Tsunami Hits Hattiesburg-Tulane 21-Southern Miss 3

Tulane Green Wave football takes the field (2014 ) by Vegasjon is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. via Openverse

The Tulane Green Wave made the 2-hour trip north on I-59 to Hattiesburg, MS to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the Battle for the Bell on Saturday. And on the first drive of the game for the Green Wave, they set the tone for the rest of the game.

Game Notes

The Green Wave took the opening kickoff and drove down the field like Grant took Vicksburg; 75 yards in seven plays and scored to take a very early 7-0 lead.

Tulane did not score the rest of the first half. But neither did Southern Miss.

The Golden Eagles did have a golden opportunity to score in the first quarter. On 4th and 2 yards to go, RB Frank Gore, Jr. (son of former NFL veteran and Miami Hurricanes alum Frank Gore) lined up in the familiar 'Super Back' formation to take the snap from center. Gore took the snap and had the tight end wide open on a release, as the Tulane defense loaded up the box to stop Gore from running the ball. But Gore’s pass was overthrown and incomplete. It was Tulane’s ball going the other way.

The two teams combined for six punts in the first half. Tulane took that 7-0 lead into halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, Tulane QB Kai Horton, getting the start for an injured Michael Pratt, found WR Jha ’Quan Jackson for a 35-yard touchdown and the Green Wave increased their lead to 14-0.

Later in the 3rd quarter, Southern Miss finally got on the scoreboard courtesy of a 28-yard field goal by Andrew Stein to cut the lead to 14-3.

Tulane answered with another touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Horton to Chris Brazzell II to increase their lead to 21-3 late in the 3rd quarter.

Southern Miss could only manage two punts, a missed field goal, and turned the ball over on downs the rest of the way. The Tulane defense recorded three sacks and 11 tackles for loss in the game.

Final score: Tulane 21 – Southern Miss 3.

Play of the Game

The 35-yard TD pass from Horton to Jackson put the Green Wave up by two scores.

MVP-Tulane Green Wave

QB Kai Horton: 12 of 19 passing, 186 yards and two TDs. In addition, he added a rushing touchdown.

MVP-Southern Miss Golden Eagles

S Jay Stanley: 10 tackles on the day. The USM defense recorded three sacks.

What the Win Means for Tulane

Tulane moves to 2-1 on the season, without Michael Pratt, who has missed two games with an injury. Horton is getting valuable game experience and more confidence in his game.

The Green Wave hosts Nicholls next Saturday in the Big Easy.

What the Loss Means for Southern Miss

The Golden Eagles fall to 1-2. They have no identity and no consistency on offense. Their stats today:

· 14 first downs

· 5 of 16 on 3rd down conversions

· 36 yards rushing, as a team

· Gore carried 13 times for just 16 yards. He was a 1300-yard back last season. This season, he has gained 76 yards in three games. In this game, Gore needed 49 yards to break 3,000 career rushing yards.

· 60 yards in penalties

Southern Miss travels to play Arkansas State next Saturday.