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Oct. 22, 2007

By Nakia Hogan
New Orleans Times Picayune

In his more than three decades of coaching college football, Bob Toledo has helped tutor some good running backs.

There's been Skip Hicks, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, DeShaun Foster, Darren Lewis, Leeland McElroy and Greg Hill to name a few.

The Tulane coach has often said his current ball carrier, senior Matt Fortè, is as good as any of those others.

If there were any naysayers, Fortè is proving them wrong.

In the Green Wave's 41-34 overtime victory at Southern Methodist on Saturday night, Fortè carried Tulane to its first victory of the season against a Division I-A opponent, racking up a school- and Conference USA-record 342 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries.

The total broke his old mark of 303 set last month against Southeastern Louisiana and helped propel him into the nation's rushing lead with 1,261 yards (180.1 yards per game).

"At the start of the season I said this guy is a great football player," Toledo said. "And everybody kind of looked at me funny. Great is a pretty big word, and I don't use it very often. He is a great football player. He's got all the right numbers. He's got size. He's got speed. He's got quickness. He runs with power. He can catch the ball. He's got great work ethic. Nobody works harder than Matt Fortè.

"He takes a beating every week and he keeps coming back. He doesn't complain. He's got great character. I just think he's a great football player. Unfortunately, we are not winning and that affects him for a lot of things. But as far as pro football and those types of things, people see how good he is."

It's hard not to notice.

Fortè, a 6-foot-2, 223-pounder, is beating opponents with speed, power and savvy. He had rushed for at least 200 yards in the previous two games.

So he definitely had the Mustangs' attention. But even with SMU stacking the line of scrimmage, Fortè managed to roll off runs of 16, 18, 20, 27, 65 and 77 yards. For his efforts, the Walter Camp Football Foundation selected Fortè its national Player of the Week.

Unlike in his past two 200-yard rushing outings, the Wave had more than individual feats to celebrate. The win snapped an eight-game C-USA losing streak, and gave the Wave hope it could still qualify for a bowl game.

"Football is supposed to be fun," Toledo said after a jovial bus and plane ride home late Saturday. "But the fun comes in winning. That's when it's fun."

Now Toledo is hoping the victory and the performance by Fortè is enough to galvanize the team.

After three consecutive road games, Tulane (2-5, 1-2) returns home to the Superdome on Saturday for a C-USA game against Memphis (3-4, 2-1).

And despite its heartbreaking losses the previous two weeks against Army and Alabama-Birmingham, Toledo said the team is working through its problems.

"We are getting a little bit better," Toledo said. "People don't realize that. We are not that good, but we are better. The thing is they saw where if they just did a few things differently in those last two games they would have won. They haven't given up. They are still practicing hard. They still believe. And they are still going out there with a purpose.

"Their attitude has been great in other words. I am appreciative of how they are working and what their attitude is."

QUARTERBACK ROTATION: Toledo said he is pleased with how his quarterback rotation of Anthony Scelfo and Kevin Moore worked out.

The two split duties, with Scelfo starting and Moore playing in three first-half possessions.

Scelfo completed eight of 15 attempts for 102 yards and a touchdown, without throwing an interception. Moore, who did not play in the second half, was 5-of-7 for 58 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

RETURN OF THE SACK: After failing to record a sack last week, the Wave defenders put constant pressure on SMU, sacking elusive Justin Willis four times.

The biggest sack came in the overtime period when Reggie Scott hit Willis and jarred the ball loose and the Wave's Avery Williams recovered to seal the win.