Tulane coach Jon Sumrall: “We have to get better.” | Tulane

A dominant 34-3 win over Charlotte on Thursday night wasn't enough to allay Tulane coach Jon Sumrall's fears about the future.

The Green Wave (7-2, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) faces bigger games against much tougher opponents in the second half of November, and he still saw plenty of room for improvement despite a 431-189 yardage margin and a massive 42: 09-17 :51 possession advantage.

“We need to throw and catch better early in the game,” he said. “We can’t stagnate on offense. We have to score touchdowns. We're going to lose a game or two down the stretch here if we don't play more efficiently or clean up on defense and not use the ball properly. We went about it a bit sloppily. There are so many areas where I am not satisfied. We get a 30-point win, but we have to get better.”

Tulane, on the verge of cracking the top 25 in the Associated Press poll, remained one of three teams with perfect AAC marks, along with Army (7-0, 6-0) and Navy (6-1, 4-0). . . After next Saturday's home game against struggling Temple, the Wave travel to Navy on Nov. 16 and host Memphis (7-1, 3-1) on Thanksgiving in matchups that will determine whether it reaches the championship game for the third straight year or not year.

In Sumrall’s view, to win, Tulane needs to be sharper. He pointed to Charlotte's only scoring effort at the end of the first half, which resulted in two Tulane personal foul penalties that drew heavy criticism.

“We played poor, really situational football defensively in the first half,” he said. “The drive just before halftime was so self-inflicted. We didn't position ourselves correctly once. We didn't pitch in. It was chaotic for a minute there, but we settled in and played much better in the second half.”

Even redshirt freshman Darian Mensah, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 214 yards and was 7 of 8 on third and fourth downs, caught his eye. Sumrall pointed out a poorly thrown post pass to Mario Williams that could have been a touchdown and a slightly overthrown pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Alex Bauman in the end zone.

“We probably could have been a little better in the throwing game,” Sumrall said. “I think (Mensah) would tell you he could get one or two back and probably do better. Sometimes we need to throw the ball better, but for the most part it was a good day.”

Sumrall acknowledged that the quick turnaround in last Saturday's game in North Texas may have contributed to the deficiencies. To that end, he's giving every healthy player on the team a two-day break on Saturday and Sunday before the Wave begins preparing for Temple on Monday.

“We’re ready to get on the plane and come home,” he said late Thursday night. “We’re a tired bunch.”

The downtime is good news for running back Makhi Hughes, who may enjoy the rest more than anyone after recording 84 runs in the last three games.

“When I heard that (getting two days off), I thought, thank you, because I needed that,” he said. “We all needed that. Coach Sumrall does a great job taking care of our bodies.”

Sumrall marveled at Hughes' mental and physical resilience.

“He’s a liability, man,” he said. “He’s the type of guy who doesn’t bat an eyelid. Down in the locker room he acted like he hadn't done anything today. He looked pretty fresh to me. He's an impressive guy in terms of his style. He's super physical and tough. We need to give him some rest this week.”

Injury update

Sumrall said X-rays of linebacker Sam Howard, who left with a sprained ankle, came back negative.

“I don’t know if it’s low or high yet,” Sumrall said. “He will be in the training room this weekend. I think he'll be available (for Temple), but we'll see. It's too early to say that. We were afraid of a break, but that’s not the case.”

Howard is third on the team with 33 tackles and has recovered a team-high four fumbles.

Backup running back Arnold Barnes left with an unspecified injury, but his prognosis was clearer. Shaadie Clayton-Johnson replaced him and rushed six times for 59 yards and a touchdown, adding a catch for 10 yards.

“He’s fine,” Sumrall said of Barnes. “We used Shaadie and he looked pretty good.”