Temple Owls @ Tulane Green Wave By: Patrick Harkness Spread: Tulane -26.5 Total: 49.5 The Temple Owls (2-6) are traveling to the Big Easy to square off against The Tulane Green Wave (7-2) in another AAC matchup. Temple is coming into Nola after getting handed a 56-34 loss to ECU last week. They are led by head coach Stan Drayton who is in his 3rd year with the team and an overall record of 8-24. The owls are returning 8 starters from last year, 5 on offense, 2 on defense and their punter. Just like Tulane in the offseason Temple pulled a lot of talent from the transfer portal. Total of 43 newcomers including recruits that shape up this revamped roster. The Temple offense has mostly been running in a pass heavy shotgun/pistol/single back offense ranking 68th in passing (228 avg), 128th in rushing (91 avg), and 117 for scoring at almost 21 points per game. The Owls defensively have been running a 3-4 defense with some very good linebacker play all season. They have been giving up 35 points per game which ranks 124th in the nation. The defensive unit of Temple as a whole have been giving up an average of 394 yards, 180 passing, and 213 rushing. Let's get into positional breakdown of both teams. Offense Quarterback It looks to be another quiet game for the young freshman quarterback. This Temple defense has not been doing very well stopping the run so expect a lot of handoffs but don't be surprised if offensive coordinator Joe Craddock decides to open up his playbook and surprise Temple with some Play action when the defense starts to creep up and stop the run. Tulane definitely has the better skill players on the outside so let's hope the Green Wave gets a little pass happy. Should be able to take advantage of this defense in the screen game as well. Ty Thompson Ty should get a little more involved in this game than the previous. Temple has been having trouble stopping the run and the special packages they have been using with Ty should allow him to move the ball efficiently. Temple QB Forrest Brock was the original starter to begin the season after a strong spring but fell into some trouble as the season progressed. After throwing for 541 yards with 1 touchdown and 6 interceptions, Temple's head coach benched him and went with Junior Rutger transfer Evan Simon. Evan has had more success and even jump starting this Temple offense amassing 1,271 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and 6 picks. He's more of a game managing QB but he's smart and goes through his reads pretty well. Do not underestimate him. He doesn't seem to panic when pressure gets in his face as well. They're most likely going to try to the ball out quickly. Running Back It should be another stellar game by Makhi Hughes. Expect Tulane to utilize Makhi early and often with this lackluster defense of Temple. The owls do have two very good Middle Linebackers in Tyquan King (ECU transfer) and DJ Woodbury. King is leading the owls with 70 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. DJ is second on the team with 66 tackles and a sack. They are the quarterbacks of this defense and probably the only guys you need to worry about. It'll be essential for our offensive line to get to the next level and stop these two athletes if Tulane wants to have a successful in the ground game. Arnold Barnes and Shadie Clayton continue to battle for that RB2 spot so whoever has the hotter hand expect them to get more handoffs. Clayton came off one of his best game last week. Look for Shadie to be utilized in the screen game could be effective against Temple. Receiving Game Is this game the day we finally get to see Dontae Fleming and Shazz Preston lined up on the outside and Mario Williams and Yulkeith Brown in the slots. I sure hope so, there's still a whole entire dimension of this Tulane offense that we haven't seen and is waiting to be unlocked. It may not fully happen with Temple being a lesser opponent but with some tough games down the road be ready for the playbook to be wide-open. As of right now Mario leads the team with 34 catches for 561 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dontae is second with 25 catches for 467 yards and a touchdown. Yulkeith is 3rd with 25 catches for 324 yards and 4 touchdowns while tight end Alex Bauman has 10 catches for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. Temple has 3 guys at the