GAMEDAY College Football
Tulane 37, South Alabama 17
By BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS - Michael Pratt completed 14 of 15 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns and No. 24 Tulane beat South Alabama 37-17.
Three of Pratt's scoring passes came on deep throws. He hit Jha'Quan Jackson for touchdowns of 48 and 47 yards and connected with Lawrence Keys on a 47-yard scoring play.
Looking to validate its first preseason AP Top 25 ranking against a season-opening opponent that won 10 games last season, the Green Wave raced to a 24-7 lead. South Alabama briefly closed within a touchdown in the third quarter before Tulane began to pull away again on an unconventional flea flicker.
Running back Shaadie Clayton-Johnson took a direct snap and handed off to Keys, who ran around the right end before pitching back to Pratt as Jackson streaked into the open field. Pratt's pass hit Jackson in stride to make it 31-17.
Tulane kicker Valentino Ambrosio added two field goals for the final margin.
South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley was 23 of 30 for 190 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted twice and also lost a fumble while being sacked by defensive tackle Kameron Hamilton in the fourth quarter. Bradley also rushed for a touchdown.
Tulane struck first after forcing the first of five South Alabama turnovers.
Defensive tackle Patrick Jenkins stripped running back La'Damian Webb and Lance Robinson recovered on the Jaguars' 38. On the next play, Pratt found Chris Brazzell down the left sideline for a 33-yard gain, setting up a 4-yard scoring pass to Brazzell two plays later.
Valentino Ambrosio's 29-yard field goal made it 10-0 before South Alabama closed the gap on Bradley's 4-yard scoring run in which he dove to reach the right pylon early in the second quarter.
The Wave restored its 10-point lead when Pratt threw deep down the middle to Jackson for a 47-yard score, and made it 24-7 when Pratt found Lawrence Keys for another 47-yard TD.
Tulane was in position to take a big lead into halftime after DJ Douglas intercepted Bradley. But two plays later, linebacker Khalil Jacobs was unblocked on a blitz and leveled Pratt from behind, forcing a fumble that South Alabama's Ke'Shun Brown recovered inside the 20.
Jenkins denied the Jaguars a touchdown with a third-down sack, and Diego Guajardo's 36-yard field goal cut Tulane's lead to 24-10 shortly before halftime.
THE TAKEAWAY
South Alabama: An inability to stop the deep ball did in the Jaguars.
Tulane: Pratt's pinpoint passing was complemented by a Green Wave defense that sacked Bradley five times, allowed just 75 yards rushing and produced four turnovers. (One of the Jaguars' turnovers was committed by its defense during a fumble return that gave the ball right back to Tulane's offense).
Tulane athletics press release
September 2, 2023
| Scoring Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | USA | Tulane | |||
| Tulane | TD | 13:09 | Chris Brazzell II 4 yd pass from Michael Pratt (Valentino Ambrosio kick) | 0 | 7 |
| Tulane | FG | 2:40 | Valentino Ambrosio 29 yd FG | 0 | 10 |
| Second Quarter | USA | Tulane | |||
| USA | TD | 11:54 | Carter Bradley 4 yd run (Diego Guajardo kick) | 7 | 10 |
| Tulane | TD | 10:34 | Jha'Quan Jackson 47 yd pass from Michael Pratt (Valentino Ambrosio kick) | 7 | 17 |
| Tulane | TD | 7:39 | Lawrence Keys III 47 yd pass from Michael Pratt (Valentino Ambrosio kick) | 7 | 24 |
| USA | FG | 1:39 | Diego Guajardo 36 yd FG | 10 | 24 |
| Third Quarter | USA | Tulane | |||
| USA | TD | 7:12 | Devin Voisin 7 yd pass from Carter Bradley (Diego Guajardo kick) | 17 | 24 |
| Tulane | TD | 4:27 | Jha'Quan Jackson 48 yd pass from Michael Pratt (Valentino Ambrosio kick) | 17 | 31 |
| Fourth Quarter | USA | Tulane | |||
| Tulane | FG | 12:44 | Valentino Ambrosio 30 yd FG | 17 | 34 |
| Tulane | FG | 4:48 | Valentino Ambrosio 27 yd FG | 17 | 37 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Alabama | Tulane | |
| First downs | 18 | 16 |
| Rushing | 8 | 6 |
| Passing | 7 | 10 |
| Penalty | 3 | 0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 8-13, 62% | 4-8, 50% |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-1, 0% | 0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards | 32-75 | 38-142 |
| Passing Yards | 190 | 294 |
| Return Yards | 59 | 5 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 23-30-2 | 14-15-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 5--32 | 1--5 |
| Punts | 1 | 1 |
| Punts-Average | 45 | 41 |
| Fumbles Lost | 3-3 | 3-3 |
| Penalties - Yards | 7-60 | 7-70 |
| Time of Possession | 29:23 | 30:37 |
| South Alabama Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| C. Bradley | 23 | 30 | 190 | 1 | 2 |
| Tulane Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| M. Pratt | 14 | 15 | 294 | 4 | 0 |
| South Alabama Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| L. Webb | 9 | 40 | 4.4 | 0 |
| K. Bullock | 12 | 37 | 3.1 | 0 |
| B. McReynolds | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 |
| C. Bradley | 9 | -11 | -1.2 | 1 |
| Tulane Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| M. Hughes | 8 | 41 | 5.1 | 0 |
| M. Pratt | 11 | 39 | 3.5 | 0 |
| S. Louis | 9 | 27 | 3.0 | 0 |
| I. Celestine | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 |
| L. Keys III | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 |
| S. Clayton-Johnson | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 |
| South Alabama Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| J. Pritchett | 5 | 63 | 12.6 | 0 |
| C. Lacy | 7 | 60 | 8.6 | 0 |
| K. Bullock | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 |
| L. Sefcik | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 |
| D. Thomas-Jones | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 |
| B. McReynolds | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
| D. Voisin | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 1 |
| B. Crum | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
| L. Webb | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 |
| Tulane Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| J. Jackson | 3 | 106 | 35.3 | 2 |
| L. Keys III | 4 | 96 | 24.0 | 1 |
| C. Brazzell II | 4 | 53 | 13.3 | 1 |
| D. Fleming | 1 | 39 | 39.0 | 0 |
| A. Bauman | 2 | 0 | 0.0 |
0 |
| South Alabama Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| Tulane Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| D. Douglas | 1 | 5 |
| L. Robinson | 1 | 0 |
| South Alabama Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| J. Martin | 1 | 45 | 45.0 |
| Tulane Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| C. Glover | 1 | 41 | 41.0 |
| South Alabama Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| Tulane Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| South Alabama Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| B. McReynolds | 2 | 34 | 17.0 |
| K. Bullock | 1 | 25 | 25.0 |
| Tulane Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| South Alabama Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| D. Guajardo | 53 |
| Tulane Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
