This is Jordan Hansgen signing off. Stay tuned to VAVEL USA for the recap of this contest
0:00 After two kneel downs Wake Forest wins a defensive struggle. Final Score Wake Forest 7 Tulane 3. Next game for WF is at Duke. Next for Tulane is home - Southern
0:50 A Wake Forest sack will end the game! Wake Forest takes over on downs and a few kneel downs will win it for the Demon Deacons
0:57 Cuiellette throws deep to the left, but his pass is too far. 4th and 10 again for Tulane
1:03 Pass broken up by Kemp. 3rd and 10 for Tulane from Wake's 47
1:08 Cuiellette hit as he throws. Incomplete 2nd and 10
Play stands as called.
1:12 Cuiellette finds his receiver on the sideline. 1st down Tulane. Play is under review
1:19 Cuiellette throws out of bounds again. 4th and 10 and Tulane's last chance
1:25 Deep throw to Encalade incomplete. 3rd and 10
1:30 Pass incomplete. 2nd and 10
1:35 Maggio punts out of bounds. Tulane will start their comeback attempt at their own 37
1:41 Wolford stopped for a loss of 2. Tulane uses their 3rd and final timeout. 4th and 4
1:48 Colburn runs up the middle for 2 yards. 3rd and 2
1:52 Tulane caught offsides. 2nd and 4
1:52 Colburn runs for 1 yard. Timeout Tulane
2:36 Media Timeout
2:45 Wolford keeps it left for the first down.
3:28 Colburn again runs, this time for 6. 3rd and 1
4:15 Colburn runs up the middle for a 3 yard gain
4:22 Cuiellette stopped for no gain. Penalty on TUL is declined. Wake Forest ball
5:02 Cuiellette once again on the run. Gain of 1. 4th and 4
5:47 Cuiellette scrambles for 5 yards. 3rd and 5
6:10 Cuiellette stopped for no gain on the option run
6:44 First down TUL after a run by Rounds
7:25 Thompson runs for 8 yards
7:57 No gain on the run
8:27 Cuiellette throws for 46 yards 1st down from the WF 32.
8:35 Good coverage by WF on that throw. 3rd and 20
9:00 A great throw by Cuiellette won't count due to a holding call. 2nd and 20
9:33 Cuiellette stopped for no gain. 2nd and 10 from the TUL 32
10:11 Pass complete to Dace for a first down
10:17 Another good punt for Maggio. Tulane takes over at their own 14 yard line. 53 yard punt for the freshman
10:31 Wolford misses Washington and Wake will have to punt again
11:00 Carney rushes up the middle for a 7 yard gain. 3rd and 3
11:43 Carney stopped for no gain
11:45 Field Goal was blocked by Stewart. Wake takes over at the 26 yard line
12:24 Cuiellette sacked and it'll bring up 4th and long and a FG attempt
13:09 Badie brought down after a gain of 1
13:46 Encalade stopped for no gain
14:21 Hilliard runs for a 15 yard gain
14:53 Hilliard gains 8 on the screen pass
0:00 The third quarter ends with a short run by Tulane. 2nd and 9 from the WF 44. Wake still leads 7-3
0:24 Pass complete to Encalade for a Tulane first down
0:59 Loss of 2 on the carry
1:28 Hilliard runs right for 8 yards
1:36 Punt returned to the 44. 1st down Tulane
1:49 Hinton rolls left, tries to find Colburn. Pass incomplete. 4th and 7
2:09 Pass complete to Washington for 8 yards
2:40 Hinton runs left. Holding on the offense. 2nd and 15
3:17 Colburn runs up the middle for a 3 yard gain
3:23 Touchback. Wake takes over at their own 25
4:06 Cuiellette runs for 10 yards. 4th and 4 at WF 42
4:17 Play stands.
4:17 Play is under review. May turn into a fumble recovered by Wake
4:17 Cuiellette pass incomplete. Offsetting personal fouls after the play. 3rd and 14
5:05 Stewart sacks Cuiellette for a loss of 4.
5:35 Cuiellette runs for a big gain of 25 yards. In WF territory
5:42 Pass broken up by Brown. 3rd and 5
6:17 Cuiellette runs for 5 yards
6:23 Punt fair caught at the 21
7:00 Wolford stopped for a loss of 3. 4th down WF
7:09 Wolford misses an open Cortez Lewis on a deep throw
7:36 Wolford throws to Wade for a 9 yard gain
8:12 Wolford scrambles for the first down
8:41 Serigne catches the pass for 3 yards
8:47 Wolford's deep pass incomplete
8:54 Wake will take over at their own 18 following a good Tulane punt
9:40 Jackson sacks Cuiellette for a loss of 9. 4th and 16
9:45 Cuiellette throws out of bounds. 3rd and 7
10:23 Thompson runs up the middle for 3
10:42 Pass complete for the first down
11:15 Badie runs left for just 1 yard. 3rd and 8
11:54 Hilliard stopped for just 1 yard gain
12:20 Pass complete to Dace for 9 and a 1st down
12:55 Dace catches the pass for a 7 yard gain
13:02 Low punt rolls all the way to the TUL 17. 1st down Green Wave
13:13 Wolford throws deep to the right, but the pass once again is incomplete. 4th and 9
13:19 Wolford's pass falls incomplete. 3rd and 9
13:57 Hinton runs for 1
14:23 Carney runs for 4 more. 1st down WF
14:52 Carney runs left for 6 yards
3rd 15:00 WF touchback. 1st and 10
Halftime Penalties have stalled drives for both teams thus far.
