play rolling following their bye week this weekend against the Rice University Owls on Saturday, Oct. 17. You can catch the Tulane vs. Rice matchup next weekend at Yulman Stadium at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday or stream the game on ESPN+.