Tulane Uses Strong Second Half to Take Down Rice, 20-17

After a tough losing stretch, the Tulane Green Wave (5-5, 3-3) found its way back into the win column on Saturday afternoon with a 20-17 road victory over the Rice Owls (1-9, 0-6).

Tulane had one of its better second halves of the season, adding 14 points while holding the Owls scoreless to claim momentum late and push one step closer to bowl eligibility. Though the game was far from pretty, it got the job done. 

The teams traded field goals in the first quarter, with the Owls getting on the board first with a 27-yarder. The Green Wave's Cooper Helmke added a 35-yard kick with just under three minutes remaining to tie the game.

Rice came alive in the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns -- one of which was a pick six by Tulane's Trace Johnson. Meanwhile, the visiting squad added its second field goal of the night, with Helmke drilling a kick from 41 yards out. The Green Wave trailed 17-6 heading into the locker room. 

After a back and forth battle out of the locker room, Tulane finally found the end zone on a one-yard rush by DJ Dugar with roughly three minutes left in the third quarter. The Green Wave would go ahead for good with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game on a 24-yard pass from Johnson to Bredell Richardson. 

Johnson went 19-of-38 for 190 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions while also adding 32 yards on four rushes. It was one of the freshman signal-caller's strongest showings on the ground, and he bounced back about as well as expected after being benched late in last weekend's loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. 

Johnson also did a great job of continuing to spread the ball out, connecting with eight different receivers through the course of the game. To no surprise, Destyn Hill was his top target, with a team-high five catches for 44 yards. Zycarl Lewis Jr. added 34 yards on four receptions, while Anthony Brown-Stephens had three catches for 29 yards. 

Maurice Turner led the way on the ground for the Olive Green and Sky Blue with 90 yards on 15 carries, while Dugar continued his strong second half of the season with 37 yards and one touchdown on eight carries.

Defensively, Makai Williams led all players with 12 tackles, while Dickson Agu had 10. Jah'rie Garner and Ed Smith IV each added one sack. As a whole, the unit held Rice's offense to 256 total yards, including just 32 passing yards.

Up next, Tulane will look to shock one of the top teams in the American Conference as it welcomes the North Texas Mean Green to Uptown on November 21st. A kickoff time has not yet been announced.