Rarely has the Tulane football program made a splash in the national spotlight in recent years, except when more prestigious programs such as Louisiana State University have beaten the Green Wave by ridiculous margins. And yet, Tulane garnered a boatload of national headlines last week.
Unfortunately, they were for all the wrong reasons.
Green Wave senior running back and kick returner Ray Boudreaux was arrested Friday at his home in Metairie, La. in connection with a stabbing at a bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The incident left five people wounded, including a man who remains in critical condition in a New Orleans hospital after suffering stab wounds to the neck and chest.
Boudreaux was suspended from both the team and the school. His name was also removed from the Green Wave’s roster on the Tulane athletic Web site (tulanegreenwave.cstv.com).
Boudreaux was charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and his bond was set at $500,000. The knife believed to have been used in the stabbing was found at his home, Sgt. Joe Narcisse, a spokesman for the New Orleans Police Department, told The Times-Picayune.
Furthermore, police said a surveillance camera recorded the stabbing and that a tipster identified Boudreaux on the video. The Times-Picayune reported Saturday that "one or two persons appeared to be with Boudreaux" on the tape, but they have not been identified.
New Orleans police accuse the 5-10, 240-pound Boudreaux of stabbing five people during a fight that broke out between two groups at the Utopia nightclub on Sept. 16 and later spilled out into the street.
Boudreaux confirmed his involvement in the altercation in a TV interview, allegedly telling reporters that he acted in self-defense.
So far, Tulane Athletic Director Rick Dickson and head football coach Bob Toledo have been mostly silent on the circumstances surrounding Boudreaux’s arrest.
Not even Boudreaux’s mother, Jean Smith, will speak of the matter.
"I’m just following the lead of his university. I have no comment," Smith told The Times-Picayune from her home in Abbeville, La.
Despite the initial shock, Tulane (1-2) managed to defeat Southeastern Louisiana 35-27 on Saturday in New Orleans.
But there probably will be no such happy ending for Boudreaux, a four-time member of the Conference USA Academic Honor Roll, who, if convicted, will likely head to prison for a long time.
Fontenette scores touchdown, accolade
Houston junior safety Kenneth Fontenette played a key role in the Cougars’ 38-27 win over Colorado State, returning a fumble 37 yards for his first career touchdown in the second half.
C-USA rewarded Fontenette’s effort by naming him its Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. He shares the award with Central Florida safety Jason Venson, who recorded nine solo tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break-up in the Golden Knights’ 56-20 whipping of C-USA rival Memphis.
Fontenette, who claimed the second weekly honor of his collegiate career, finished with five tackles against Colorado State. He scooped up a fumble from Rams running back Kyle Bell that was forced by Cougars nose tackle Tate Stewart and sprinted to the end zone with 2:18 left in the third quarter.
That play tied the game at 24 and turned the momentum in the Cougars’ favor. Houston (2-1) outscored Colorado State 14-3 the rest of the way and held the Rams to just 69 total yards in the fourth quarter.
Lawrence kicks his way to perfection
Fontenette wasn’t the only Houston player to turn in an exceptional performance against Colorado State. Senior kicker T.J. Lawrence successfully converted all five of his point-after attempts and nailed a 46-yard field goal and was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.
So far this season, Lawrence has excelled. After three games, he is 5-of-6 on field goal attempts and a perfect 12-of-12 on point-after attempts.
Just give him the ball
Tulane running back Matt FortÈ knew he would receive a lot of carries in Saturday’s game against Southeastern Louisiana.
However, he probably didn’t know he would have to carry the team by himself.
That’s exactly what FortÈ did in the Green Wave’s 35-27 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in New Orleans. The senior rushed for a school and C-USA record 303 yards on 40 carries and scored all five of Tulane’s touchdowns.
Tulane (1-2) needed every single yard and touchdown it got from FortÈ to knock off Southeastern Louisiana, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) program from the Southland Conference.
A loss would have been the Green Wave’s first-ever loss to an FCS school, but FortÈ, named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, was determined not to let that happen.
"I’m a senior, and I had to put this team on my back and carry them," FortÈ, who was also named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday, told the Times-Picayune. "The holes were there all night, my teammates were making them, I just had to run through them. That’s what I’m supposed to do."
FortÈ’s 303 rushing yards shattered the previous C-USA mark of 300 yards established by Houston’s Joffrey Reynolds against East Carolina on Nov. 9, 2002. That total also broke the previous school record of 249 set by current Minnesota Vikings running back Mewelde Moore against Cincinnati on Oct. 6, 2001.
FortÈ’s five touchdowns also set a Tulane record and tied the C-USA record held by five other players.
Quote to note
If there’s one team in C-USA that could use a do-over of last week, it’s Memphis.
Then again, the Tigers would probably rather forget Saturday’s embarrassing 56-20 loss to Central Florida ever happened instead of having to relive the whole incident.
As far as losses go, this one was ugly. Central Florida scored on its first seven possessions and led 42-0 at halftime. The Golden Knights rolled up 601 total yards and 28 first downs. Of those 601 yards, 313 were rushing yards.
After the game, Memphis head coach Tommy West had no excuses to offer.
"It kind of speaks for itself," West told the Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.). "I do not think that I need to watch the tape.
"We got blocked, and we did not block them. They beat us in the first half, soundly, and in every phase of the game: offense, defense and kicking. They had the edge … and it just mushroomed on us as the first half went."
Extra points
With Saturday’s win over Southeastern Louisiana, Tulane improved to 10-0 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) programs since the classification’s introduction in 1974. … Central Florida posted a school record and C-USA-tying seven rushing touchdowns in its 56-20 win over Memphis on Saturday. … Texas-El Paso senior running back Marcus Thomas rushed for 105 yards in the Miners’ 52-12 victory against Texas Southern, snapping a streak of 16 consecutive games in which UTEP did not have a 100-yard rusher. … Southern Methodist’s 21-7 loss at Texas Christian on Saturday was the Mustangs’ 16th straight non-conference road loss. … Marshall is off to its first 0-4 start since 1969 after Saturday’s 40-14 whipping at the hands of Cincinnati.
