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Sept. 22, 2003

TULANE (3-1, 1-1) at #14 TEXAS (2-1, 0-0)
September 27, 2003 -- 6:00 p.m. (CDT) -- TBS
Austin, Texas -- Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (80,082)

Tulane Head Coach Chris Scelfo
In his fifth season as the Tulane head coach, Chris Scelfo has a career record of 24-28 to rank eighth all-time at the school in wins, just one behind seventh place Andy Pilney. He became the first coach to win two bowl games at Tulane with the Green Wave's win in the Hawai'i Bowl last year. A 1985 graduate of Northeast Louisiana University (now Louisiana-Monroe), Scelfo began his coaching career at his alma mater and made coaching stops at Oklahoma (1986-87), Marshall (1990-95) and Georgia (1996-98) before arriving at Tulane in December 1998. He coached four teams that played in the I-AA national championship game, two of which won championships. A native of New Iberia, La., Scelfo ranks ahead of 29 other coaches in Tulane wins, including Greg Davis, Mack Brown, Buddy Teevens, Tommy Bowden and Larry Smith.

NEWS & NOTES

Top of the Class
Tulane Athletics, and specifically Tulane Football, continues to rank at the top of the NCAA heap in terms of graduation rates of its student-athletes. The football squad ranked 10th in the nation this year as 79 percent of the football players who entered school in 1996-97 graduated. In addition, 82 percent of the African-American football student-athletes earned their degrees. The Green Wave's overall graduation rate was also at 79 percent, the 14th-best mark in the nation.

On the Road Again
Tulane plays its second consecutive road game when the Green Wave travels to Austin to take on the 14th-ranked Longhorns. Having played half of its home schedule in the first three weeks of the season, Tulane will be on the road for six of its last nine games this year.

Last Time Out
Tulane broke a three-game losing streak to Army with a 50-33 victory over the Black Knights in West Point as quarterback J.P. Losman threw for 350 yards and five TDs while the Green Wave defense came up with eight turnovers, including five interceptions.

A Year Ago
Third-ranked Texas turned a 14-0 halftime lead into a 49-0 rout of the Green Wave in the Louisiana Superdome. The Longhorns picked up a pair of special teams TDs -- on a punt return and a missed field goal return, while all five of Texas' scoring drives were of 50 yards or less. The Green Wave committed four turnovers which the Longhorns turned into 28 points.

Red-Hot
Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman is one of the nation's hottest signal-callers as the senior tallied his fourth straight 300-yard passing game last week. Losman's 15 passing TDs and 1,355 passing yards lead the nation. He has totalled 303, 353, 349 and 350 yards passing in the Wave's four games this season while completing nearly 64 percent of his passes. The senior also ranks second in the nation in total offense and is climbing the career charts in all of Tulane's passing categories (see page 7).

Old Opponents
Although they have played just 18 times, with Texas owning a 16-1-1 lead, the series between Texas and Tulane dates back 110 years, to Oct. 27, 1894. On that day, the Longhorns defeated Tulane 12-0 in Austin. Tulane's lone win in the series came in 1908 when they triumphed 28-15 in Austin, and the Wave earned a 10-10 tie at home the next season. Ten of UT's 16 wins over Tulane have come by shutout, including the last four meetings -- in 1963, '64 and '65 and 2002. Tulane will play in Austin for the first time since 1965.

Down to the Wire
Each of Tulane's first three games of 2003 were decided by three points, with the Green Wave winning the Northwestern State and Mississippi State games on essentially the last plays of the game, in overtime and in regulation, respectively, while TCU secured a win in the season opener by recovering an onside kick in the last moments of that contest.

All-Timer
Tulane's Mewelde Moore hunts another Conference USA career record Saturday as the senior needs just 63 all-purpose yards to break the league's all-time mark. Moore has 5,755 all-purpose yards (3,738 rush and 1,935 passing) and ranks behind only Houston's Ketric Sanford, who gained 5,817 all-purpose yards from 1996-99. In addition, Moore is climbing the NCAA's all-time all-purpose list as he passed Georgia great Herschel Walker last week and currently ranks 24th in NCAA history in all-purpose yards. Texas' Ricky Williams 1995-98 holds the NCAA career record with 7,206 all-purpose yards from 1995-98.

