Will Hall got the better of his former employer on Saturday night, as Tulane stole victory from the jaws of defeat in a 24-21 win over Southern Miss.
It was the Green Wave’s first Battle of the Bell victory in New Orleans since 2002, and it was a dramatic one. Late in the 4th quarter, the Golden Eagles (1-3), after leading for most of the 2nd half, found themselves deep in Tulane (2-2) territory, down 24-21, but with a chance to either score a go-ahead touchdown or kick a game-tying field goal. A relatively fruitless first few downs led to the latter, but instead of tying the game, placekicker Creighton Wilbanks had a 21-yard attempt blocked in the final minutes of regulation.
From there, all Tulane needed was one first down to win, and that’s what happened. The Green Wave survived a scare from a team they were favored to beat by three scores.
Southern Miss was without starting quarterback Ethan Hampton, prompting head coach Blake Anderson to turn to a more than capable backup in Landry Lyddy. The senior shook off a subpar start to the matchup and ended up with a decent stat sheet. Lyddy completed 18 of 29 for 243 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. His top targets were AJ Little and Davis Dalton. Each wideout had 75 yards. Dalton had a touchdown. The Golden Eagles’ ground attack was led by Steven Robinson’s 73 yards and touchdown.
The Green Wave took an early 7-0 lead midway through the 1st quarter, courtesy of the only touchdown pass quarterback Kadin Semonza threw all game. Following six straight punts between the two teams, the Golden Eagles tied it at 7-7 via a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Davis Dalton.
From there, both teams swapped scores again, starting with Tulane running back Marice Turner running 43 yards to the house. Southern Miss answered immediately with another Lyddy touchdown pass, this time to receiver Mario Sanders from 14 yards out. Sanders again found the end zone with 10 minutes left in the third quarter, putting the Golden Eagles up by a touchdown.
Southern Miss’ defense started heating up in the 2nd half, forcing a turnover on downs and then an interception when Tulane was knocking on the door in the red zone. Semonza threw a pick at the beginning of the fourth quarter in the end zone to defensive back Landon Sylvie, who also had seven tackles, four solo, against the Green Wave. After the errant throw, Hall turned to freshman Trace Johnson to commandeer the Tulane offense, which seemingly ignited a much-needed spark for the home team.
Tulane, after the quarterback change, scored 10 unanswered points to take a 24-21 lead. On just the second play of the drive with a little over 5 minutes to play, Green Wave running back Turner turned on the burners for a 74-yard touchdown run to deliver the final score of the night.
Leading the way for the Green Wave in the win was Turner. The running back was virtually unstoppable all night, as evidenced by his 200 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries — an average of 16.3 yards per handoff. Anthony Brown-Stephens was Tulane’s top pass catcher. He logged 85 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions.
Special teams were ultimately the difference in a game where the teams were separated by 3 points. While Southern Miss missed a kick and had one blocked, Tulane’s Cooper Helmke nailed the one field goal he attempted.
Southern Miss will enjoy a break next weekend and return to action to begin Sun Belt play on Oct. 6. The Golden Eagles’ first conference opponent is Troy, with the game being played on the road.
