Tulane routs UConn 49-7

The Green Wave turned it on early and never looked back.

It was utter domination for Tulane on Saturday afternoon as they completely dismantled the lowly UConn Huskies. Quarterback Justin McMillan... who piled up 231 passing yards and two touchdowns... left the wildly lopsided game in the third quarter and backup Keon Howard took the reins only to add 92 more yards and another score.

Three different Green Wave receivers got in on the scoring action, with Darnell Mooney, Cameron Carroll and Jha’Quan Jackson all hauling in touchdowns.

The touchdown barrage started with one of Tulane’s dynamic running backs however. Corey Dauphine’s 57-yard scoring run gave the Wave an early lead that they would not relinquish.

Shortly after Dauphine’s big play, Mooney snagged a 22-yard pass from McMillan that stretched Tulane’s advantage to double digits late in the first. A McMillan run paired with a Macon Clark interception return would make it a staggering 28-0 at halftime.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

That edge only grew in the second half when Howard came in. Tulane’s second-string signal caller authored a touchdown run of his own as well as a 14-yard scoring pass to Jackson. When all was said and done, the Wave made visiting UConn wish they had never shown up to Yulman Stadium.

Huskies quarterback Mike Beaudry had a rough day at the office, going 15-for-24 passing for just a mere 101 yards and no touchdowns. His lone pick was the house call to Clark. UConn’s only score came late in the final frame when backup QB Jack Zergiotis hit Cameron Hairston for a 16-yard garbage time TD.

Besides that, it was all Tulane all day.

The Good: The Wave looked phenomenal in Saturday’s beatdown. Yes, it was only UConn but 634 total yards of offense with about an even 50-50 pass and run split? Tulane is balanced, talented and lethal. Oh yeah, and there’s some pretty solid depth on this roster too. Watch out AAC.

For the Huskies this section is NA. Sorry.

The Bad: Oddly enough, the “bad” for the Green Wave happened just over 1,200 miles north in Philly. Temple took care of business against a then-ranked and now-disgruntled Memphis team that will be none to satisfied going into next week’s matchup with the Wave. Tulane will now not only have to deal with a very good Tigers squad but also one that’s aggravated after a loss. That only makes the going tougher in Tennessee next week.

Where do we start with UConn? They’re now 1-5, they went 1-of-11 on third down, they barely cracked 100 yards rushing as a team and they averaged 3.9 yards a play. The list is extensive. But hey, at least they won the time of possession battle...

The Ugly: Even in such a throttling win, Tulane still can’t seem to avoid their old nemesis: penalties. Eight different times on Saturday they were flagged, resulting in 81 lost yards. It’s fine against UConn, it won’t be against Memphis.

The Huskies play Houston next.

Up Next: As we stated, the Green Wave now turns to a huge duel with Memphis. Both clubs are now 5-1 and a win here may very well decide who’s representing the AAC West in this year’s conference championship. Tulane will need an excellent week of practice and prep before this one.

The Huskies face Houston next week. It’s probably going to be ugly.