Breaking Down Tulane's Controversial, Costly Fourth Down Play in Saturday's Loss to Army

There are plenty of problems to point out from the Tulane Green Wave's 20-17 loss to the Army Black Knights on Saturday.

Quarterback Kadin Semonza and his wideouts were rarely on the same page, with both sides making big mistakes. The offense couldn't maintain any momentum. The defense ran out of gas late after a strong start. 

Yet, there's one play that stood out a bit from the rest. With 3:55 remaining in the contest, the Green Wave was facing fourth down and eight yards to go from the Army 33-yard line. Head coach Will Hall elected to go for it, but offensive line woes continued, and Semonza was quickly pressured. He aired out a Hail Mary pass that fell incomplete just short of the end zone, giving Army the ball back with plenty of time left to go downfield. Though there's some argument that defensive pass interference should have been called against the Black Knights on that long pass, nothing came of it. 

Of course, Army would go on to run the clock down against a gassed Tulane defense, ending up well into Green Wave territory. The home squad kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to secure the win.

Though that decision to go for it on fourth down wasn't the only reason that Tulane lost the game, it ultimately sealed the Green Wave's fate. In all honesty, it was probably one of the worst things the program could have done in that moment.

Let's look at the yardage first: 4th and 8. That's not favorable by any means, especially with how much the Green Wave offense had been struggling on the day. A run play was out of the question, but Tulane wasn't performing well enough through the air to instill any confidence that the team could convert. Falling short would only give Army solid field position, restored home-field momentum and plenty of time on the clock: all things that would go on to happen. 

The play call in that moment was also questionable. Semonza has struggled to connect with receivers on mid-distance passes... yet a deep ball was the best option? Some of that decision might've been influenced by Semonza panicking as the pocket broke down quickly, but it still seems like there was no clear game plan besides "throw the ball and hope someone gets it." Whatever play was slated to be run didn't even come close to fruition, and that's a major problem. 

Tulane was not in proper field position to punt, but if the team was going to risk turning it over, why not attempt the 50-yard field goal? Freshman kicker Cooper Helmke has gone a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals this year, including a record-setting 58-yarder in the program's loss to Kansas State. He's got the leg and the accuracy to get there, and even if he happened to miss... it would've been the exact same outcome as Tulane going the much harder route of trying to convert a long fourth down. On the other hand, a make gives the Green Wave the lead and allows the team to try and pin Army deep in its own territory. 

Tulane's offense has struggled too much to try for unnecessarily difficult fourth down conversions with the game on the line. It's defense was very clearly struggling. Ultimately, it played out exactly how most would expect.

There have been some questionable coaching decisions made this year, but this one sits pretty high on the list. Now, Tulane is low on the totem pole in the American Conference with much tougher opponents coming up soon. Things are trending down in Uptown.

The Green Wave will welcome the rival Memphis Tigers to Yulman Stadium on Friday, October 16th. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.