TULANE FOOTBALL TO BATTLE MARSHALL SATURDAY IN HUNTINGTON

NEW ORLEANS, La.-The Tulane University football team returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 4, when they take on the Marshall Thundering Herd at 6:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised nationally on College Sports Television (DirecTV Channel 610, DISH Network Channel 152) from Huntington, W.Va. The Green Wave (3-5, 1-3 C-USA) will take on a tough Marshall squad (3-5, 2-2 C-USA) in what will likely be a very cold Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The Green Wave will be looking for their first road conference victory since downing SMU, 31-10, last Sept. 24 in Dallas. Game-time temperatures are expected to be in the high 30s with a slight wind, but Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo does not expect the conditions or the crown on hand to have an effect on the outcome of the ballgame. "Weve played in hostile environments before: UTEP, LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State," Scelfo said. "Their crowd is going to be loud and into the game. I said this on my radio show, regardless of what their record is, theyre going to have 30,000 people there, so we can expect that. Theyre going to be loud, but weve played in that." "I thought (from day one that) we needed to improve every week and I thought weve done that on the road in a conference game and we just beat ourselves at UTEP. I dont think our kids have a problem playing on the road. We beat Mississippi State, an SEC team on the road. Obviously on Saturday, its going to be different because of the weather and crowd. But we played in the Dome when it (felt like it) was 30 degrees, so we should be used to it." Saturdays game will be broadcast on the Tulane Network (local WIST AM 690) and both the video and audio broadcast are available on TulaneGreenWave.com to registered members of the All Access Pass. Live stats will also be provided free of charge on the internet via GameTracker. Tulane enters Saturdays matchup averaging 398.8 yards of total offense per game (110.1 rushing, 288.6 passing), thanks in large part to the play of junior running back Matt Forté and senior quarterback Lester Ricard. Forté paces the Green Wave with 798 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and ranks fourth in C-USA with a 99.8 yard-per-game rushing average. Ricard, meanwhile, has completed 166 of 282 passes for 2,176 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has twice earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors, including last week after throwing for 408 yards and three scores in Tulanes 42-28 victory over Army. Twelve Green Wave receivers have caught at least one pass in 2006, and senior wideout Damarcus Davis paces the bunch with 34 catches for 468 yards, and is tied with sophomore Brian King for the touchdown lead with three apiece. Defensively, the Green Wave young unit has come together recently and posted a season-high three turnovers last weekend. Junior defensive back David Skehan paces Tulane with 53 tackles and three interceptions, including a 30-yard touchdown return against SMU on Sept. 30. Junior linebacker Joe Goosby leads Tulane with five tackles for losses totaling 15 yards, while he, junior safety Louis Thomas and junior defensive end Antonio Williams are tied for the team lead in sacks with two each. "We always talk about learning from the past, but not specifics because each player has something he can draw from a game and it doesnt fit everybody else on the team," Scelfo said. "What we basically talk about is improving individually, and if everyone improves everyday individually, they collectively will improve. The thing in the last four weeks thats, regardless of how you break it down to who we played and where we played it, wasnt the opponent and much as it was us in victory and defeat. Thats something that I hope they can learn from." Marshall, meanwhile, comes into this weekends game 345.6 yards per game (178.4 rushing, 167.2 passing) and are led by running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who leads C-USA with 988 yards and 11 touchdowns on 156 carries. Bernard Morris has completed 96 of 155 passes for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns, but has thrown nine interceptions. Emmanuel Spann paces the receiving corps with 27 catches and Cody Slate leads the way with 363 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Curtis Keyes leads the Herd defense with 61 tackles and Albe McClellan paces the squad with eight and a half tackles for loss and five sacks. Keyes and James Johnson are tied for the team lead with two interceptions, and Zearri Mathews heads the secondary with six pass break-ups. "They have improved, and if you look at who they played early in the season - they went out to Kansas State, they went down to Tennessee, they played West Virginia," Scelfo said. "Theyve played a schedule like ours, so weve been in their situation. We need to worry about Tulane and take care of ours. Theyve got one of the best backs that weve played up to this point and weve got to contain him." Saturdays game marks just the second time Tulane and Marshall will meet on the gridiron, with the Herd winning last years meeting, 27-26, in a Green Wave "home" game played in Mobile, Ala. On Oct. 29. Following the game against the Thundering Herd, Tulane will be back in the Louisiana Superdome for back-to-back home contests against league foes Southern Miss (Nov. 11) and UCF (Nov. 18). Tickets for those game, and future Green Wave contests, remain for sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. The Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center, and tickets can be purchased in person, via the telephone at (504) 861-WAVE or via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. In addition, single-game tickets are also available via Ticket Master at www.TicketMaster.com and at all Ticket Master outlets.