Tulane vs. Houston: Second Quarter

Well the only good thing Coach Toledo and the team can take away from this half is that the teams is only down by 24 (thanks to a few INTs by Houston QB Case Keenum). This looks eerily similar to the second half of the Mississippi State game. Lots of big third-down plays in favor of the Cougars, turnovers by the offense, dropped passes, and overall domination by the Cougars upfront.

0:00: The play stands and the crowd boos the call. Lawrence misses the 52-yard attempt (Wide Left).

0:02: To end the half, Joeseph finds DOnnie Avery, but he's blown up by Josh Lumar and fumbles the ball Avery recovered, but it looked like the clock had wound down to zero. The play is under review in order to see if they should put 2 seconds back on the clock -- the Cougars are in field-goal range.

0:14: On third down, Hafner again sheds another tackler and gets out-of-bounds to keep the drive going and the clock stopped.

1:59; Hafner looks like he'll be short of the first down on third and long, but he sheds a would-be-tackler in the open field and stays on his feet for the first down.

3:42: Forte is stuffed on third down. On fourth down, Thevenot misses the field goal . There goes the Green Wave's best drive of the evening.

5:47: Forte picks up 13 yards and a first down on third and five. Next play, Elliot finds Robottum for a long catch and first down. That is Robottum's first-career catch.

This is looking worse than the previous three Houston-Tulane games. . The Cougars look stronger, faster, and much more physical.

7:00: Punt returner and wide receiver Taric Williams catches a screen pass on the flats and takes it to the house. This game looks like its already over. 24-0 Houston

9:12: On the punt, Tulane is charged with holding. Junior QB Blake Joseph is now in for the Cougars. Thevenot has not had a good day punting -- his kicks have been high but not deep.

9:27: On third down, Elliot finds Williams on a slant but Williams drops the ball. The Green WAve is now 0-for-5 on third down.

10:04: The Cougars must have studied tape of last week's -- a screen pass to Forte is stuffed for a loss.

10:23: INT by Skehan -- his second of the game. . Keenum threw a terrible pass deep and Skehan easily read it.

11:30: The COugars fumble the snap on second down. On third-and-five Hafner catches the ball but doesn't reach the first-down maker. On fourth down, Aldridge rushes to the outside with some great blocking and runs for 15 yards. The Cougars are confident on offense today.

8:12: After being forced to punt yet again, a Tulane defender lets up on coverage as Houston returner Taric Williams surprises him by not calling a fair catch. Williams gets some decent yardage on the return as a result. This is the second time its happened today.

13:06: Tuyo caught the ball while jumping back toward the end zone, so he was forced to return the kick. On first down, Elliot tried a screen pass but is hit as he throws. Forte is swallowed up by Cougars DE Ell Ashe on second down. The crowd is starting to get restless.

The Cougars have taken control early for many of the same reasons Mississippi State took control of the game last week: turnovers and big third-down plays.

13:14: Keenum finds TE Mark Hafner WIDE OPEN for a touchdown. Another defensive breakdown. 17-0 Houston

13:20: It looks like the Cougars may have fumbled the ball, but the pass was ruled incomplete as the referees say the Cougars didn't have possession of the ball. The play is under review. PLAY STANDS.

13:50: Aldridge makes a big run up the middle on third and one. While he hasn't broken any big runs, every time he runs the ball the Cougars can expect at least three yards.