Hokies vs Tulane in the Military Bowl

In a throwback to some of the old Metro Conference battles in basketball, Virginia Tech will play a very solid Tulane Green Wave team in the Military Bowl.

I have not seen any Tulane footage yet this year, and they didn't play any like opponents. Tulane beat the USC Trojans in an exciting Cotton Bowl next year. Breaking yesterday, Tulane head coach Willie Fritz is leaving the program to take the head coaching job at Houston. Slade Nagle, the OC, will be the interim coach for the bowl.

As I start my prep for the bowl preview, I would love to hear from you, our TKP community, what you are interested in hearing about when it comes to Tulane football and how the Hokies will attack them. Reply with your reactions and thoughts!

DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.

Comments

Their style of play, especially on offense and how they match up to our strengths and weaknesses. Some insight into the roster once the dust settles from the portal opening today.

Has their QB started talking about how they will shoot up as a program after they beat us?

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

Instant classic.

Portal

Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN

Praise Portal!

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

He must have read/watched Marcolini's piece on what we did to lol punch face.

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own

Slade Nagle, what a name.

Every second counts

I can't wait to hate on Nate Slagle.

Can't wait to slade on Tate Bagel

21st century QBs Undefeated vs UVA:
MV7, MV5, LT3, Grant Wells, Braxton Burmeister, Ryan Willis, Josh Jackson, Jerod Evans, Michael Brewer, Tyrod Taylor, Sean Glennon, and Grant Noel. That's right, UVA. You couldn't beat Grant Noel.

Crate Basil?

A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.

I am no crate.

I been here since day 0.

Bate N. Eagel

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
@VTnerf on insta, @BuryHokie on twitter, #ThanksFrank

Tulane's top WR just announced he is going to the portal.

Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN

I'm thinking we should take this game seriously as we are building the program. I think the crowd will be at least 90% hokies fans, and I'm hoping we can beat a team without a head coach. On the flip side, it might be hard for our players to get excited about a bus ride bowl game. Tulane's staff has nothing to lose, so they may run a bunch of gadget plays etc. And Tulane is a pretty good program. Hope we play a tough clean game and win.

...it might be hard for our players to get excited about a bus ride bowl game

They'll be excited about the swag bag they get. There's usually some pretty good stuff in those.

And I'll be excited about the extra practices they'll get. They need them.

"Yes I am going to have favorites. My favorites are high production and low maintenance players, coaches, and staff." - JMFF

I kind of hope they all get drones so you can see them at that drone park on campus

And Drones' drone. That'll get it's own social media account for sure.

Is their dline as big and fast as FSU or Louisville? Or do we have a chance to block them at least part of the time?

Doesn't matter if it's cake or pie as long as it's chocolate.

I caught some of the SMU-Tulane AAC Championship game. Tulane had a quick score off a strip sack on the first play from scrimmage (I immediately had flashbacks of the Russell Athletic Bowl), but then only scored once more the rest of the way. The Tulane QB is not what I would categorize as a running threat at all (sacked 7 times), at least based on that game.

The SMU offense reminded me a lot of the "nu-skool" VT offense (RPO/PA, attacking the edges, running the QB) and they racked up ~400 yards to Tulane's ~270. This game wouldn't have been as close as was (26-14) if SMU could have scored a touchdown in the second half instead of kicking 4 FGs.

SMU had me worried. Rhett Lashlee looks much better outside of Miami

Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN

Everyone looks better after they leave miami

A coach by coach determination of Cake v Pie

Never Forget #1 Overall Seed UVA 54, #64 UMBC 74

How does their OL compare to teams that gashed us on the ground with a good RB, like Marshall?

Who does their DL/LB most remind you of from our schedule?

Similar defense to Purdue, but more stunts and blitzing. Four and Five man fronts, but usually with a true nose over center.

Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN

Do they have a Fuller on the roster?

Tulane beat the USC Trojans in an exciting Cotton Bowl next year.

While you are peering into the future, can you let us know how the '24 Hokies do? 😝

What kind of special teams play does Tulane bring to the table? Specifically punt team since that's usually where our ST shenanigans have come from during Bowl Season.

A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.

Tulane beat the USC Trojans in an exciting Cotton Bowl next year.

I see you are still inventing the future

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

QB that is leaving started the Ole Miss game and looked good, but he wasn't the long term starter.

Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN

Lets ask the important question:

Are we going to get a Tulane "Foe"-rensics post?

Please please please. I really miss those.