corner position who are decent 7th year transfers from UTEP Torey Richardson (1 int) who plays well in man coverage and will probably be lined up against Dontae all game. Jamel Johnson, a guy who can line up in the slot and/or the outside has an interception on the year. Their best corner Jaylen Lewis who leads the group in tackles with 37, an interception, 5 passes deflected, and a forced fumble, is an ascending player and should be watched out for. Offensive Line The success of the power run game has all come down to the offensive line play. They have been nothing but impressive week in and week out. They have only allowed 13 sacks on the year and are boasting an average run game of 216 yards a game which is 11th in the nation. They are also allowing the offense to score 40 points a game which ranks 7th in the nation. Look for this unit to keep building these numbers against this poor temple defense. I wouldn't be surprised if all 5 starters get all conference awards at the end of the season. However, there are some guys who will look to disrupt Tulane on the defensive line of the Owls DT Latrell Jean (big body power rusher), DE Diwun Black (speed threat off the edge), and DE Trae Thomas(smaller edge rusher/bandit) who all have 2 sacks on the year. X Factor: Run the Ball which Should open Up passing Lanes Defense Defensive Line Temple is only returning one player from last year on the offensive line and he is by far their best player from the unit right guard Wisdom Quarshire. Other than that Tulane's stout defensive line should have a field day. Temple really struggles to run the ball forcing them to pass. The defensive line of Tulane has to attack the quarterback of Temple very quickly because they will be getting the ball out fast to counter this defensive line. On the year Tulane's defensive line Kam Hamilton has 3.5 sacks, Pat Jenkins has 3, Adin Huntington has 2 and so does Mathew Fobbs White. Linebackers Sam Howard got carted off the previous game and x rays came back negative and sounded like it was a sprain. Not sure if he'll be back for this one. May save him for Navy or Memphis with a bye before Memphis Thanksgiving night. Dickson Agu and Chris Rodgers have been playing very well as backup/passing down specialists look for both of them to be the next man up and help slow down the passing attack of temple. Tyler Grubbs continues to be the backbone of the defense by leading the team in tackles 39, 2nd in sacks with 3, and tied for first with 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 1 defensive touchdown. Temple doesn't have much of a running game, but two guys standout Terrez Worthy a speedy back has 51 carries for 280 yards (5.5 avg) and 2 touchdowns while Antwain Littleton a power back has 59 carries for 181 yards (3.1 avg). Secondary Micah Robinson has been playing very well as of late and has settled in nicely as Tulane's number one corner. With two picks on the year, he leads this secondary unit. Micah will most likely be lining up against Dante Wright by far their best receiver threat. Dante is a really good route runner and may even see him in the slot where Javion White the freshman spear/nickel corner could line up against him as well. Dante on the year has 42 catches for 517 yards and 4 touchdowns with a long of 91. Rayshawn Pleasant or Javion White will help out against Antonio Jones and 5-9 deep threat (17 catches, 143 yards, 1 TD) and Jonathan Edwards or Caleb Ransaw most likely line up against the big body physical receiver Ashton Allen who has 14 catches, 230 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Jalen Geiger and Jack Tcheinchou will continue to rotate and protect the deep part of the field and Bailey Despaine and Kevin Adams will help out with coverage on Temple's receiving threat at Tight End Landon Morris 15 catches, 240 yards, and 2 touchdowns. X Factor: Tight Coverage for quick passes Special Teams Kicker/Punter/Return Game K-Jacob Barnes is 24/25 on XP and 7/9 on FG with a long of 47. He's been pretty reliable so far this season P-Will Karrol is a game changer and helps this team more than people realize. He can really boom the ball but every now and then can lay a doozy. Roll Wave!! For more Tulane Football news, check out Wave Watch on YouTube at The Kneaux! This is Patrick Harkness and you can follow me on X @RollDatWave and @BeInTheKneaux everywhere.

