<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2D2wUX_0wE8UVHB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2D2wUX_0wE8UVHB00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>The Tulane Green Wave were rolling.Tulane entered Saturday riding a three-game streak of generating at least 40 points, sporting an unblemished AAC record after eviscerating UAB and South Florida. Yet, the Green Wave nearly met their match Saturday as a feisty Rice Owls team stormed into New Orleans and fought them to the wire.But a decisive showing in the turnover battle propelled Tulane to a 24-10 victory. The Green Wave registered five takeaways while refraining from coughing up the ball once, allowing them to rattle off a fourth-straight victory.“Entering the fourth quarter knotted at 10 apiece, Rice received many opportunities to tie or establish a lead, but the Owls could not hang onto the ball in crucial sequences. Trailing 17-10 with under two minutes to go, running back Dean Connors caught a screen, and while getting flipped by Tulane’s Javion White, he dropped the ball to the turf. Middle linebacker Sam Howard scooped up the loose ball and sprinted to the end zone, sealing the Green Wave’s third conference victory of 2024.“That’s really the message to the team afterward,” Bloomgren said. “If our defense plays like that, we’re gonna have a chance in every game. The growth that they’ve shown is really good. To be 10-10 with that team entering the fourth quarter is another good step. Now when we get that opportunity, we have enough experience in closing games and knowing what we have to do to make that happen. That was a close game and we had our chances.”Howard’s touchdown ensured Tulane remains atop the national leaderboard in both defensive touchdowns (5) and non-offensive touchdowns (7). He is the fifth different Green Wave defender to score on a unit consistently making game-changing havoc plays down the stretch of games.In total, Rice threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles. Two of those turnovers were especially vital as they were committed inside the Tulane 30-yard line while the Owls were tied or leading, depriving them the opportunity to gain cushion on the Green Wave. In the second quarter, Connors fumbled at the end of a long run when Rice held a 7-3 lead, and he finished with two fumbles despite only having one in his 296 touches prior to Saturday. Then to start the final frame in a deadlocked contest, quarterback E.J. Warner was intercepted in the red zone by Tulane cornerback Micah Robinson.“(Dean) had two fumbles today and that’s a bit of an anomaly that it happened today. That’s unfortunate,” Bloomgren said. “But you work on ball security. You talk about the importance of it Those are things we do and we’ll continue to drill it and continue to work on that. When you talk about the interceptions, there’s a couple that were not great throws. E.J. always has the final say in the throw and who he’s throwing it to, aside from the last one where he just didn’t have any time. I thought E.J. continued to be a warrior and did some great things for us, but if he doesn’t have time to put his back foot in the ground and deliver without somebody hitting his arm, it’s hard to blame him.”When the game was already decided, Warner threw a third interception to defensive tackle Adonis Friloux, thanks to a ricochet off the hands of Tulane outside linebacker Tyler Grubbs. Warner was shaken up on the play and left holding his upper body, but no update was provided postgame.The barrage of turnovers sullied an otherwise-stellar day for the Rice offense. The Owls out-gained Tulane, 344-306, as Warner consistently invaded Green Wave territory with 271 passing yards and a touchdown — a 31-yard play action pass to tight end Elijah Mojarro in the second quarter. Wide receiver Kobie Campbell was the bright spot in the offense, leading a shorthanded Rice receiving room with six receptions and a career-high 100 yards. But the inability to finish drives resulted in the Owls’ second-lowest point total of the year.“We were definitely rolling,” Campbell said. “We just have to find a way to finish these drives in the end zone or finish these drives with points. Moving the ball don’t mean anything unless you find a way to get in the box.”Tulane’s offense relied heavily on star running back Makhi Hughes who produced 140 rushing yards in the victory. Hughes earned 52 yards on the go-ahead drive, finishing with his 10th total touchdown of the season with 8:22 remaining. The reigning First Team All-AAC tailback also turned a screen into a 29-yard touchdown in the second quarter, establishing a 10-7 Tulane lead that would be matched, but never relinquished.The Green Wave did not witness the same success from the passing game, where starting quarterback Darian Mensah finished 12-of-25 in an uncharacteristically inefficient showing. The pressure from Rice’s defense — third in the FBS in sacks per game — made life difficult for the redshirt freshman, but Mensah’s completion percentage also took a hit from a slew of drops, including a perfect delivery to Mario Williams in the second quarter for a would-have-been 52-yard touchdown.“Guys like (defensive end) Michael Daley made life hard for him,” Rice inside linebacker Myron Morrison said on stifling Mensah’s passing game. “Just time, decision-making, and hitting him — you can only take so many hits before it starts to mess with self preservation at that point. I think all the guys got after him. (Outside linebacker) Ty Morris, first play of the game, came in and smacked him around.”Rice’s defense snapped Tulane’s three-game streak of 40+ points, stifling the Green Wave offense to just two touchdowns. However, Bloomgren and the Owls still feel like there are greater heights for the unit to reach after failing to register one takeaway. Through seven games, Rice only has four takeaways this year, ranking bottom 10 in the FBS in the category.“We had some chances because of the way our defense played,” Bloomgren said. “That’s winning football what our defense did. The only thing we can ask of our defense to do better is create some turnovers, and that’s something we’re emphasizing, but it’s something that we’re just not getting done right now, and we have to, to be the team we want to be. If we can play with that kind of effort defensively, we can win a bunch of football games.”Rice (2-5, 1-3 AAC) remains winless on the road this year, falling to 0-3 away from Rice Stadium. However, after playing the class of the AAC down to the finish despite a 5-0 result in the turnover battle, the Owls are confident about what they can accomplish down the stretch after a sluggish start.“I think we’ve known what we can do from the jump,” Morrison said. “We’ve had a couple close games that didn’t go our way, but it’s the same mentality. We don’t go into the game thinking that we’re the underdog or that we’re gonna upset a team. It’s just making a couple key critical plays to get that scoreboard on our side.”Tulane (5-2, 3-0 AAC) remains spotless in conference play, totaling an 18-1 regular season AAC record over the past three seasons. Sumrall’s squad eyes hosting its third-consecutive AAC title game, but there’s still plenty of time between now and December. Next up on the docket is a road trip to North Texas with bowl eligibility on the line.</div></body>

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Tulane fends off Rice, 24-10, behind 5-0 showing in turnover battle

The Tulane Green Wave were rolling. Tulane entered Saturday riding a three-game streak of generating at least 40 points, sporting an unblemished AAC record after eviscerating UAB and South Florida. Yet, the Green Wave nearly met their match Saturday as a feisty Rice Owls team stormed into New Orleans and fought them to the wire.

Tulane fends off Rice, 24-10, behind 5-0 showing in turnover battle

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