Air Time
The game with Tulane is the second of three Green Wave games scheduled for national television broadcast in 2003 as TBS picked the contest for a live national broadcast last Monday. Earlier this year, Tulane played TCU on an ESPN national broadcast on Labor Day night, while the Wave's game at Louisville will be televised by ESPN on Friday, Oct. 17th. Meanwhile, both last week's Army game and the Southern Miss contest in November were selected for ESPN Plus coverage, which makes the games available nationwide through the network's GamePlan package, as well as to local cable networks. In Louisiana, Cox Sports Television in Louisiana and Florida will air those games. On November 1st, the Tulane-Navy game will be shown on the East Coast on the CN8 cable network.

Texas Ties
Tulane, which is playing the first of three Texas teams on its 2003 schedule, but making its only trip to the Lone Star State this year, has 19 Texans on its roster, including five offensive and five defensive linemen. On the offensive line, left tackle Chris McGee (Beaumont), right guard Donald Madlock (Tyler) and center Will Blaylock (Tyler) have started for the Green Wave this year, while defensively, linemen Michael Roberts (Houston), Bamm Mateen (Richardson) and Taurean Brown (Katy) are the Texas starters. Ten Texans are listed on the Green Wave two-deep while at least 13 are expected to be on the travel roster for this game.

Texas Ties 2
Several more folks with ties to the state of Texas will roam the sideline for Tulane as five members of the Green Wave coaching staff coached and/or played in the Lone Star State during their careers. Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor is a native of Texas who went from his native Cuero to Baylor, where he played and coached. Running backs coach Greg Davis Jr. (who coached at Texas), defensive coordinator Eric Schumann (SMU) and tight ends coach Brad Smiley (Baylor and Trinity Valley JC) also all coached in the state. Offensive coordinator Frank Scelfo coached at four high schools in Texas and at Kilgore JC before coming to Tulane.

Familiar Face
Texas head coach Mack Brown, who served as Tulane's head coach and athletic director from 1985-87, welcomes his former team to town for the first time since his arrival at Texas. Before leaving to take the head coaching job at North Carolina, Brown's Tulane teams compiled a record of 11-23 in his three seasons in New Orleans with marks of 1-10 (1985), 4-7 (1986) and 6-6 (1987). The Green Wave, behind record-setting quarterback Terrence Jones, secured a bid to the 1987 Independence Bowl game. This will be Brown's fourth game against his former team since leaving Tulane. In addition to last year's game at the Superdome, his 1993 and 1994 UNC teams picked up wins over the Wave.

Like Father, Like Son
Again this year, the Texas-Tulane game is special for a pair of coaches in the game as former Tulane head coach and current Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis Sr. will be across the field from his son, Tulane running backs coach Greg Davis Jr. Davis Sr. succeeded Mack Brown as the Wave's head coach and served in that capacity for four seasons, from 1988-1991. Davis Jr., coached with his father and Mack Brown at Texas in 1998 and at North Carolina in 1996-97, and is now in his fourth season as the Tulane running backs coach. Davis Jr. attended Grace King High School in Metairie while his father was head coach at Tulane and later graduated from Nicholls State. Davis Sr. compiled a 14-31 record in four seasons here.

Ranked Foes
Tulane faces a ranked Texas team for the second straight season while the Longhorns are also the second ranked team Tulane has played this year. TCU was ranked 25th when they defeated the Green Wave 38-35 in the 2003 season opener. Tulane's last win over a ranked opponent came on Nov. 27, 1982, when the Wave went on the road to defeat No. 12 LSU, 31-28. Since that game, Tulane has lost 27 straight to ranked opponents, including nine to Top 10 teams.

