Recap: Tulane vs. B-Y-U
Posted September 13, 2009
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New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Max Hall threw a pair of touchdown passes, while J.J. Di Luigi and Bryan Kariya each scored twice, as ninth-ranked BYU stomped Tulane, 54-3, coming off its biggest win in nearly 20 years.
The Cougars (2-0) upended third-ranked Oklahoma in a thrilling 14-13 win last Saturday to garner their first triumph over a top-10 team since 1990.
For an encore, the boys from Provo posted a solid showing on both sides of the ball with a whopping 527 yards of total offense while limiting Tulane to 162.
Hall led the way with 309 yards passing on 24-of-32 efficiency, while McKay Jacobson hauled in three passes for 79 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown.
Di Luigi paced the ground game with 71 yards on 12 carries, rushing for two scores, while Kariya rushed 12 times for 63 yards and a score and caught a 12- yard touchdown.
Tulane used three quarterbacks but came up with similar results, as starter Joe Kemp was the best of them with 101 yards passing on 14-of-19 throws. He and Kevin Moore both threw an interception, accounting for half of the team's four turnovers.
Jeremy Williams had five receptions for 56 yards for the Green Wave (0-2), who suffered a 37-13 defeat at the hands of Tulsa to open the season.
"We played a really good football team today. They deserve their ranking," Tulane head coach Bob Toledo said. "They're an experienced team. They're a very mature team. They know how to win -- they've been winning for a long time. You can't make that many mistakes against that type of team and even make it competitive."
Tulane held its ground in the early going, as Mitch Payne's 41-yard field goal for BYU was the first quarter's only points. Payne hit again from 20 yards out less than a minute into the second stanza.
Ross Thevenot posted what would be the Green Wave's only points with a 29-yard field goal on the ensuing possession, but it was all Cougars from there.
Kariya found the end zone on a one-yard score just 2 1/2 minutes later, and Kemp threw a pick on Tulane's first play on their ensuing turn. Brian Logan returned it 21 yards to the Green Wave 38-yard-line, and Hall hit Kariya for a 12-yard touchdown shortly thereafter for a 20-3 halftime lead.
Di Luigi's three-yard TD run opened the second half, and Hall connected with Jacobson for a 38-yard scoring play on BYU's next series for a 34-3 advantage after three quarters.
The Cougars then poured it on in the fourth with 20 additional points. Di Luigi rushed for a one-yard TD, and Jordan Pendleton recovered a fumble on Tulane's first turn with the ball and ran it in for a 12-yard score.
Riley Nelson capped the barrage with a one-yard TD run with 8:15 still on the clock.
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