Halftime The rushing leaders for both teams are quarterbacks. Cuiellette has 40 yards and Hinton has 23 and a touchdown
0:00 Kneel down for WF and that's the first half. Wake Forest 3 Tulane 0
0:03 Wake returns the punt to their own 37
0:14 Cuiellette stopped. 4th and 1. Timeout WF
0:53 Cuiellette runs for 5 more yards. 3rd and 4
1:38 Hilliard hit hard and flipped in the air. 2nd and 9
1:45 Maggio punts to the Tulane 10. The Green Wave take over
2:33 Colburn stopped for a loss of 2. 4th and 9 from the 39.
3:04 Colburn runs forward for 3 yards. 3rd and 7 from the TUL 37
3:09 Wolford's deep pass to Washington incomplete
3:25 Colburn catches the pass for 13 more yards
3:44 Wolford gets the first on a pass to Bachman
4:21 Serigne is found again by Wolford. 3rd and 3
4:52 Wolford completes it to Serigne for a 5 yard gain. 2nd and 10
4:56 False start for WF. 1st and 15
4:57 Bradwell is stopped on a QB draw and WF takes over on downs at the 28.
5:43 Bradwell again stopped. 4th and 5
6:22 Bradwell again for 2 more. 3rd and 5
6:44 Bradwell in at QB runs for 3 yards
6:58 Bad snap, but Maggio gets the punt off. Not too great of a kick. Tulane starts from the Wake Forest 34
7:39 Carney rushes for 2 yards. 3rd and 10
8:14 Hinton runs right for a loss of 2
8:25 Bates catches the punt and WF takes over at their own 10 yard line
9:04 Cuiellette tackled after a 2 yard gain. 4th and 11.
9:26 TUL called for illegal shift. WF declines the penalty. 3rd and 13
9:49 TUL called for holding. Now 2nd and 14
10:30 Pass left to Thompson for a 5 yard gain
11:03 Thompson runs for another TUL first down
11:35 Cuiellette runs for an 8 yard gain
12:03 First down TUL after Thompson run
12:25 Cuiellette keeper on the option for 9 yards. 3rd and 1
12:32 Cuiellette misses his receiver. 2nd and 10
12:58 Thompson runs up the middle for the first
13:30 Cuiellette runs for 8 yards, takes a big hit
13:59 No gain for Badie
14:09 TUL will take over at the 24.
14:16 Hinton on the option keeper strolls into the endzone untouched for a WF touchdown. PAT is good. WF 7 TUL 3
14:31 Colburn runs again for a first at the 1.
14:53 Hinton runs forward to the 3
0:00 End of the first quarter. Wake Forest is in the red zone at the 7 yard line. Tulane leads, however, 3-0
0:13 Wade catches the pass for 5 more
0:33 Hinton keeps it again and runs for 13 more
0:59 Hinton runs forward for another WF first
1:21 Colburn runs right for an 8 yard gain
1:57 No gain for Colburn
2:15 First down WF on the Colburn reception.
2:47 Wolford runs for the first, but block in the back will move them back 10 yards
3:14 Hinton rushes right for 2 yards
3:23 Wolford throws over the head of Washington. 2nd and 10
3:28 Good field position for WF, they'll start from near midfield.
4:13 Bates makes the 3rd down stop for WF. Tulane to punt.
4:52 QB Cuiellette runs for 3 yards
5:25 Hilliard gets a yard for TUL
5:31 Terrific punt for Maggio. Tulane will start from their own 1 yard line
6:25 Carney catches the pass from Wolford for a 9 yard gain. 4th and 4
7:02 Wolford sacked for a loss of 2.
8:07 Offsides on Tulane. 1st and 10. Carney stopped for no gain
8:21 Hinton runs left for 2 yards. Penalty on WF. 1st and 15
8:53 Wolford passes to Bachman for the first down
9:33 Hinton in at QB swings it to Carney for 4 more yards
10:00 Carney rushes for 2 yards
10:14 A good return for WF. They'll start from their own 31
10:22 The opening points are scored by the Green Wave. A 41 yard field goal makes it TUL 3 WF 0
11:00 Jessie Bates makes a big open field tackle for WF. 4th down TUL
11:40 Ejiofor stops the TUL quarterback behind the line. 3rd and 12
12:23 Short option pitch to the right for a couple yards
12:57 Badie with a long run to the WF 30
13:04 Roughing the punter called on Wake Forest. Gives Tulane another chance on offense. First down at the 49.