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Tulane Green Wave Basketball

Team Stats (Trail Blazers @ Pelicans) Final Score: 118-100 Rebounds: 38-34 Assists: 21-24 Blocks: 5-3 Steals: 10-5 Turnovers: 11-12 Stat Leaders (Trail Blazers/Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Anfernee Simons, 24; Brandon Ingram, 27 Rebound Leaders: Deandre Ayton, 13; Yves Missi, 7 Assist Leaders: Scoot Henderson, 5; Jose Alvarado, 6 My Player of the Game: Brandon Ingram Takeaways Considering the Pelicans were without four starters, the home team put on a good showing, hanging with the Trail Blazers until the fourth quarter. Brandon Ingram is having a great start to the season. Zion Williamson was out for the second game in a row and wasn't even in the building for this game. He was told my his doctors to "stay home" for Monday's game. The Pelicans have to get healthy soon before they get too far in the hole in the Western Conference. Last season, the difference between fourth place and eighth place was decided by four games so the early stretch right now is important. Brandon Boston Jr. is playing on a 10-day contract and he's proving himself to be worthy of that with some great minutes lately. In this game, he scored 20 points. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Hawks @ Pelicans) Final Score: 126-111 Rebounds: 41-43 Assists: 29-22 Blocks: 3-3 Steals: 10-6 Turnovers: 16-18 Stat Leaders (Hawks/Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Jalen Johnson, 29; Brandon Ingram, 32 Rebound Leaders: Jalen Johnson, 9; Brandon Ingram, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, 7 Assist Leaders: Trae Young, 12; Jose Alvarado, 7 My Player of the Game: Brandon Ingram Takeaways The Pelicans were without Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy so Brandon Ingram had to bear the weight of the offense on his shoulders, which he did a great job of doing. The Pelicans struggled to find a consistent offensive rhythm, shooting just 43% from the floor compared to the Hawks’ 57%. New Orleans couldn’t contain Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, who scored a career-high 29 points. The Hawks dominated New Orleans 66-32 in the paint, and the Pels had 18 turnovers, which proved costly. The Pels play next on Monday, Nov. 4 and hopefully Zion will be back in action. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

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Tulane Green Wave- 34 @ Charlotte 49ers- 3 By: Patrick Harkness Spread: Tulane -16.5 Total: 55.5 Tulane came into this game with one thing on their mind. Control the game, limit mistakes, and run at will. They certainly obtained their objective in this AAC matchup with the Charlotte 49ers. Tulane rushed for over 200 yards yet again keeping them ranked in the top 10 in the nation on average yards rushing. With the Green Wave being able to control the game and the line of scrimmage, their time of possession was 42 minutes and Charlotte with almost 18 minutes, it was clear Tulane knew they could out physically play this 49er defense and slowly bury them as the game went on. The first half was a little frustrating to watch but when your offense gets backed up deep in your own territory they wanted to limit any mistakes from a young freshman QB on the road. Trust me I also wanted to see them open up the playbook a little more, but when your best player is top 5 in the nation running the ball, just feed Makhi. The second half you could see Tulane's offensive coordinator open up the playbook more because the green wave had way better field position to deal with unlike the first half. Let's get into the player breakdowns Offense Quarterback- Battle of the young QBs You can see the development week by week from the young QB. His pocket presence and awareness have greatly improved from the week 3 loss to Oklahoma. Mensah has shown great ability to escape the pocket when things start to break down. I just wish he'd tuck it and run a little bit more but he does a good job keeping his eyes down field and trying to find an open receiver. A Lot of young QBs would give up on the pass and just take off. On the night Mensah went 21/29 with 214 yards passing with no touchdowns. Ty Thompson Ty didn't get a whole lot of action in this game. Kinda surprising because the team had a strong desire to run the ball. Thompson had 4 carries for 16 yards with a long of 13 Running Back Makhi Hughes had yet again another stellar performance collecting over 100 yards in 4 straight games. He tacked on 2 more touchdowns in this game bringing his total up to 11 and has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with 1,056 on the year with an average of 5.5. He's currently