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Nov. 14, 2007

Link To Times Picayune Article

By Nakia Hogan
New Orleans Times Picayune

Matt Forté is running through the Tulane record book.

It isn't going unnoticed.

Forté, Tulane's senior running back who leads the nation with 1,813 yards, is one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to college football's top running back.

It was the second semifinal cut list Forté has made in the past two weeks. Last week he was chosen one of 15 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's best collegiate player.

He also was announced as one of 15 players to watch for the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Player of the Year Award on Tuesday.

"It's great to be nominated for awards and all that," Forté said. "The way you play dictates whether you get nominated or not. You feel good to be nominated. It's an accomplishment."

The other semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award are Anthony Alridge of Houston, Kevin Smith of Central Florida, Jamaal Charles of Texas, Mike Hart of Michigan, Felix Jones of Arkansas, Darren McFadden of Arkansas, Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois, Ray Rice of Rutgers and Jonathan Stewart of Oregon.

Forté owns three of this season's top seven individual-game rushing performances in the nation -- 342 yards and four touchdowns against SMU, 303 yards and five touchdowns against Southeastern Louisiana and 278 yards and two scores against Memphis.

In Tulane's 34-19 victory against UTEP on Saturday, Forté rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns. His scores gave him the school record for career touchdowns with 38 (33 rushing and five receiving), breaking the old mark of 37 by Bill Banker.

Tulane Coach Bob Toledo said he'd do everything in his power to help Forté become the first player in school history to surpass 2,000 yards rushing. Forté, who averages 181.3 rushing yards a game, needs 187 yards in the final two games to hit the 2,000-yard mark.

"That's important," Forté said. "I've never done that before in my career. That would be a great accomplishment for the team and me because not many offensive linemen get to be a part of a 2,000-yard rusher. Two thousand yards are something special."

WEARY WAVE: Toledo said his team has had little time to rest its injured players this season because the Green Wave will play the entire season without a bye week.

In the future, Toledo said he plans to look into the scheduling process and hopes to find a break between playing dates for his team.

Tulane is one of three Conference USA teams that didn't have a bye week this season.

As the season has gone along, Toledo has lessened the load on his players during workouts. He's cut the number of days in full pads to one and has shaved 15 minutes off of practice to help keep his players' legs fresh.

"Hopefully, we can work this out in the future because its been three years in a row now where we haven't had a bye," Toledo said. "It would've been great to have a bye a week ago or even this week."

HAPPY RETURNS: Special teams haven't been a strong point for the Green Wave this season, but Ade Tuyo is enjoying a solid senior season as a kick returner.

In the second quarter against UTEP, Tuyo had a 54-yard return, his longest of the season, and ranks second in C-USA with a 24.6-yard average.

CARNEY OUT: Defensive end Sean Carney continues to struggle with his back. He missed last Saturday's game, and the sophomore might miss the remainder of the season as he struggles to get healthy.

Carney had surgery before the season to correct a disk problem in his back that limited his freshman season to three games. But the injury has been a recurring problem throughout the season.