SURGING HOUSTON HITS ROAD TO FACE TULANE
Houston and Tulane are travelling in different ways as they prepare to face off in an American Athletic Conference matchup in New Orleans on Thursday night.
The Cougars (4-1, 2-0) have won four straight games and are coming off a 45-10 hammering of Tulsa.
The Green Wave (1-4, 0-1) took Oklahoma to the wire to start the season,
but have since dropped three in a row, including a 52-29 defeat at East Carolina in their conference opener on Saturday.
Tulane has dropped three straight games, losing 141-71 to Ole Miss,
UAB, and East Carolina, and now it faces a Houston squad that has outscored its past four opponents 162-37.
During Houston’s four-game winning run, the Texans have allowed only four touchdowns,
and head coach Dana Holgorsen praised the team’s performance against Tulsa as “total domination.”
The Cougars possessed a stifling run defence, three interceptions (one of which was returned for a score), and four sacks.
“We hope we made a statement,” said Gervarrius Owens,
whose 45-yard interception return for a touchdown increased the score 35-3 in the opening minute of the second half.
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“We have shown how thrilling and dominating we can be when everything is firing on all cylinders.”
Alton McCaskill, a freshman with the Cougars,
scored three touchdowns against Tulsa and now has eight touchdowns on the season.
Tulane, on the other hand, hasn’t led in a game since a 69-20 win over Morgan State on Sept. 11.
“We can’t allow negativity to take root.
Green Wave running back Cameron Carroll, who had 147 all-purpose yards and a rushing score versus East Carolina, said, “We can’t allow outside stuff seep in.”
“All we have to do now is remain focused and optimistic.
We can’t be too critical of ourselves. We have to continuously help each other.”
Tulane fell down 24-0 against East Carolina and surrendered 612 yards of offence,
including 310 yards on the ground.
The Green Wave turned the ball over four times, two of which resulted in Pirates scores.
“When you dig a hole as large as we did, you have problems,” said Fritz,
whose club has the poorest record in his six seasons as head coach after five games.
Tulane didn’t have much time to reflect on its most recent defeat because of the short turnaround for the Thursday game.
Dorian Williams, a linebacker, remarked, “I like it.”
“On ESPN, you always seem to play huge Thursday night games. All we have to do now is get back into the swing of things.”
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