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Tulane pulls off stunning comeback against USC in Cotton Bowl
Tulane Green Wave defensive back Jarius Monroe (11) and his teammates react after making an interception against the USC Trojans in the second quarter in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Tulane pulls off stunning comeback against USC in Cotton Bowl as CFB world reacts

Originally posted on Sportsnaut  |  By Vincent Frank  |  Last updated 1/2/23

The Tulane Green Wave have done it. Taking on a favored USC Trojans team in the Cotton Bowl on Monday, Willie Fritz’s squad was facing an uphill climb.

The 10th-ranked Trojans found themselves up 45-30 after kicking a field goal with less than five minutes remaining in the final stanza. That’s when Tulane did its thing in pulling off the best comeback of the college football season.

Running back Tyjae Spears scored from four yards out on Tulane’s next possession to pull the Green Wave to within eight points. Tulane’s defense then forced a safety to make the game even closer with just over three minutes remaining.

If that wasn’t enough, Tulane’s comeback was completed after quarterback Michael Pratt hit Alex Bauman on a six-yard touchdown with nine seconds left to give the Green Wave a 46-45 win, shocking the college football world in the process.

There’s a lot of different storylines stemming from this epic comeback by Tulane. It was just last season that this program posted a 2-10 record under Fritz. By virtue of this comeback win in the Cotton Bowl, Tulane finishes with a 12-2 record. It represents the greatest one-year turnaround in FBS history.

As for USC, its defense struggled once again after Lincoln Riley’s squad was stunned by Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Said loss forced the Trojans to take part in Monday’s Cotton Bowl rather than being one of four programs in the College Football Playoff.

All of this came within the confines of a game in which Heisman winner Caleb Williams accounted for 460 passing yards and five touchdowns in another brilliant all-around performance from the Oklahoma transfer.

A lot will be made about USC blowing this game during the offseason. Simply put, Riley needs to get more talent on defense. As for Tulane, this represented the program’s best win since back in 1998 when it finished a perfect 12-0 under Tommy Bowden to finish seventh in the Associated Press standings. That team included future NFL quarterbacks Shaun King and Patrick Ramsey.

College football world reacts to Tulane pulling off epic comeback against USC

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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