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Oct. 21, 2007

By Nakia Hogan
New Orleans Times Picayune

Apparently Tulane isn't quite ready to give up on its season.

For weeks now, senior running back Matt Forté and his teammates have conceded that their backs are against the wall, but they've talked the good talk and held on to the fact that they haven't been prevented from reaching any of their goals.

After what happened here Saturday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, the Wave can talk with a little more conviction.

Having had its season pushed the brink of disaster, the Wave finally pushed back, needing overtime to beat Southern Methodist 41-34 in front of 14,901 fans.

No player pushed harder than Forté, who spun and sprinted his way to a Conference USA and Tulane record 342 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. It was the third consecutive game Forté has surpassed the 200-yard rushing mark. The NCAA record for consecutive games with at least 200 yards rushing is five held by Marcus Allen of USC (1981), Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State (1988) and Jamario Thomas of North Texas (2004).

"Matt, what can you say?" Tulane Coach Bob Toledo said. "That was an unbelievable performance. The guy carries the football team on his shoulders. He had some long runs. He's physical. He should have thrown a touchdown pass. He scores four touchdowns. He has (342) yards. What more can you say about the guy? He's a great, great football player."

The past three weeks, the Wave has had a lot to say about eliminating costly mistakes and showing the moxie and guile needed to pull off victories in the second half.

Tulane's players often claimed they have yet to "learn how to win."

But Forté gave his teammates a good lesson.

On first-and-goal from the 9 in overtime, Forté broke through the Wave's line and ran over SMU safety Bryce Hudman at the 3-yard line before lunging into the end zone for the score.

"In overtime with the game on the line, you got a defender in front of you and the goal line a couple yards away, you have to run through him," said Forté, who also has a school single-season touchdown record (13). "It was great blocking, and all I had to do was make people miss and run over them and get into the end zone."

The defense followed his lead.

On SMU's first play in overtime, Tulane defensive end Reggie Scott sacked SMU quarterback Justin Willis and forced a fumble that the Wave's Avery Williams recovered, setting off a wild celebration at midfield.

"We finished the game," Toledo said. "We finished the game. That's one of the things I was telling our guys. We needed to learn to finish, and we finished the game."

Tulane (2-5, 1-2 C-USA) kept its dream alive of finishing with a winning record and gaining a bowl berth. Meanwhile, SMU (1-6, 0-3) lost its fifth consecutive game. Tulane snapped an eight-game Conference USA road game losing streak and picked up its first win of the season against a Division I-A opponent.

The Mustangs took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Emanuel Sanders. The score capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Sanders beating freshman cornerback Phillip Davis for the score. SMU managed to convert two fourth-and-1 opportunities on the drive.

One possession later, the Mustangs increased their lead to 10-0 on a 30-yard field goal by Thomas Morstead.

But just when it appeared the Wave was on its way to being routed, Tulane put together a nine play, 76-yard drive that ended with Anthony Scelfo hitting Jeremy Williams with a 22-yard touchdown pass, pulling the Wave to 10-7.

Willis and Sanders connected again in the second quarter, this time for a 17-yard touchdown that Sanders caught in the left flat, broke a tackle by the Wave's Devin Holland and raced to the end zone before somersaulting across the goal line, increasing the lead to 17-7.

The Wave didn't give up, though.

One play after Josh Lumar came up with his first career interception, Forté raced 77 yards, taking a handoff up the middle and breaking to the sideline, closing the margin to 17-14.

With six seconds remaining in the first half, Tulane kicker Ross Thevenot made a 32-yard field goal, tying the score at 17.

The Wave opened the second half with scoring drives on its first two possessions, taking a 20-17 lead on a career-long 47-yard field goal by Thevenot.

The Wave then drove 92 yards in 10 plays, capping the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run by Forté on a fourth-and-1 play, pushing Tulane's lead to 27-17 in the third quarter.

Moments after the Mustangs tied the score at 27 on a 37-yard Morstead field goal with 7:35 remaining, Forté went to work.

He carried the ball six consecutive times, including a 65-yard highlight-reel run in which he broke away from an SMU gauntlet and raced to the 1. He eventually scored on a 6-yard touchdown that gave Tulane a 34-27 lead with 4:38 remaining.

But SMU answered, driving 81 yards in nine plays, tying the score on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Zack Sledge with eight seconds remaining.