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.

Team Stats (Pacers @ Pelicans) Final Score: 118-125 Rebounds: 39-46 Assists: 35-28 Blocks: 3-4 Steals: 3-8 Turnovers: 14-6 Stat Leaders (Pacers/Pelicans) Scoring Leaders: Ben Sheppard, 20; Zion Williamson, 34 Rebound Leaders: Isaiah Jackson, 8; Yves Missi, 10 Assist Leaders: Tyrese Haliburton, 11, 6; Zion Williamson, 10 My Player of the Game: Zion Williamson Takeaways Zion Williamson had his best game of the season, scoring 34 points and 10 assists -- the first time he's done that in his career. Brandon Ingram and Jordan Hawkins were also dominant on the offensive side, pouring in 26 points and 23 points respectively. Yves Missi had a posturizing dunk on Pacers' Myles Turner. It was AWESOME! The Pelicans played with a lot of enthusiasm and grit. The defensive energy was high. One important note is that the Pels only had six turnovers the whole game . CJ McCollumn and Herb Jones did not play due to injuries and are out 2-3 weeks. Trey Murphy is very close to coming back to action. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

Tulane Green Wave vs Charlotte 49ers By: Patrick Harkness Spread: Tulane -16.5 Total: 55.5 Tulane enters week 10 at 6-2 and just out of the top 25. They will square off against The Charlotte 49ers who are currently a very underrated 3-5. They are coached by Biff Poggi who went 3-9 last year. They return 7 total starters, 4 offense and 3 defense. They also got a handful of power 4 transfers. They have been struggling to find a leader at the QB position but seem to have found their guy in Freshman QB Deshawn Purdie. He has breathed new life into this offense by almost upsetting Memphis last week. Charlotte is a very shotgun and pistol heavy offense they currently ranked 77th in passing yards (219) and 103rd in rushing (126). They average about 23 points a game which is ranked 102nd in the nation but don't be fooled by these numbers as Charlotte's young QB could resurrect this offense. Defensively it's very multiple and depending on the opponent Charlotte will have multiple fronts. They are giving up 34 points per game which ranks 119 in the nation while letting teams to pass at 230 yards a game and allowing teams to run for 184 on average, ranks them in the bottom 4 of the AAC. Enough of the numbers let's get into the Preview. Offense Quarterback- Battle of the young QBs Mensah is playing like a top 25 QB this season and that's truly amazing for a young redshirt Freshman who was hardly even recruited in high school. On the year he amassed 1583 yards passing, 14 touchdowns, and only 3 picks. If it wasn't for Makhi Hughes and this stout offensive line, he may have some more gaudy numbers. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Mensah will be going up against a bad Charlotte defense. They may try to confuse him with their multiple fronts, but Mensah has enough time on him where we can almost call him a vet. It should be another quit day for Mensah but don't be surprised if he takes a shot or two on play action when the run game is going. Charlotte has had three different Quarterbacks play this year Max Brown a former Florida transfer hasn't been playing very well with 6 int on the year and Trexler Ivey also not able to have any success, so install Deshawn Purdie. This kid definitely has some skills with his rocket arm and is the future of this team. Now he isn't perfect by any means, not a threat on the ground and can be inaccurate at times as well. He's 53/93 with 869 yards (57 comp%) with 5 touchdowns and 2 int. Pivotal for Tulane to cause pressure and fluster this youngster because he will make mistakes. Ty Thompson- Run Ty Run You just have to love a player like Ty Thompson. Loses the QB1 position but still is a leader/mentor to Mensah while still keeping a head on his shoulders and being a key part of this offense when they need tough hard-fought yards. Running Back- Open the Flood Gates Makhi Hughes should have his way again for another week against a very poor run stopping Charlotte defense. On the year Makhi has 939 yards rushing (5.7 avg) and 9 touchdowns. He is the main focal point of the offense and that will definitely not change this week. Arnold Barnes is starting to get hot and has asserted himself and the main backup behind Makhi. He managed to get 78 yards rushing (7.1 avg) against UNT. Look for him to give Makhi a breather of two. Shadie Clayton will continue to come in on passing downs to help the offense of key thirds downs with his speed. Charlotte has 3 very capable backs at doing some damage. Cartevious Norton, a junior power running back, leads the way for the rushing attack. He has 85 carries for 391 yards (4.6 avg) and 4 td. The next two guys are more elusive/ change of pace backs and can make some guys miss in open space. Hahshaun Wilson who almost had the game winning touchdown against Memphis, has 58 carries for 363 yards (6.3 avg) and 6 td. Wilson is one of the guys on this offense that scares me the most. Terron Kellman is the other back that'll come in and give either one of these guys a spell. He has 204 yards on the ground averaging 5.1. Receiving Game- Battle of the Dontae's It was good to see Alex Bauman back in action by hauling in a touchdown last week. Look for him to reassert his redzone presence again this week against a poor Charlotte defense. Dantae Fleming continues to show he is the go-to target on the outside with over 430 yards catching. But he could be in for a battle with Charlotte's best