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[Big Easy Pony]

(From the New Orleans Times-Picayune)

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Tulane disappointed by opening loss
By Fred Robinson
Staff writer

The Green Wave, playing its first game of the season after being forced to relocate in north Louisiana because of Hurricane Katrina, battled back from a 14-point deficit before a critical mistake aided Mississippi State in its 21-14 victory over Tulane at Independence Bowl Stadium.

“If I weren’t a competitor I wouldn’t be disappointed, and the team wouldn’t either. But in reality, I’m very proud of the way we got off that bus and ran out of the tunnel and played as hard as we could for 60 minutes,” Tulane coach Chris Scelfo said.

The Green Wave, which was penalized 10 times for 75 yards and lost two of three fumbles, didn’t run out of chances until there was no time left on the clock. The game ended with Wave quarterback Lester Ricard heaving a Hail Mary pass into the Bulldogs’ end zone. The ball was tipped by a Mississippi State player and dropped to the turf incomplete near the back of the end zone.

“Fighting back is great, but not winning hurts,” Ricard said. “This team is filled with character. Right now, there’s no happiness around here.”

After a scoreless first half, Mississippi State (2-1) scored on its first and third series of the third quarter. But as quickly as the Green Wave fell into a hole, it dug itself out and tied the score on an 18-yard run by senior running back Jovon Jackson with 9:35 showing.

But the hope that Scelfo had been telling his players was going to be a huge part of its 2005 season began slipping away with just less than eight minutes left. The defense forced the Bulldogs to punt on fourth-and-11. But kick returner Izzy Route lost the ball. It was recovered by Mississippi State’s Lance Long at Tulane’s 17 with 7:57 to play.

On the Bulldogs’ next play, running back Jerious Norwood, who was held to 15 rushing yards in the first half by Tulane’s defense, broke loose for the deciding touchdown.

Tulane’s offense, which stumbled through the first half, had two more opportunities following the Bulldogs’ final score. On the first possession, punter Chris Beckman completed a 27-yard pass to Preston Brown on fourth-and-11 from its 19. It was the longest pass completed by the Green Wave.

However, the big play went unrewarded. Four plays later, the Wave was again facing a fourth down, and this time it punted.

On its final possession, time proved to be the biggest enemy. It converted a fourth-and-9, reaching the Bulldogs’ 39 with only eight seconds to play. But at that point, the Wave’s options were now down one play.

The loss to Mississippi State, in many ways, was much like the loss to the Bulldogs last season. The offense didn’t perform up to its capabilities in the first half, and a critical turnover in the second half gave Mississippi State all the momentum it needed in taking a 28-7 win.

Although Mississippi State scored the winning touchdown Saturday one play after recovering the fourth-quarter fumble, Scelfo would not allow the loss to be pinned on that mistake. Instead, he blamed his decision for trying an onside kick after the Wave closed to 14-7 as a major mistake.

“I thought the second half we played our football game,” Scelfo said. “I thought there was one big play in the game; the decision to go for the onside kick was bad by me from the standpoint that it probably turned the field around. That was the worst play of the game.”

Scelfo said there were other aspects of the game that played a part in Tulane’s loss. The team’s conditioning wasn’t what he was hoping it would be, and the players were maybe a little bit too high at the start of the game. Eight of the Wave’s 10 penalties came in the first half.

“Our emotion was way too high early in the game,” Scelfo said. “I think a lot of it had to do with the emotions of what we’ve been going through.”

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Wave’s thoughts elsewhere before focusing on Bulldogs
By Benjamin Hochman
Staff writer

SHREVEPORT – Twenty minutes before kickoff in the season opener Saturday, the locker room doors opened, and there sat the Tulane football players, New Orleans resting on their shoulder pads.

A few players uneasily cracked jokes. Others lost themselves in headphones, while rap music blared so loud that passersby deciphered the lyrics. Receiver Bubba Terranova, whose parents’ home in Slidell was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, stared at his hands.

These players were all evacuees of the hurricane. Victims, too. After scrambling to Jackson, Miss., they traveled to Dallas, then Ruston and finally to an antiquated locker room at Shreveport’s Independence Stadium.

Kenneth Guidroz smiled nervously. Two weeks after fearing his father dead, he prepared for his first college game at receiver. Brandon Spincer’s home was damaged heavily by Katrina. So was his parents’ home. The senior bowed his head in prayer.

Assistant coach Bill D’Ottavio strutted past the players, shattering the silence: “Cut it loose, let's have some fun out here.” The coach, like the others, wore his gray practice shirt and green mesh practice shorts. His game clothes, presumably, were under water.

The game helmets were back home, too, so the Green Wave wore practice helmets, green without decals. Defensive end William Fairburn had some issues with his helmet, so he wore one donated by a nearby high school. The green was a shade brighter.

Assistant coach Greg Davis Jr. suddenly told the players to converge on the main doors. The captains, every Tulane senior, pushed toward the front. Each player got on one knee. Coach Chris Scelfo emerged.

“Defense, you got to fly to the football,” he said. “We’ve got to give everything we’ve got, every time we’re out there. “Defense, we have got to get people to the football. We have to create turnovers. Don’t ask for them – I want you to create them. And you know how to create them – by peppering them, peppering them, peppering them. I want to stop the run. And secondary, do not go to sleep on your guy, until the quarterback crosses the line.”

Senior Anthony Cannon’s eyes locked on the coach. Cannon’s apartment in New Orleans was flooded. The defensive leader hid in the locker room, fixated on football.

“Offense,” Scelfo continued. “No penalties, no turnovers, stay ahead of the chains. Pretty simple. Pretty simple. All we’ve got to do is get first downs. Keep your composure, keep your poise.”

Quarterback Lester Ricard leaned against a locker. He was one of the few players standing. His uncle stayed in the Ninth Ward during Katrina, risking death and making his nephew cry in fright. His uncle was now safe. Ricard, the offensive leader, was attentive at the words “composure” and “poise.”

“Let me tell you what,” Scelfo said. “Tulane’s motto since the school started is: ‘Not for thy self, but for others. Not for thy self, but for others.’ I’m going to tell you what – I don’t want you thinking about nobody but the others in this room for the next three hours.”

Scelfo, whose roof was badly damaged by the hurricane, paused. His voice became fierce: “I want your heart, mind and soul for three hours. Everybody got it?”

Eighty-eight men said, “Yes sir.”

“I want your heart, mind and soul! And I guaran-dang-tee you – the best team will win. The best team will win. Because the best team is in this locker room. And I’ll be darned if we’re going to feel sorry for ourselves, are we?”

Eighty-eight men said, “No sir.”

“ARE WE?”

“No sir.”

“We’re going to go out there and do what?”

“Win!”

The players erupted from their stances and charged into the tunnel at Independence Stadium, their cheers echoing.

Tulane lost Saturday night. But these days, a loss is all relative.