"The Big Ten is always using excuses to cancel games with us. First Wisconsin. Then Wisconsin. After that, Wisconsin. The subsequent cancellation with Wisconsin comes to mind too. Now Penn State. What's next? Wisconsin?" -HorseOnATreadmill

Cuts right to the meat of the matter.

This is going to be great for the ACC.

I was just thinking about these the other day. Miss em.

pls.

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own

Might need 15 practices to shake the rust off.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best, not the other way around.

Please. I won't live until I know the o/u on how many FAINTs to expect in this game

21st century QBs Undefeated vs UVA:
MV7, MV5, LT3, Grant Wells, Braxton Burmeister, Ryan Willis, Josh Jackson, Jerod Evans, Michael Brewer, Tyrod Taylor, Sean Glennon, and Grant Noel. That's right, UVA. You couldn't beat Grant Noel.

Hokies sell out our ticket allotment. Not a surprise but a good thing to see!

VB born, class of '14

Anyone buy one through the school. I remember a few years back when we played a bowl in Charlotte people were pissed because the bowl tickets through the school were something like 50-60 bucks and you could get cheaper and better seats on StubHub, even with all the bullshit fees.

I used to. The Bowls push the tickets to the schools at a set minimum, and if the school doesn't sell them it comes out of their share. Then the bowl cuts their throats and sells most of the rest of the tickets in better locations for less.

I think at least once or twice when I went to ACCCG or a Bowl I purchased through the school and realized it cost more for worse seats and went to the secondary market instead. I didn't look for this one, since I'm not planning on going, but I likely wouldn't have tried to get tickets through the school based on previous history.

Just got word from VT that my allotment has been confirmed. Now, they can't tell me where my seats are or how much I ended up paying but the bowl committee should send me an electronic ticket later in the month. 🤷‍♂️

And yes, I will probably be pissed that someone will have better seats for cheaper.

I told him I’d crawl on my hands and knees to be the DL coach at Virginia Tech. Now, all of a sudden, I’m sitting in this chair and I told him I’d still crawl on my hands and knees to work here. I just want to be here.
JC Price

Same here. Maybe the least informative ticket buying experience I've ever had

Eye'ma kinda/sorta Preview done...

Eye'me kinda hoping we can beat this team (physically) up.
I found them less than I expected upon film-study completion.
Pratt is nice; their midrange game is indeed Bernard King of ny.Knick savvy... granted.

...tho' the one team that could be (coaching/Wr1) fluxed up here is them, not us.

Do you agry???

TIA!
b.street

p.s. one thing I did not like was... were we peaking to end the year... do we cool off for the 4-week gap?

God Bless!

Updated Tulane Roster for Military Bowl

Coaching Staff
Slade Nagle, Interim HC/OC/Quarterbacks
Rob Greene, Interim DC/Defensive Backs
Greg McMahon, Special Teams Coordinator
Dan Roushar, Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
Gerald Chatman, Defensive Line
Collin D'Angelo, Wide Receivers
Peter Hontas, Dogs (DL/LB)
J.J. McCleskey, Cornerbacks
Rodney Saulsberry, Safeties
Carter Sheridan, Running Backs
Tyler Spotts-Orgeron, Tight Ends

Elected not to participate in the Military Bowl:
WR Chris Brazzell II
S D.J. Douglas
K Lucas Dunker, Jr.
QB Carson Haggard
DB Kiland Harrison
DL Darius Hodges
WR Jha'Quan Jackson
DB Jarius Monroe
OL Prince Pines
QB Michael Pratt
S Kentrell Webb

In the portal, but has elected to participate in the Military Bowl:
DB Chadwick Bailey
TE Alex Bauman
DL Keith Cooper, Jr.
DL Devean Deal
QB Kai Horton
LB Corey Platt, Jr. (injured)

gtofever

I'm sorry. I know this is lazy and I could do the legwork myself, but could you note next to the positions for those players if they were starters or not?

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

Not sure why a kicker would opt out, although maybe he is thinking outside of one of the opening kick offs in the half he might not see the field at all.

WR Chris Brazzell II, starter (#1 WR)
S D.J. Douglas, (not listed on depth chart, but 4th leading tackler)
K Lucas Dunker, Jr.
QB Carson Haggard
DB Kiland Harrison
DL Darius Hodges, starter (OLB/DE)
WR Jha'Quan Jackson, starter (#3 WR)
DB Jarius Monroe, starter (CB)
OL Prince Pines, starter (LG)
QB Michael Pratt, starter (QB)
S Kentrell Webb

Brazzell and Jackson combined for 70 receptions (of 216), 1150 yards (of 2891), 9 touchdowns (of 25)

Douglas, 4th leading tackler, 2 PD, 3 INT
Harrison, 7 tackles
Hodges, 25 tackles, leading sacker
Monroe, 48 tackles, sack, 10 pd, 3 INT
Webb, 17 tackles, 2 pd

To put it into perspective, that would be the same as the Hokies going without:
Drones
Felton
Gosnell
Delane
APR
Strong
Phillips
Johnson

Never Forget #1 Overall Seed UVA 54, #64 UMBC 74

bless you

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

So, the coaching staff is a mix of current coaches, analysts, and grad assistants.

