NEW ORLEANS, La. — In a commanding performance, Darian Mensah passed for 262 yards and two touchdowns, while Makhi Hughes ran for 153 yards and added two touchdowns of his own, leading Tulane to a decisive 52-6 victory over Temple on Saturday night. This win keeps Tulane unblemished in American Athletic Association competition, with a record of 6-0 in the conference.
The Green Wave, now standing at 8-2 overall, trails only Army, who leads the conference with a perfect record of 9-0 and 7-0 in league play. Tulane, which has established the longest current conference win streak in the nation with 16 consecutive victories, is set to face Navy next week in Annapolis and will conclude the regular season at home against Memphis.
Tulane quickly established dominance, extending their lead to 52-0 after Ty Thompson scored on a 50-yard dash with just 7:23 left in the game. Temple finally found the end zone when Terrez Worthy broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown on their ensuing possession, marking the Owls’ only score of the night.
The Green Wave’s first drive saw Hughes finish off a 10-play, 75-yard series with a four-yard touchdown run. He also scored again with a three-yard rushing touchdown just before halftime, raising the score to 28-0. Mensah struck early in the second quarter with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Shazz Preston, and later connected with Alex Bauman for a six-yard touchdown in the third quarter, extending their lead to 42-0.
Mensah’s performance included 14 completions out of 21 attempts, with one interception. Hughes continued to shine, exceeding 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season, contributing to a total ground game of 327 yards accumulated on 52 carries by a group of ten runners. Receiver Mario Williams was a standout, hauling in four passes for 94 yards.
On the other side, Evan Simon managed to complete 11 of 22 passes for 56 yards for Temple, who is now 2-7 overall and 1-4 within the conference. The Owls mustered a meager 102 rushing yards, much of which came from Worthy’s impressive late-game touchdown run.