We knew there wouldn’t be any defense in this contest, but boy there was even less than I expected. let’s recap a wild shootout in Denton.
This one mirrored the ULL game in a lot of ways. A punt from each team followed by a million consecutive scores. Mario got the party started on a nice throw from Mensah.
Mario was open a ton this game and it was good to see him bounce back from a wicked case of the drops against rice. This offense is at its best when Mario is at his best. 7-0 wave is the best way to start any game.
Tulane’s defense exhibit some of their bend but don’t break style on the next possession. Chandler morris and DT Sheffield killed us all game but every time we kept them out of the end zone was big. Good hold from the D to maintain the lead in the early going.
The Makhi Hughes show began on the third offensive possession. He ripped off 38 yarder on third down and right then and there I knew he was going to win this game for Tulane.
It is not often you see a back go for that many yards completely untouched, and it happened multiple times in this game. North Texas run defense needs a serious overhaul. On the very next play, you get Yulkeith in the slot one on one with the safety on the post route. As my guy Shaquille O’Neal says, barbecue chicken alert.
http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/42013699
14-3 WAVE.
This was a thing of beauty. Brown absolutely toasts the defender and Mensah fires an absolute dart to the end zone. For those that are fans of the wave after wave blog, you know 10 and 5 are my two favorite players on the team. Any time we get to see Yul doing his dance in the end zone, it’s a good one. Somebody get this man a Snoball!
The ensuing kick off had the fumble and you started to get the feeling another AAC boat race was on for the wave. I knew this mean green offense was too good for that, but it was awesome to see the boys fire out of the gate in the first quarter. I saw the Typhoon package come out after the kickoff fumble and already started writing my touchdown Typhoon tweet. The Mean Green Run D was no match for the big man from Arizona. Ty easily scampered towards the end zone and capped it off with a touching tribute to Taylor Heinicke with a pylon dive.
21-3 in the first quarter and homecoming in Denton was starting to look like about as much fun as the UCONN Tulane homecoming of 2015. If you know you know. Thanks for sitting through that one with me, Dad.
Defense forced a punt up 21-3 and got the ball back to the red hot wave offense. We went 3 and out and makhi somehow averaged 2 yards per carry on that possession. I rewatched, and I still don’t believe that it happened. That was weird given how absolutely putrid north Texas’s defensive front is. Anyhow, we can pretend that never happened.
Chandler morris sliced up the D through the air on the way to a touchdown. Not a ton to say on this one, that’s a great passing attack with some serious weapons. Hope Mike Leach is smiling up there watching his air raid legacy carried on in Denton, Texas. Rest easy up there Pirate. 21-10 Wave
Makhi Hughes broke free for another 40 yarder, and his intention to make this a record setting day was clear. Duda Barnes came in inspired by his fellow battering ram in the RB room and continued to punish the mean green run D. Makhi got his well deserved tuddy to cap off this drive and bring his first half total to 124 at this point and a tuddy. He’d finish the half with a career high 169 yards.
A nice 4th down stop from Tyler Grubbs on an outrageous decision to go for it from north Texas. Very good to see the officials pick up the flag on that targeting call, let’s protect receivers and still keep football football.
Darian proceeded to make his only bad decision of the game off the turnover. Look, he was feeling himself here and he can make all the throws, but this was a hero ball throw. Hard to nitpick another Mensah masterclass so that’s all you’ll get from me. North Texas scored after the pick to cut it to 11. 28-17 Wave
Makhi doing makhi things to end the half and get the wave one more score. Shout out to Jacob Barnes. A lot of talk about how the lefty didn’t have the distance. He nailed the 47 yarder to put the wave up 2 TDs going into half time. Nicely done.
Tulane came out of the half with more bend don’t break. North Texas drove the field despite having 0 semblance of a running game. The wave D came up big giving up 1 yard in 3 plays starting with 2nd and 5 at their own 30. North Texas would have made this a game with a TD there and the defense stood tall there.
The offense picked up where it left off using the full compliment of weapons to matriculate the ball down the field. Mario, Makhi, Duda and of course Alex Bauman for the score. So good to have 87 back. When the ambulance came out in that glorified practice in Birmingham, I was heartbroken. I thought Bauman would be lost for the season in a game we could have won rolling out the Newman starting 11. Much to my relief, Alex was reappeared today in his favorite place, the end zone. I feel like I remember another Bauman touchdown in the greater Dallas area. Hmm, when was it?
37-17 wave. Barnes missed an extra point here that probably mattered a whole lot to some. I think you take the good with the bad given the long field goal he made, but it would have been dandy to win by 9.
North Texas going for it on fourth down in strange places was a theme of this game. They very much run a madden offense so this is fitting. 60 pass attempts, always go for it on 4th down. Wave has gotta get off the field on 4th & 5 at the opposing 30. Instead, north Texas hits another huge pass and goes the length of the field to bring the count to 37-24. The defense played well against rice, but still a long way to go to slow down the conferences top units.
We had an absolutely excellent ball don’t lie moment on the following possession. This wasn’t reminiscent of jadaveon clowney ball don’t lie in the out back bowl. Get absolutely hosed on a 4th down spot and then proceed to have a strip stack the following play. Shout out to Matthew fobbs-white for doing his best clowney for the second time.
I really just wanted an excuse to post that video. What a player MFW is turning into for this defense. He is a big play machine and a good friend of the blog. Keep stunting on ‘em 35.
Wave get the ball back and immediately find themselves back in the endzone. I think this was my favorite makhi play of the day, and he didn’t even touch the ball. Watch 21 get out there and block for our guy Yul. Pancake!!!!
Brown completed the octopus too and showed off the dance moves post game.
Wish we hadn’t given up the last two touchdowns, but hey what can you do. 45 – 37 good guys. Another big win and an important one because we are officially bowl eligible. The team dedicated this one to Pat Jenkins whose mother tragically passed away this week. Pat, we’re all thinking of you. We win. We sing.
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