Last Friday night presented an American Conference Championship Game matchup for the ages.
For the first time since the advent of the league’s title game in 2025, it was win-and-in for the College Football Playoff. Both Tulane and North Texas received the chance to lock up a bid Friday in New Orleans, and the Green Wave defended their home turf to do so. Tulane scored 31 unanswered on the Mean Green to claim a 31-7 advantage before ultimately icing the contest at 34-21.
Tulane now heads to the CFP
to battle Ole Miss in the first round, while North Texas’ dream season concludes in a New Mexico berth vs. San Diego State. Before both teams proceed with their bowl games to conclude historic runs, let’s reflect on what we learned on the American title stage:
It’s all in the trenches
Tulane won 29 of its previous 32 conference matchups and qualified for four-straight conference championships, yet North Texas entered this game as the road favorite. Many of the season statistics favored the up-and-coming Mean Green. They boasted the No. 1 scoring offense and No. 1 total offense in the FBS, entering New Orleans with 50 points in five of six games. North Texas’ skill position players — quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins, and wide receiver Wyatt Young — were lighting up the stat sheet every week like they were playing NCAA 14 on Freshman mode.
Tulane was not exactly doing that during its 10-2 start. The Green Wave never scored 40 points all season, and they survived five one-score games and got their doors blown off by UTSA in late October. Tulane only generated one 100-yard running back and one 100-yard receiver all season, and its defense allowed 30 and 40-point outings more than North Texas.
But when the ball was spotted at Yulman Stadium, it immediately became clear which team had the edge in the trenches on both sides. North Texas’ offensive line had been stellar all year, ranked 13th nationally in fewest sacks allowed at 13. But the Mean Green were outmatched by Santana Hopper and the Tulane defensive line which generated five sacks Friday night. An injury to starter Caleb Hawkins contributed to the struggles, but North Texas was largely unable to run the ball on Tulane throughout the night, averaging 1.4 fewer yards per carry than their season average.
Then on the other side, Tulane’s offensive line assertively held its own. Led by star guard Shadre Hurst and left tackle Derrick Graham, the Green Wave gained enough push for the team to post 199 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while preventing quarterback Jake Retzlaff from taking a single sack. The Mean Green possessed the clear skill position edge, but what this result proved was the continued importance of the trenches, and North Texas’ two losses this year were to teams that notably presented advantages in that department.
North Texas turnovers come in waves
North Texas won 11 games in the regular season and remained very turnover free in those contests. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker only threw an interception in one of those 11 victories, and that was in a 608-yard explosion at Charlotte. The Mean Green’s lack of turnovers, plus their defense’s ability to create them, manufactured a significant advantage for the team all season.
But North Texas’ second loss was almost déjà vu to its first loss, and both featured a highly-specific theme — five turnovers committed. On Oct. 10, the Mean Green suffered a late-second quarter and early-third quarter collapse due to a barrage of turnovers. Four of those turnovers transpired in a 6-minute span of game time. Then on Dec. 5, a similar occurrence was seen as North Texas coughed the ball up three times in an 11-minute span comprising of the late-second quarter and third quarter.
Five of Mestemaker’s six interceptions on the season occurred in these two losses. Also, both games saw an extremely similar muffed punt with under 50 seconds remaining in the first half. And both South Florida and Tulane capitalized with a critical touchdown on the final play of the half.
Essentially, there were two North Texases this year — the most dominant offense that would drop 50 with ease, or a team riddled by turnovers at an alarming rate. One showed up 11 times. The other showed up twice.
Unlocking Jamauri McClure was essential
Tulane built its recent American Conference dynasty run on the talent of dominant running backs. Tyjae Spears broke tackle after tackle en route to the league’s Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2022, finishing 5th nationally with 1,581 rushing yards in addition to 19 touchdowns. Then Makhi Hughes followed suit, posting the 9th-most rushing yards in 2023 and the 10th-most in 2024 with back-to-back 1,300-yard campaigns.
When Hughes transferred this offseason, Tulane needed to find its new feature tailback. Maurice Turner originally looked to be the suitor for the role, but an early-season injury held the Louisville transfer out for roughly half the year. Then Javin Gordon, Zuberi Mobley, and Arnold Barnes III split carries for the bulk of the season, but Tulane could never capture that elusive 100-yard rushing performance from a tailback.
In mid-November, the Green Wave started experimenting with redshirt freshman Jamauri McClure, and the decision immediately paid dividends. McClure rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown at Florida Atlantic and then followed up with 122 at Temple — the first time a Tulane back crossed the century mark in 2025. He retained the No. 1 role vs. North Texas and excelled in it, producing 121 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Although the journey to get there was anything but smooth, the Green Wave finally have their feature back in time for the CFP.
Bryce Bohanon is embodiment of Tulane culture
Bryce Bohanon bleeds Tulane’s colors perhaps deeper than anybody on the roster. Unlike most Green Wave players, Bohanon remembers a time when bowl games, let alone conference championships, were not even a guarantee for the program. The Arkansas native wide receiver onboarded during the 2021 season, a year which quickly became riddled by Hurricane Ida which displaced Tulane from New Orleans for roughly a month. The team played a home game in Norman, OK and even relocated its practices to Birmingham — living out of a hotel. They finished 2-10.
The following year, Bohanon was a member of the greatest turnaround in college football history as Tulane secured a 12-2 record, accompanied with its first American title, an unforgettable Cotton Bowl win over USC, and a No. 9 finish. His production continued to ramp up each year, becoming more frequented as a wide receiver during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
His 2025 redshirt senior campaign proved to be his best yet, totaling career-highs in receptions (31), yards (417), and touchdowns. It could be more, but Bohanon has been nicked up by injuries for the entire second half of the season, missing the final regular season contests vs. Temple and Charlotte. While he warmed up Friday for the American title vs. North Texas, he was unable to play his final game at Yulman Stadium. Until the final play of the game.
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff handed the ball off to Bohanon, and the wide receiver took the final kneeldown to cement Tulane’s first playoff appearance.
