Head coach Jon Sumrall said what we were all thinking.
Tulane University narrowly squeaked by a tough East Carolina University football team at home 26-19 this past Thursday. That being said, the game wasn’t all pretty.
The Green Wave earned chance after chance to separate themselves by moving the ball downfield with efficiency. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff was the most on-time, on-target and in rhythm he had been all season, which resulted in a season-best 347 passing yards and a 63-yard touchdown pass to Zycarl Lewis. What’s more, 12 different players caught at least one pass in the game, which marked a team season-high. All of this raises a question: Why didn’t Tulane score a single touchdown until the fourth quarter?
The answer: penalties. Tulane committed 11 penalties for 96 yards, and they all mattered. They had to rely solely on the right leg of Patrick Durkin to keep them in the game offensively, which is not a recipe for success, especially against such an explosive team.
The defense bailed out the offense for most of the game. Cornerback E’zaiah Shine was remarkable, as he finished the contest with four pass deflections and three tackles, one of which saved the game on a crucial third-down situation late in the fourth quarter. Edge rusher Harvey Dyson recorded another sack, raising his season total to 4.5 on the year.
However, if they want to make a serious run, they have to be more disciplined. More than one of the 11 penalties came within the 10-yard line. That is inexcusable for a team with some of the highest expectations for any Group of Five program in the country.
“We’ve been trying to beat ourselves up. And we have to clean a lot of things up,” Sumrall said. “The detail, discipline and maturity that we’re playing with is not to my liking.”
We’ve seen all year that anything can happen. The former No. 2-ranked Penn State University just lost to Northwestern University, who the Wave demolished in the season opener. This led to the firing of their head coach, James Franklin.
Because of this, Tulane must find a way to stop being their own worst enemy. Otherwise, all of the small yellow flags will eventually result in a bigger red one.
Still, they are a talented group of players. It also helps when your head coach is, dare I say, one of the best in the country.
Ugly wins are still wins. Maybe next time, though, spare us the panic attacks.