Tops in Turnovers (Again)
After gaining eight turnovers on five interceptions and three fumbles versus Army last week, the most for Tulane in a game since at least 1987, the Green Wave once again lead the nation in turnovers gained with 15. Tulane is tied with UNLV for the national lead in that category by virtue of its eight fumble recoveries and seven interceptions. The Wave now ranks second in the nation in turnover margin with a mark of +2.25 per game. A year ago, Tulane led the nation in turnovers gained with 43. Tulane also scored its second defensive TD of the year versus Army when Joey Dawson picked up a fumbled center snap and returned it 48 yards to extend Tulane's lead to 29-13.

Just Plain Young
Thirteen true freshmen and five redshirt freshmen have seen action for the Green Wave this year. Of those 18, four true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen have played starting roles while 13 (four redshirt and nine true) are in first or second team spots on the depth chart. Freshmen starters include first-year players Israel Route (nickel back and KO return), Barrett Pepper (kicker) and Fred Smith (KO return), and redshirt frosh Jeremy Foreman (CB), Chris Beckman (P), Taurean Brown (DT) and Derek Rogers (OT). In all seven true freshmen, including three-fourths of Tulane's defensive line, are listed on the second team defense.

Practically New
In the last two weeks, Tulane has started an offensive line composed of four sophomores and a redshirt freshman in Derek Rogers at right tackle. All told, the five have just 42 starts between them with Rogers, center Joe Traina and guard Donald Madlock combining for only eight starts. Guard Matt Traina (twin of Joe) and tackle Chris McGee have both started 17 consecutive games dating back to the first game of last year.

Fantastic Fourth
The Green Wave put together its second fantastic finish in as many weeks versus Mississippi State, scoring 17 points in the final 4:50 of the game to claim the win. Starting at the 8:22 mark of the fourth quarter, J.P. Losman completed 13-of-17 passes to seven different receivers for 146 yards, with TD passes of one and 13 yards to Jerome Landry and Chris Bush respectively. On the final drive, which began at the MSU 49-yard line with 1:45 on the clock, Losman hit Roydell Williams and Bubba Terranova on completions of 15 and 17 yards to set up Barrett Pepper's game-winning field goal.

Fantastic Fourth II
Tulane has scored 73 of its 143 points on the season -- 51 percent -- in the fourth quarters of its four games. The Green Wave posted 17 points in the final 4:50 of the game to win the Mississippi State game and in the season's first game versus TCU exploded for 28 points in the final 15 minutes to come back from a 31-7 deficit to the Horned Frogs before falling by a 38-35 score. Tulane and Army combined for 41 points in the final period, including 21 for the Green Wave. TU also scored seven points in the fourth quarter of the Northwestern State game and added the game-winning six in overtime. By contrast, Tulane has scored just two touchdowns each in the first and third quarters. On the other side of the ball, the Green Wave has allowed its three opponents just two field goals in the first quarter of its games this year.

He's Number One
Tulane running back Mewelde Moore broke the Conference USA career record for rushing yards on a season-long 26-yard carry in the second half versus Mississippi State, surpassing the mark of 3,636 yards held by Houston's Ketric Sanford (1996-99). The Tulane senior finished the game with 92 yards on 23 carries to add the league record for all-time carries as well. Moore's career totals include 3,683 yards on 782 carries.

Moore's "Double Triple"
Mewelde Moore added to his career legend with an amazing performance versus Northwestern State as the senior notched the second "Double Triple" of his career, hitting triple figures in both rushing and receiving yards while also establishing a career high with three TD catches. Moore totalled 100 rushing yards on 16 carries for the game and tied his career high with nine catches for 116 receiving yards. It was the 17th 100-yard rushing and fourth 100-yard receiving day of Moore's career. The only player in school history to record a "double triple," Moore previously accomplished the feat versus Navy in 2001.

Moore Receiving Notes
Moore has become one of the Top Five RECEIVERS in Tulane history as the Baton Rouge native now has 175 career catches for 1,935 yards. He currently ranks fourth in career receptions and eighth in receiving yards while his 14 career touchdown catches are tied for seventh. With 32 total touchdowns, Moore ranks second in Tulane history.