defensive player at cornerback Dontae Balfour he has recorded 28 tackles, 5 pass deflections and 2 interceptions. Dontae is a big corner coming in at 6-2 and can play really good man coverage. This should open up the passing game for either Mario Williams and/or Yulkeith Brown to have some big plays downfield. Another secondary player for Charlotte who will look to slow things down is Strong Safety Al-Ma’hi Ali he has 35 tackles, 6 pass deflections and 2 interceptions. Ali will try to slow down Bauman and any deep shots that come his way. It sounds like we will finally get to see Shazz Preston play. Offensive Line- Dominance I'll say it again this may be one of the best Offensive lines in college football. They’re currently ranked 6th in the nation in rushing yards at 216 and 6th for points per game 41 while only allowing 11 sacks. They should continue to strut their dominance against this Charlotte defensive front but there are some guys to keep an eye on. Defensive end Demon (yes Demon not Damon) Clowney (brother to NFL DE Jadeveon Clowney) and defensive tackle Dre Butler seem to be their best lineman both having two sacks on the year, but I don't see much of a threat anywhere on this d-line. Tulane should roll right through this group. X-Factor: Run heavy and use Play Action Defense Defensive Line- Sack Lunch Thoughts and Prayers to Pat Jenkins and his Family. Mathew Fobbs White has been steadily improving at the bandit position and seems to be catching fire. He had a key strip sack that led to a Tulane touchdown and was my player of the game last week. Mathew now has 2 sacks on the year. Terrel Allen who originally was slated for the bandit position moved over to DT next to Fobbs and seems to be working amazingly. Allen is big and strong enough to take on double teams to free up Fobbs and get pressure on QBs. Adin Huntington is starting to look like his old self after being banged up the majority of the beginning of the season. Charlotte is only returning 1 player from the offensive line last year. This rebuilt unit has been very lackluster by allowing 25 sacks on the year. The 49ers Head Coach was a former offensive lineman and coach, so he has to be disappointed in this group. The Tulane defensive front should impose their will against this offensive line and have a field day. Linebackers- Stopping the Run Tulane's linebackers need to be very sharp in this game with the three headed monster running back room of Charlotte. Tyler Grubbs and Sam Howard will continue to show their dominance in the run stopping game. Tyler now has 34 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions on the year while Howard has 31 tackles and 1.5 sacks with 4 fumble recoveries and 1 going for a touchdown. Dickson Agu and Chris Rodgers will continue to be very solid backups and key passing down specialists. Secondary- Down with the O”Mega Micah Robinson and Jonathan Edwards need to step up big this week whenever they are lining up against O’Mega Blake, a former South Carolina transfer wide receiver. On the year O’Mega has 18 catches for 419 yards with 5 touchdowns. He is averaging 23 yards per catch. The 6-2 Junior is a deep threat down the field so Jalen Geiger/Jack Tch or Bailey Despaine/Kevin Adams must be ready to shade over and help either corner. Charlotte QB is not the best with his accuracy but O’Mega has the skills to go up and get it no matter where it is. Caleb Ransaw looks to have a bounce back game. Last week he didn't look the greatest getting burnt a couple of times, one leading to a touchdown and a defensive penalty on 4th down that led to another. But he is a very smart and good player so there should be no cause for concern. I have all the faith in Caleb to lock down the spear/nickel spot. Charlotte does have some other receiver threats Tulane should be looking out for. Jarius Mack 14 catches for 295 yards another deep threat guy, Sean Brown 22 catches for 242 yards and a touchdown a big body physical receiver standing at 6-4 this is who Caleb Ransaw might be matching up on. They also have two decent tight ends that can help out Colin Weber and Byrce Kennon. Weber has 19 catches for 202 yards and Byrce has 17 catches for 173 yards and 1 touchdown. X-Factor- Stop Running Game and Shut Down O’Mega Special Teams Kicker/Punter/Return Game K-Jacob Barnes is back hitting a 47-yard field goal in the previous game P-Will Karrol has been punting the ball very consistently with power 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.

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Team Stats (Pelicans @ Trail Blazers) Final Score: 103-125 Rebounds: 39-51 Assists: 24-25 Blocks: 8-8 Steals: 9-9 Turnovers: 15-16 Stat Leaders (Pelicans/Trail Blazers) Scoring Leaders: CJ McCollum, 27; Jerami Grant, 28 Rebound Leaders: Brandon Ingram, 8; Deandre Ayton, 12 Assist Leaders: Brandon Ingram, 6; Scoot Henderson, 7 My Player of the Game: CJ McCollum Takeaways It was not a good offensive night from nearly anyone on the Pelicans team except for CJ McCollum who was the leading scorer for the team. Zion Williamson has not quite found his rhythm on offense, but there are no doubts that he will get there. From a defensive standpoint, the team did well, but Scoot Henderson was a menace in the first half against New Orleans. Having the lack of a true point guard is proving to cause challenges for the Pelicans. The Pels play two games next week, on the road, against the Golden State Warriors. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.