The Green Wave battled back from an early deficit to defeat the Jaguars by a score of 28-24.
It was far from pretty, but the Tulane Green Wave (1-1) managed to get the job done on Saturday night, taking down the South Alabama Jaguars (1-1) by a score of 28-24 in Yulman Stadium. The win marked the first victory of the year for the program and the first win in the Will Hall era.
Ultimately, the running backs stole the show. Jaylin Lucas rushed for an impressive 214 yards and one touchdown, which came on an 80-yard carry in the second half. Johnnie Daniels added two short-yardage touchdowns in the second quarter alone. The unit was highly-touted heading into the season, and after a tough start to the year, it was refreshing to see it find some success.
Kadin Semonza also had a solid outing on the night, finishing 14-of-21 passing for 212 yards and one touchdown in his first start for the Olive Green and Sky Blue. Destyn Hill was his top target, with four catches for 91 yards and the lone receiving touchdown in the matchup. The go-ahead 14-yard score came with just over one minute left in the game.
While those numbers look great, there are still quite a few problems to address. Tulane got off to another slow start and found itself trailing 10-0 after the first quarter. Daniels' pair of touchdowns were enough to put the team up 14-10 at the half, and things went back and forth from there. Just when it seemed like the Green Wave had found some momentum, it would find some way to throw the success away. Luckily for the home squad, there were just enough quick, big plays to offset these issues, but that's not something it can expect to rely on every week.
Defensively, there were some slight improvements in Week Two, but there's still cause for concern. On one hand, Tulane stood tall when it mattered most; the team made two massive fourth-down stops and had a scoop-and-score that was controversially overturned, which would've changed the game. Yet, at the same time, it gave up 478 total yards, 25 first downs and allowed the Jaguars to convert 10 of their 16 third downs. South Alabama had possession of the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game, simply because the Green Wave defense couldn't get off the field.
A win is a win, and it's a nice starting spot as the team looks to put together a strong 2026 campaign. It's something to try to build on and gives fans something to enjoy for now.
However, it's evident by now that the team has taken a step backwards. Maybe this was clear in last weekend's loss to the Duke Blue Devils, but after seeing the team's overall performance against two very different opponents, it's impossible to ignore -- even with tonight's victory!
Anything can happen between now and the end of November, and who knows... maybe Tulane will find a way to fix some of its glaring problems and make some noise by the end of the season. Right now, the team can just take things one week at a time and give it a maximum effort.
The Green Wave will return to the gridiron on Saturday, September 19th, as it faces the Kansas State Wildcats on the road. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