13:32 Option run to the left stopped for no gain. TUL will have to punt
14:11 Pass to Encalade complete for 5 yards
14:55 Hilliard run for 2 yards
1st 15:00 Touchback. TUL ball at their own 25
Wake Forest has won the toss and will defer to the second half. Tulane will have the first offensive drive
6:40 Tulane warming up with a spread style offense
6:30 PM Wake has 46 freshman and only 13 seniors on this year's roster
6:24 PM Ten years ago, Wake Forest won the ACC Championship.
6:17 PM TE Cam Serigne is a player to watch for Wake Forest. Preseason Mackey Award player to look out for.
6:10 PM Cade Carney is expected to start at running back for Wake Forest. First True Freshman running back for WF in at least 65 years
6:01 PM About an hour to kickoff, Tulane has not won a season opener since 2013
5:54 PM Wake Forest has never beaten Tulane, losing the previous two meetings.
5:48 PM It's going to be a rainy night in Winston-Salem. Expect both teams to run the ball more.
It seems, even though Wake Forest and Tulane had the same record last season, that the Demon Deacons are at least a year ahead in their rebuild. Dave Clawson has succeeded enough in recruiting to give the Deacons a chance to win in all their games. Considering Tulane has just changed coaches, they may need a bit more time and a few more classes of recruits before the winning ways can start again. Wake Forest is now ready to challenge for a bowl bid and has a chance to surprise some teams in the ACC. Wake Forest’s playmakers should be able to get separation from the Tulane defenders and conversely the Wake defense should be able to handle the option offense that Fritz is likely to employ. Wake Forest will get a good start in the game and never look back. Tulane will be able to stay in the game, but the outcome will not be in doubt. Wake Forest 35 Tulane 21.
Quarterback Glen Cuiellette has won the starting quarterback job and in a Fritz offense that often utilizes the triple option. As the quarterback, it will be his call to run the offense based on what he sees and how the defense reacts. The success of the offense will primarily start with his ability to read and react to the defense. His performance should influence the outcome of the game heavily.
Wide receiver Cortez Lewis and tight end Cam Serigne were solid on a Wake Forest offense that struggled throughout the year in 2015. Both players scored four touchdowns and Lewis led the team with 611 receiving yards. The offense will not only need more production out of its top receivers but also out of the running game. Running back Tyler Bell led the team in carries and yards, but only was able to get in the end zone once. In fact, Wake Forest only had two rushing touchdowns from the running back position. They had ten rushing touchdowns from their quarterbacks.
Tulane has been given an opportunity to meet with the Big 12 and has a chance to join the league, which would be a boost from the American Athletic Conference that the school is currently a member of. The addition of the New Orleans market may be intriguing to the Big 12 and Fritz’s team has an opportunity this year to show the conference that the Green Wave are a team on the rise. Defeating an ACC team would definitely help their chances. Right now Tulane is just one of twenty teams with a chance to make the move and success this season could prove to be very important for Tulane.
Coach Dave Clawson plans on utilizing both of his talented signal callers in his offense. John Wolford and Kendall Hinton both had their ups and downs last season and each started a handful of games. John Wolford will start this game, but Hinton will also play in the game. It is unclear how this two-quarterback system will be used at this point, but having two experienced players under center can be a benefit for the Deacons although the philosophy is unconventional.
It’s the start of the Willie Fritz era at Tulane after a 3-9 season for the Green Wave. Fritz takes over in New Orleans after brief stints at Sam Houston State and Georgia Southern. At both schools, Fritz had a lot of success. It may be harder for him at the highest levels of College Football, but his recent successes lead many to believe Tulane can become a winning team as well.
Wake Forest looks to recover from a tough season last year, their second straight 3-9 season with only one win in the ACC. Although there has not been any noticeable improvement in their record, there have been a lot of actual improvements through recruiting and development that may end up getting the Demon Deacons a bowl bid this season. Last season the Demon Deacons were one of the youngest teams in Division 1 and with another year of experience and another spring of practice, the players should be ready to take the next step and turn back into a winning program.
Welcome to VAVEL USA’s LIVE coverage of the opening weekend of NCAA Football and this first matchup of the season between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Tulane Green Wave. I’m Jordan Hansgen and I will be providing minute-by-minute updates, commentary, and the results of the game. Kickoff is at 7:00 PM ET on Thursday, September 1. There will be coverage pregame, during the game and postgame live from BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.