Williams' Ways
Back from a broken ankle which led to a redshirt season last year, junior Roydell Williams has made a huge difference for the Tulane receiving corps in 2003. Williams leads Tulane in receiving yards with 324 and is just behind Mewelde Moore with 24 catches on the year. Versus Army, he tied his career high with three TD catches on grabs of 3, 31 and 9 yards, to give him 18 for his career. Those 18 receiving scores rank sixth on the Tulane career chart. He has caught passes in 19 straight games (in which he has played) dating back to his freshman season of 2000.

Memorable Starts
True freshman kicker Barrett Pepper made his first collegiate field goal one to remember when he hit the 32-yarder with six seconds left to win the Mississippi State game. Prior to the kick, Pepper was 0-for-2 in his career on threes, having missed a 47-yard kick in the TCU game and a 26-yard try earlier versus MSU. Pepper has hit all 18 of his PAT attempts. Meanwhile, freshman kick return/receiver Fred Smith had about as good a start to his collegiate career as you can get as he scored on a 100-yard kickoff return the very first time he touched the ball. Smith was named the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week and, with an average of 30.5 yards per return, continues to lead C-USA in kickoff returns and ranks 10th nationally in that category.

Bit
The Green Wave has been bitten by the injury bug in 2003 and played without as many as seven starters this year. The injury list this year has included players who have started games at linebacker (Blake Baker, Wesley Heath), offensive line (Jimmy Kosienski, Will Blaylock), tight end (Bobby Hoover), defensive back (Jeremy Foreman) and defensive line (Bamm Mateen).

Preseason Honors
Moore was recognized by Conference USA coaches this summer when he was selected the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Moore was one of three Tulane players named to the league's preseason all-conference team as he was joined on the list by offensive tackle Chris McGee and receiver Roydell Williams.

A Bird in the Hand
Tulane junior Chris Bush has quickly become one of QB J.P. Losman's top targets as the LaPlace native has recorded two 100-yard receiving days, making four catches for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 36-yarder, in the win over Mississippi State. Bush had never had a 100-yard receiving day prior to this season. He leads Tulane with an average of 20.1 yards per catch and 94 receiving yards per game, which ranks second in Conference USA and 21st in the nation. With 282 receiving yards already this year, Bush needs just 15 more yards to match his CAREER total entering this season.

It's Better to Receive
After Tulane receivers combined to record just one 100-yard receiving day in 2002 (Carl Davis' 111 yards on four catches versus UL-Monroe), the Green Wave has had five 100-yard receiving games through four games in 2003. After Roydell Williams returned to action with five catches for 110 yards, including a 68-yarder, in the season opener versus TCU, he and his former high school teammate, Chris Bush, each passed the 100-yard mark in the win over Mississippi State. Bush and Mewelde Moore had each gone over the 100-yard mark one week earlier versus Northwestern State. Meanwhile, quarterback J.P. Losman has also spread the ball around, hitting eight different receivers in the Army game.

Better By the Dozen
Former fullback Brandt Quick leads Tulane in tackles and, in a strange statistical quirk, has made exactly 12 tackles in each of Tulane's first four games. He has a total of 48 stops on the year, including 31 solo stops. In fact, Quick has made exactly 12 stops in six of his last seven games dating back to last year. The middle linebacker also ranks second on the squad in tackles for loss with four. Add a forced fumble, a pass break-up and a sack to Quick's total. He was named Defensive Player of the Game by Tulane coaches following the MSU win.

Making the Move
Daniel Nevil's move to defensive end appears to be paying off as the senior tallied a pair of sacks versus Army and leads both Tulane and Conference USA in sacks with three on the season. Nevil, who spent his first three seasons as a linebacker but was moved due to a lack of experience and depth along the line, also leads the Green Wave in tackles for loss with 5.5 and in quarterback hurries with seven. With 22 stops on the season, he is just two tackles away from his 2002 total.

Forcing the Issue
Tulane free safety Joey Dawson forced three fumbles versus Mississippi State, including one in the fourth quarter which started the Green Wave's game-winning drive for a field goal. Dawson leads Conference USA in fumbles forced with four on the year while his teammate Tra Boger ranks second with three forced fumbles.

Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back
Quarterback J.P. Losman joined his predecessors, Patrick Ramsey and Shaun King, as the only TU players to record back-to-back 300-yard passing days in the first two games of the season and then added to the streak with 300 yards in each of the next two games. Losman is the first player to accomplish the feat in the first four games of a season. The record for consecutive 300-yard games is five by Ramsey between Sept. 11 and Oct. 16, 1999.

Captains
Mewelde Moore and J.P. Losman were voted Tulane's offensive team captains for the second straight season while defensive linemen Terrence Tarver and Daniel Nevil were named the defensive leaders. The four were selected in voting by their teammates.

MeweldeMoore.net
All of the latest information on Tulane All-America candidate Mewelde Moore is available on the internet at www.MeweldeMoore.net. The site includes links to the latest newspaper clips on Moore, Tulane press releases about his honors and awards, updated statistics and records and quotes on the Tulane all-star.

Losman Goes Long
J.P. Losman recorded both the longest pass and longest rush of his Tulane career versus TCU while passing for 303 yards on a 25-of-42 night. Losman hit Roydell Williams with a 68-yard completion in the fourth quarter and later in that quarter picked up 36 yards on his career-long rush.

J.P. in Draft Ratings
Losman has garnered plenty of preseason attention of his own as he has been rated at the top of the NFL's scouting service rankings for senior players. Losman and Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning are projected as the top two senior quarterbacks in the nation. This summer, Losman was featured in an article in ESPN The Magazine.

Free Football
In just the second overtime game in its history, Tulane All-America candidates J.P. Losman and Mewelde Moore hooked up on a 23-yard touchdown pass on the Green Wave's second play of OT to give Tulane a hard-fought 27-24 victory over Northwestern State at Tad Gormley Stadium. The Tulane defense had held NSU to a field goal on its overtime possession. Tulane is now 1-1 all-time in overtime.

Precision Punting
Freshman punter Chris Beckman has done the job for the Green Wave in his first season, punting 23 times for a 40.8-yard average through the first four games. Perhaps the Mississippi native's biggest attribute, though, has been his ability to help Tulane win the field position battle with some precision punting. To date, he has dropped eight kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line, while also forcing opponents to fair catch the ball seven times.

Quick Kicks
Tight end Jerome Landry doubled his career catch total with three grabs versus TCU. The sophomore had three catches last year, two for scores and currently has six receptions for 50 yards on the year. The sophomore also grabbed a two-point conversion pass from holder Chris Beckman last week versus Army...next week the Green Wave enjoys its lone open date of the season before playing host to Houston in a Homecoming bash on Oct. 11th at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park.

ON THE AIR

Tulane-Texas on TV
Tulane's game at Texas will be broadcast nationally by TBS as part of its Big 12 package. Ron Thulin will handle play-by-play duties while Charles Davis will serve as color analyst with Craig Sager and Erin Andrews reporting from the sidelines.

Tulane-ISP Radio Network
Tulane games will be heard in the New Orleans area on WTIX-FM (94.3), WTIX-AM (690) and WJSH-FM (104.7) in 2003 as part of a 13-station network that stretches across the state and even into Florida. Sean Kelley calls the play-by-play action while former Tulane wide receiver Steve Barrios returns with color commentary and Todd Graffagnini is back on the sideline beat.

Tulane Coaches' Call-In Show
Head Coach Chris Scelfo will be the featured guest on the Tulane Coaches' Call-In Show every Monday from 7-8 p.m. during the season. Tulane radio voice Sean Kelley hosts the show, which is broadcast live from Superior Grill on St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans.

Tulane Football
with Coach Chris Scelfo
"Tulane Football with Coach Chris Scelfo," will get you ready for the big game with game highlights and player features. Hosted by Sean Kelley, the show airs Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. throughout Louisiana on Cox Sports TV.

"Ringside" Radio
Tulane Athletics will be the featured topic on the radio show "Ringside" with host Jeff Crouere each Wednesday from 1:30 to 2 p.m. on WTIX-AM 690 in New Orleans. Tulane coaches, players and staff will be featured each week throughout the 2003-2004 school year.