The Tulane Green Wave desperately needs to pick up a strong win this weekend as it welcomes the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to Yulman Stadium.

Tulane has started the year with a 1-2 record, and even in that lone win, the team didn't look overly promising. Its most recent loss on the road against the Kansas State Wildcats was largely disappointing, with the home team dominating both sides of the ball.

The Green Wave's upcoming game against Southern Miss serves as a "revenge" game of sorts for head coach Will Hall, who was let go from his position at USM before joining the coaching staff in Uptown ahead of the 2025 season. It's also a massive opportunity for the program to show fans that it can put together a better on-field product than it has in the first few weeks of the season.

Offensively, Tulane hasn't found much of a groove, and the contributions have been inconsistent at best. For example, one week after running back Jaylin Lucas had a record-setting 214 yards in a win against the South Alabama Jaguars, he netted -2 yards against Kansas State; in his defense, he wasn't utilized near as much as he should've been. It's been hard for the Green Wave to find a reliable threat, but the program is certainly going to try in its final game before American Conference play. Here's a look at which Tulane standouts could be players to watch on the offensive side of the ball this weekend. 

Turner stepped up when his name was called against the Wildcats, picking up a team-high 64 yards on seven carries and a 25-yard receiving touchdown. Though it wasn't enough to lead his team to victory, the running back never slowed down on the field. 

This is the Turner that fans expected heading into the season, even though he was derailed with an injury in 2025. With some other injury-related shakeups in the running backs room to start the year, it's time for him to truly take over. 

Richardson seemingly came out of nowhere against Kansas State, finishing the night with a season-high three receptions for 40 yards. It was easily his most promising performance thus far. 

Though other standout wideouts didn't receive the same opportunities that they did in earlier matchups, Richardson filled in the gaps. As a redshirt sophomore, he's impressionable and has room to grow -- and as he continues to learn and receive more playing time, he's only going to get better. Watch for him to take the next step against Southern Miss. 

This potential player to watch has lots of asterisks around his name... because nobody is sure if he'll make his season debut this weekend or not. So, if he does not play, ignore his name on this list. 

McClure had a strong end to his 2025 season, but he was injured during fall camp and has missed the first few games. He's got to be very close to coming back at this point, but Hall could decide to hold him out one more week until the program reaches American Conference play. There's been no clear answer as of now. 

If he does play, expect him to come out the gate with something to prove. There's still time to turn this year around, and McClure knows a thing or two about playing some hard-nosed, winning football.