Grading Saturday's Game

Obviously, there wasn't a lot to be happy about after Saturday's 38-17 game, especially in the second half when the Green Wave was outscored 21-0. Here's my breakdown of the game:

Offense: C-

QB: C

Aside from throwing an interception for a touchdown on the third play of the game, Elliot looked solid in the first half as soon as he slowed down. He went 13 for 18 in the first half and looked especially comfortable throwing screens to Forte. The second half, however, was a disaster. A lot of it might not have been Elliot's fault, but when an offense plays as bad as it did in the second half, much of the blame lies on the quarterback.

RB: C+

Forte would get an A - had it not been for his two fumbles that completely turned the momentum of the game. He was unstoppable in the first half, but he couldn't find any holes in the second half and the Green Wave had to stray away from running the football.

WR/TE: C

Jeremy Williams and, of all people, Jeremy McKinney both get A-'s. Brian King was good as well, although he dropped a few catchable passes. Everyone else was virtually non-existent, including the tight ends Bob Toledo said would figure into the offense more.

OL: C-

The line did a pretty decent job of pass blocking and even created some room for Forte on the outside the first half. The second half everyone looked worn down and dejected as the Bulldogs defensive line was able to stuff the run with ease.

Defense: C+

DL: B-

This unit played extremely well in the first half. It was clear from the start the Bulldogs would try to wear them down by running the ball with its gigantic running back Anthony Dixon, and at first they couldn't. But the plan eventually worked, mostly because the offense kept on turning the ball over deep in Tulane's own territory and going three-and-out. Henig being able to do anyting he wanted out of the shotgun really opened up the run as well. Depth will be a problem here all season. The pass rush was extremely inconsistent.

LB: B-

Once again, this unit played well. Evan Lee was in on a lot of plays, and even backup David Kirksey had himself a solid game. But tackling was an issue in the second half. Although Dixon is a tough guy to bring down, he shouldn't be bowling over guys like he did in the third and fourth quarters.

DB: D+

Once again, this unit played decent in the first half and seemed to be able to limit the Bulldogs offense on first and second downs. But there seemed to be a lot of miscommunication in the secondary and the Bulldogs seemed to be able to make big plays fairly easily on third-and-long. Giving up big plays on third-and-long will lose a team a lot of football games.

Coaching: B+

There's still a lot of work to be done, but Toledo has this team fighting. I thought it was a curious decision to decide to start the game on offense considering the way Toledo had been talking up the importance of the defense over the offseason.

Overall: C

Give credit to the Bulldogs -- they came out and showed they were the better team in the second half. Tulane still could have won this game had it not been for giving up big third-down plays and turnovers. This team will probably be better by the end of the season once it gets accustomed to the new schemes. Nonetheless, I shudder to think what the LSU game will be like.