in the top 5 for rushing yards in the nation. Shadie Clayton got some good runs in at the end of the game with 6 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown. It was good to see him get back to his old self. Even catching a pass for 10 yards. Would still like to see him utilized more in the passing game. Arnold Barnes finished the night with 7 carries for 28 yards. He was struggling to find some open lanes Thursday night. It's good to see Tulane have a different RB2 almost every week step up if one is struggling. Between Shadie, Arnold, Trey, and McClure Tulane has an embarrassment of riches at the running back position. Receiving Game- It was good to see Shazz Preston get his first action of the season for Tulane. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to haul in any catches, let's hope that changes against Temple next week. Yulkeith Brown and Mario Williams were the main focal points in the passing attack for Tulane. Mario caught 6 passes for 96 yards and Yulkeith assisted with 7 catches for 53 yards. Alex Bauman tried to get his hands on a couple of passes but was unsuccessful including a touchdown pass that just sailed over his head. Dontae Fleming also recorded 3 catches for 35 yards. Phat Watts got a decent amount of playing time as well in this game. Mensah missed him in the passing game early on, he was wide open for an easy touchdown in the red zone. Offensive Line The offensive line was able to wear down the athletic defensive line of Charlotte as the game went on. Tulane's rushing attack surpassed 200 yards yet again. It wasn't the best day for the oline with penalties and giving up 2 sacks but as the game went on the running attack got stronger and stronger. Shadre Hurst and Josh Remetich had some nasty pancakes throughout the game and should be prepared to earn some all-conference recognition at the end of the season. That also could be said for the rest of the oline. Wouldn't be surprised if all 5 players on the line get recognized for all conference first/second/third team. Josh Remetich did get banged up but returned later on. Player of the Game: Makhi Hughes Defense Defensive Line- Sack Lunch The Dline had an ok game, they weren't the best stopping the run giving up 120 yards 5.5 average, but they certainly stepped-up creating pressure on the young QB of Charlotte which led to a pick six for Micah Robinson. On the night Kam Hamilton and Adin Huntington both had a sack, bringing Hamilton up to 3.5 sacks on the year and Adin with 2. Pat Jenkins returned and finished with 2 tackles on the night and Terrel Allen continued to impress after moving from bandit to DT. He had 1 tackle for loss on the night and was creating a lot of pressure. Linebackers Tyler Grubbs had another good game finishing with 4 tackles, a tackle for loss, and almost collected his 3 interceptions on the year but it went right through his hands. Dickson Agu got into the backfield and recorded his first sack of the season. He now has a total of 19 tackles on the year and is a very valuable backup/passing down linebacker, maybe even unlocking some pass rushing ability. Sam Howard finished early with 2 tackles and an injury. He was later carted off from the sidelines. X-rays came back negative, so it seems to be some sort of sprain. Secondary- Down with the O”Mega The secondary showed up in Charlotte with Micah Robinson, Rayshawn Pleasant, and Jack Tchienchou leading the way. Micah had a pivotal pick 6 that essentially put the game away. He had a great burst on the receiver's comeback route and read it perfectly to make the catch and record Tulane's 6th defensive touchdown and 5th pick six. Which all lead the nation. Micah now has 2 interceptions and 6 pass break ups on the year. He finished Thursday night's game with 3 tackles. Jack Tchienchou led the team in tackles with 4, while Rayshawn tacked on 3 tackles. Bailey Despaine and Kevin Adams continued to rotate in and out as the game progressed, they each totaled 1 tackle and Despaine had a nice pass break up. The Key to the game was to shut down the speedy receiver of Charlote Omega Blake and they were successful only allowing 3 catches for 52 yards. As a whole the unit only allowed 7 catches for 69 yards. Great day for the secoundary. Player of the Game: Micah Robinson Special Teams Kicker/Punter/Return Game K-Jacob Barnes went ⅔ on field goals with a long of 34 and 4/4 on XP P-Will Karrol had one awful punt for 36 yards that went out of bounds, look for him to bounce game against Temple For more Tulane Football news, check out Wave Watch on YouTube at The Kneaux! Roll Wave!! This is Patrick Harkness and you can follow me on X @RollDatWave, Facebook, Instagram, and @BeInTheKneaux everywhere.