Seven were fulltime coaches for this season:
Slade Nagle (OC)
Dan Roushar (OLC)
Carter Sheridan (RBC)
Gerald Chatman (DLC)
J. J. McCleskey (DBC)
Rob Greene (DBC)
Greg McMahon (STC)

Two were quality control coaches:
Collin D'Angelo (QC, O)
Tyler Spotts-Orgeron (QC, O)

Two were grad assistants:
Peter Hontas (GA, D)
Rodney Saulsberry (GA, D)

🦃 🦃 🦃

JJ McCleskey is actually veteran journeyman utility infielder who has played for every team in both the NL Central + AL Central and nobody can convince me otherwise

"Why gobble gobble chumps asks such good questions, I will never know." - TheFifthFuller

Copying this here from an older thread that's dying out, since it has much bowl data in one spot

Bowl Stats

Stat Tulane VT
W-L 11-2 6-6
Team Rank 47 58
Schedule Rank 94 66
OFFENSE Rank 90 59
PF-PA (Avg/g) 26.8-18.9 28.6-24.3
Rushing O (yds/g) 156.8 175.4
Passing O (yds/g) 222.4 210.8
Scoring O (Avg/g) 26.8 28.6
Sacks Allowed 27 23
FG 19/24 - 79.2% 20/22 - 90.9%
Kick Return yds similar similar
Punt Return yds similar similar
DEFENSE Rank 32 55
Rushing D (yds/g) 95 149.3
Passing D (yds/g) 239.2 172.9
Scoring D (yds/g) 18.9 24.3
Sacks Made 34 38
Opponents Avg QBR (That Game) 127.4 127.5
Punting yds same same
Tulane Losses Ranked Opponent Score
12/02/23 Neutral #26 SMU (11-2) 14-26
09/09/23 #12 Miss (10-2) 20-37
VT Losses Ranked Opponent Score
11/18/23 #30 NC State (9-3) 28-35
11/04/23 @ #21 Louisville (10-3) 3-34
10/07/23 @ #7 Florida St (13-0) 17-39
VT Players
WR Ali Jennings prevent re-injury Not Bowling
S Nasir Peoples ACL surgery, broken thumb Not Bowling
S Jalen Stroman undisclosed injury Not Bowling
Tulane Staff
Former HC Willie Fritz to Houston Not Bowling
Former OC Slade Nagle Bowl HC, then to Houston Bowling
Former DC Shiel Wood to Houston Not Bowling
DBC Rob Greene Bowl DC Bowling
DLC Gerald Chatman Bowl DLC, then to Houston Bowling
DBC J.J. McCleskey Bowl CB Coach Bowling
DGA Peter Hontas Bowl Dogs,LB Coach Bowling
DGA Rodney Saulsberry Bowl SF Coach Bowling
OQC Tyler Spotts-Orgeron Bowl TE Coach Bowling
Former WRC Derrick Sherman to Houston Not Bowling
OQC Collin D'Angelo Bowl WR Coach Bowling
analyst James Ross to Houston Bowling
Tulane Players
QB1 Pratt to portal ? Not Bowling
QB2 Kai Horton to portal Bowling
QB3 Carson Haggard to Portal Not Bowling
QB4 Justin Ibieta to Portal Bowling
CB D.J. Douglas, 4th T, 2 PD, 3 INT to Portal Not Bowling
DB Chadwick Bailey to Portal Bowling
DB Kiland Harrison, 7T to Portal Not Bowling
DE Devean Deal 40T 4Sk 2FF to TCU Bowling
DL Keith Cooper Jr. 69T 16TFL 10.5Sk to Portal Bowling
DL Darius Hodges, 25T, #1Sk to Portal Not Bowling
DL Jarius Monroe, 48T 1Sk, 10PD, 3int to NFL Draft Not Bowling
K Lucas Dunker, Jr. to Portal Not Bowling
LB Corey Platt Jr to Houston Bowling (injured)
OL Prince Pines to Portal Bowling
RB Makhi Hughes #11 Nat rusher 5.3 ypc 15 TDs Bowling
S Kentrelle Webb, 17T 2PD to Portal Not Bowling
TE Alex Bauman 2023 33/273yds 5TD to portal Bowling
WR1 Chris Brazzell II to portal Not Bowling
WR3 Jha'Quan Jackson to portal Not Bowling

gtofever

This is blasphemy....

