After a disastrous start to the season, the Green Wave needs to find a way to get back on track.
It's not too much of an overreaction to say that the Tulane Green Wave is already in a do-or-die situation... and it's only the second game of the season.
The Green Wave is gearing up to welcome the South Alabama Jaguars to Yulman Stadium in the 2026 home-opener. There's been plenty of offseason excitement for this matchup in particular, as the program will wear its incredible King of Mardi Gras City Edition uniforms for the game. However, there's now plenty of added pressure to head coach Will Hall and his team.
Tulane dropped its opening game to the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 17-3. While the lopsided score that hurts the resume is one issue, the biggest concern is how the Green Wave played: the team was sluggish, undisciplined and looked completely lost at times. It was not up to standard that Tulane has set over the past few years, and it's not a great sign for things to come.
Let's be honest here: if the Olive Green and Sky Blue drop Saturday's game against South Alabama, then the team is likely looking at a losing season. On paper, the matchup will be one of the more favorable games for Tulane this year -- the Jaguars are a solid team, but not one that should run circles around a home-standing Green Wave squad. There's plenty of talent on Tulane's sideline, even if the program wasn't able to showcase that against Duke.
It's only going to get tougher for the Uptown boys from here, and a win could at least be enough to boost the team's momentum. A loss will only further destroy morale within the locker room and create more distance between fans and the program -- something that it simply can't afford to let happen just two weeks into the new coaching tenure.
There is some hope that the Olive Green and Sky Blue is looking to right its wrongs heading into a new week of preparation. Based on reports from Monday's practice, Kadin Semonza could be the starting quarterback heading into the matchup. The redshirt junior came off the bench in place of Zeon Chriss-Gremillion against Duke, and though he wasn't able to get his team back into the matchup, he gave the offense a bit of a boost. Additionally, freshman Trace Johnson took most of the second-team reps. Hall hasn't given a definitive answer so far, but right now, it looks like that might be the decision he makes this weekend.
Saturday's game between Tulane and South Alabama kicks off at 6 p.m. CT.
