The #20 Tulane Green Wave defeated the #24 North Texas Mean Green 34-21 in the American Conference Championship game on Friday night inside Yulman Stadium. With the win, Tulane is likely headed for the College Football Playoff and will find out their fate later this weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Mean Green began with a statement drive on offense. They went 15 plays and 75 yards, and Drew Mestemaker connected with Tre Williams III for a touchdown to make it 7-0.
Tulane responded accordingly. They marched down on a 16 plays 81 yard drive, with Jake Retzlaff plunging in on fourth and goal to even the game 7-7.
North Texas was driving again, but they fumbled and allowed Tulane to recover and run it back into Mean Green territory. The Green Wave then punched it in on a Jamari McClure touchdown run to make it 14-7.
The Wave defense held for the remainder of the half, keeping the top ranked scoring offense in the country held down. They added a field goal to make it 17-7.
Towards the end of the half, North Texas muffed a punt and gave Tulane great field position. The Green Wave punched it in on 4th and Goal on the very last play of the first half, taking a 24-7 lead into the break.
On one of their first opportunities of the second half, Mestemaker threw an interception, returned by Chris Rodgers for a touchdown to give Tulane a 31-7 lead.
Mestemaker would respond on fourth down with a 59 yard touchdown to Miles Coleman. An unsuccessful two-point try kept it 31-13 Tulane.
North Texas would cut the lead to 31-21, but Tulane responded with a field goal to make it 34-21. That was the final score after Tulane secured an interception.
BIG NUMBER: 21
North Texas led the nation with 46.8 points per game entering this contest. Tulane’s defense held the Mean Green to 21 points, allowing the Wave to take control of the American Championship.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jack Tchienchou
The Green Wave defensive leader had nine tackles to go along with an interception.
UP NEXT: The College Football Playoff committee will unveil the CFP bracket on Sunday, December 7th.