Rob Peterson
VTCC
Charlie/Hotel Company
Class of 1999

Hear me out.... Clapping is louder than shaking keys.

Also, I agree on the wave. Make it go away.

Yes but 3rd down is not the clap play. It's the key play!

I REALLY don't ever want to see or experience "the clap play".....

From the 2018 VT-uva game-"This is when LEGENDS are made!"

I think most of us experience the "clap play" fairly frequently, luckily it is similar to an onside kick and doesn't get converted very often.

"Nooooooooooo!"
~What happened?
"James Franklin to Virginia Tech...."
~Fuck me......*sigh*
"Oh my God.... They're gonna take all our recruits... like WTF bro...."
~*squints eyes in disbelief*

I think that play is related to a Special teams Touch Downs or as I like to call them STDs.

The Key Play (the thing in Lane, not the site) is the worst VT tradition. We trot out keys for 3rd and 14 in the first quarter, up 2 TDs on College of Charleston.

Not every 3rd down is a key play. And yes, clapping is louder than keys.

Boooo

You're opinion is bad.

Boo to you, sir, and I encourage others to boo you as well.

Deposit whiskey, receive wisdom.

I remember the 1986 Peach Bowl against NC State in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The wave would start at one end of the NCSU side of stands- run to the end where the dividing line for fans was....and the VT side stopped dead! It was glorious!

Overall the wave is mediocre at best in a break between quarters or during a timeout. Absolutely HATE it when play is actually happening and folks in stands are ignoring the actual game to try and time the standing up for the wave. And during a basketball game? as fast paced as that is? totally idiotic imho!

And as far as keys, I only have a fob anyway so it doesn't make ANY noise if shaken. I'll settle for yelling as loud as I can for every defensive snap!

From the 2018 VT-uva game-"This is when LEGENDS are made!"

I will participate in a wave during a TV break if we are winning. Otherwise, nope, not gonna do it.

Looks like Hokies will be in white jerseys for Bowl. Seeing rumors of 2017 Stars and Stripes White Helmets as well

Rob Peterson
VTCC
Charlie/Hotel Company
Class of 1999

Bring these beauty's back.

They look ok in photos, but on a broadcast it looks like I've lost the Chili Challenge on day 4.

A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.

I thought the jerseys were okay, but the helmets were too much and that VT logo is lame as hell.

Yeah they definitely failed on the Logo on those

Rob Peterson
VTCC
Charlie/Hotel Company
Class of 1999

Perfect reason to break out these lids, would love to see them

VB born, class of '14

Hopefully if things go right we won't have to see the selected player wearing 25 doing his primary job. The more we see him doing that the less likely the Hokies win.

Selected player: Peter Moore ...the punter

Rob Peterson
VTCC
Charlie/Hotel Company
Class of 1999

#PunterSwag

Never Forget #1 Overall Seed UVA 54, #64 UMBC 74

By "primary job", you are of course referring to him holding for a dozen extra points, right? /s

Throwing touchdowns on fakes. Fake punt or fake field goal, maybe both.

Deposit whiskey, receive wisdom.

A decade on TKP and it's been time well spent.

Never Forget #1 Overall Seed UVA 54, #64 UMBC 74

What a weird graphic lol. Looks like they are leaking the uni combo this time? IDK why else they'd use the 'Merica helmets.

I don't get the blue stripe. Zooming in on the VT logo, it's hard to tell the colors...but hoping for sake of continuity that it's a blue VT w red outline.

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
@VTnerf on insta, @BuryHokie on twitter, #ThanksFrank

Rob Peterson
VTCC
Charlie/Hotel Company
Class of 1999

Zooming in it doesn't look like it's exactly that. I good if it is, though, don't get me wrong. That helmet in Annapolis is perfect.

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
@VTnerf on insta, @BuryHokie on twitter, #ThanksFrank

Aight, I can dig it.

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
@VTnerf on insta, @BuryHokie on twitter, #ThanksFrank

AIs contribution to the games social media posts

In the first picture, the crowd on the ark looks more like WVU than VT.

The rain and parking have caused me to rethink going to the game. I have two tickets in the upper orange section that are free to anyone that wants them. I live in Winchester, Va.

Ut Prosim Ad Dei Gloriam