Tulane's 2026 schedule looks manageable, but an eight-game conference stretch with no bye week could define the season.
The Tulane Green Wave’s college football schedule for 2026 looks surmountable, and it certainly starts on a more reasonable note than last season when they faced three Power Four teams and a strong G5 opponent. However, there is a bit of hidden danger in their conference schedule in their first year under new head coach Will Hall that isn’t opponent specific – rather, it’s an eight-game stretch that could make or break the year for the Green Wave.
Tulane will have to face a gauntlet not so much in non-conference play this upcoming season, but as soon as they open American Conference play against Army on Oct. 10. And that isn’t the easiest opponent to kick conference play off with at all, given the physical nature of that contest in needing to stop the triple option. It’ll also be a long road trip for the Wave given that it’s up in West Point, Ny.
Then, unlike last season, they’ll head straight through eight consecutive games with no bye week. The only bye week is after non-conference play that they’ll wrap up playing the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. After the Black Knights, they’ll have back-to-back home games against the Memphis Tigers on Oct. 16 and the UTSA Roadrunners on Oct. 24. They’ll then play at Charlotte vs. the 49ers on Oct. 30, host the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes for homecoming on No. 7, travel to the Rice Owls and play on Nov. 14, head back home to host the North Texas Mean Green on Nov. 21, and wrap up in South Florida playing the USF Bulls on Nov. 27.
That’s a stark contrast from last season’s schedule. They did go straight into conference play after a harsh non-con stretch hosting the Northwestern Wildcats and Duke Blue Devils and traveling to the South Alabama Jaguars and Ole Miss Rebels. But after heading to Tulsa for their first conference game, the month of October offered quite a bit of a break for the Wave.
They had a bye week before hosting the ECU Pirates and Army in back-to-back contests before another bye week preceded the harsh loss against the UTSA Roadrunners. Now, looking back at that stretch, it frankly was one of the worst of the year in both games following the bye week. They looked rusty against the Pirates in 26-19 victory and lost handily to the Roadrunners 48-26.
So, perhaps this schedule isn’t the worst thing. But it’ll certainly test both the mental and physical strength of this new Tulane team as they head into next season.