Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET
- Network: ESPN+
- Location: Hancock Whitney Stadium — Mobile, AL
- Spread: Tulane (-10.5)
- Over/under: 51.5
- All-time series: Tulane leads, 2-1
- Last meeting: Tulane 37, South Alabama 17 — September 2, 2023
- Current streak: Tulane, 2 (2020-23)
Setting the scene
There are three Week 2 clashes between the American Conference and the Sun Belt. This Saturday night showdown presents a massive home game for South Alabama, which receives an opportunity to defend its 1-0 record against a juggernaut of a Tulane team. It won’t be the first time the Green Wave visit Hancock Whitney Stadium; in fact, they were the first team to ever do so in the 2020 season opener.
South Alabama encountered some early adversity in Week 1 against FCS Morgan State, but the Jaguars pulled
away in the early fourth quarter to secure a 38-21 win, marking their first 1-0 start since 2022 (the last time they started 2-0 as well). On the other side, Tulane strung together one of the most impressive season opener performances, demolishing Northwestern 23-3 behind five takeaways — making a major statement in its first Big Ten win since 1970.
Tulane Green Wave outlook
Tulane has booked its annual trip to the American Conference Championship Game every year from 2022-24, and while conference play is still a while away, the Green Wave look every part of contenders again.
Jon Sumrall’s team stormed out of the tunnel on Yulman Stadium on Saturday and pulverized Northwestern in a 23-3 result. The offense certainly left a lot on the table with just two touchdowns and four three-and-outs, but the defense flat-out dominated the Wildcats. Tulane won the turnover battle 5-0, securing four interceptions on Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone — a former All-AAC quarterback traditionally immune to interception flurries. Outside of their lone field goal, every single Wildcat drive resulted in a turnover, turnover on downs, or three-and-out.
The most impressive part of it all — Tulane’s defense is filled with moving parts. The Green Wave returned less than half their starters — including four all-conference selections — but relied heavily on quality transfer portal additions. Several of those transfers — Santana Hopper (Appalachian State), Tre’Von McAlpine (Texas Tech), and Mo Westmoreland (UTEP) reside in a defensive line which provided heaps of pressure on Northwestern and limited the Wildcats to 2.8 yards per carry.
The linebacking corps led by Sam Howard (who scooped up five fumble recoveries in 2024) remains sturdy, but the secondary was the sharpest part of the unit in the opener. Three different Green Wave players secured a pick including Javion White, who stepped up with two acrobatic interceptions in a breakout performance. The safety tandem of Jack Tchienchou and Bailey Despanie remains lethal as Tchienchou made his presence felt in New Orleans last weekend with a team-high eight tackles and one stop behind the line of scrimmage.
Offensively, there’s still more work to be done. Tulane’s 20-point first half was spectacular but things slowed down in the final 30 minutes of action. BYU transfer quarterback Jake Retzlaff enjoyed a strong opener with a team-best 113 rushing yards on 10 attempts, breaking free for a 69-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. As a passer, Retzlaff completed 18-of-31 attempts for 152, landing his lone touchdown pass on the Green Wave’s opening drive — which, of course, was set up by a defensive takeaway.
Tulane’s offensive line is quite established with two returning First Team All-AAC selections in Shadre Hurst and Derrick Graham, but the skill position players still need to solidify their roles on the team. Louisville transfer Maurice Turner looks to be the lead back after taking 13 handoffs for 85 yards, but Florida Atlantic transfer Zuberi Mobley and incumbent backup Arnold Barnes III are still competing for carries.
Only two Green Wave players hauled in more than one catch in the opener, and both are transfer arrivals. Former FAU wide receiver Omari Hayes produced 74 yards on nine receptions while ex-Southern Miss tight end Justyn Reid proved to be a premier red zone threat with three catches, 47 yards, and a touchdown in his new home.
Despite not reaching the end zone in the second half vs. Northwestern, Tulane still produced 420 yards of offense and showed an explosive gear. One other quality that could prove useful for Sumrall’s team is a reliable kicking game as American Special Teams Player of the Week Patrick Durkin sunk all three field goal attempts, highlighted by a long of 41 yards.
South Alabama Jaguars outlook
We are in the golden era of South Alabama football, as the last three Jaguars seasons featured one 10-win campaign and the first two bowl victories in program history. Unfortunately for South Alabama, building on success isn’t easy in Mobile as the team lost some of its major stars to the portal including quarterback Gio Lopez, running back Fluff Bothwell, offensive tackle Malachi Carney, and defensive end Aakil Washington.
But amidst all the turnover, Major Applewhite and the Jaguars are standing at 1-0. South Alabama trotted out 24 new players in its opener against FCS Morgan State, but it was primarily the familiar faces leading the Jaguars to a 38-21 victory.
Quarterback Bishop Davenport, who started two games including the Salute to Veterans Bowl win in 2024, earned the first-string duties and proved to be the model of accuracy. The 6’2”, 210 pound journey connected on 12 of his 14 strikes for 166 yards and two touchdowns — amount to an average of 11.9 yards per attempt. While it wasn’t Davenport’s finest game in the mobility department, he’s proven to showcase that element of his game at times before.
However, South Alabama will assign most of its ground work to Kentrel Bullock. The running back totaled 831 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season splitting the lead role with Bothwell. But debuting as the primary bellcow, Bullock was dynamite. He totaled 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 attempts as the Jaguars nearly posted 200 total as a team on Morgan State.
Perhaps the most triumphant offensive performance of the opener belonged to wide receiver Devin Voisin. A star in 2022, Voisin dealt with a season-ending injury in 2023 and spent much of 2024 returning to form. That form was reached Saturday was Voisin recorded his first touchdown since Week 1 of 2023 — the Jaguars’ last meeting vs. Tulane. He snagged seven of the team’s 13 completions and produced a team-high 69 receiving yards as Davenport’s No. 1 receiver.
Things certainly could have gone smoother for a South Alabama defense which surrendered 340 yards to an FCS opponent in Week 1. However, there were bright spots including the manner in which the Jaguars flew to the ball. South Alabama recovered three fumbles and deflected six passes in the win. Leading the effort was strong safety Ty Goodwill who delivered one of the best all-around showings for a defensive back in this young season. Goodwill tallied four pass deflections — currently ranking first in the FBS in the category — in addition to 11 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Goodwill was one of three backfield invaders to produce at least two tackles for loss, sharing the designation with newcomer defensive end Tirrell Johnson Jr. and defensive tackle Nathan Jennings. This South Alabama front helped prevent explosives in the run game (except for one 56-yard explosion), but Morgan State still created a fair share of chunk plays through the air, collecting 121 yards after the catch on 15 receptions.
Prediction
Coaches train their teams to have ‘1-0 mentality’ and take their season game-by-game, but it’s hard for Tulane fans not to get excited about this team’s potential after that throttling of Northwestern. The Green Wave have room to grow offensively, and Northwestern’s veteran defensive line provided an effective counter to Tulane at times. This week presents that growth opportunity as Tulane looks to string together more explosive plays, especially in the passing game as Jake Retzlaff becomes more acquainted with Omari Hayes and his new receiving corps.
South Alabama is in for a challenge against this relentless ballhawking Tulane defense — a quality which the defense enjoyed in 2024 when it led the FBS in defensive touchdowns. The Jaguars must be overly cautious with the ball to have a chance to pull off the home upset, but Tulane’s defense has proven to produce routine stops without needing to rely on turnovers as a crutch. The Wave roll to 2-0.
Prediction: Tulane 31, South Alabama 13
