Tulane Green Wave 2026 College Football Preview
Posted July 1, 2026
2025 Recap
Record – 11-3
ATS – 7-7
Yes, guy.
The Green Wave have played in an impossible FOUR American/AAC Championship Games in a row, and they booked their second title last season. Things didn’t look awesome mid-season when they got smoked by UTSA, but they didn’t lose a game the rest of the way and took down North Texas for all the marbles.
Tulane earned a spot in the College Football Playoff but were blown to bits by Ole Miss for the second time, and that was the end of an amazing 2025 run.
Tulane Green Wave 2026 Outlook
OFFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (American):
- Scoring: 27.7 PPG (#9 American)
- Total Offense: 411.4 YPG (#8 American)
- Rushing: 166.3 YPG (#10 American)
- Passing: 245.1 YPG (#7 American)
- Sacks Allowed: 12 (#3 American)
It’s quite amazing to see a team with those kind of offensive numbers not only win the conference, but participate in the CFP. They did a phenomenal job of protecting the passer, but reflecting back on the season, a ton of their success had to do with the performance and leadership of QB Jake Retzlaff, who threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for 16 scores.
Far be it from us to be skeptical of anything that Tulane does these days, but the QB situation looks a bit dicey. Zeon Chriss-Gremillion didn’t exactly shine in his previous stops, primarily with Louisiana, and Ball State QB Kadin Semonza is two years removed from his 2,900-yard passing campaign with Ball St.
The offense is going to rely heavily on the 1-2 RB punch of Jamauri McClure (540 yards, 6.5 avg, 2 TD) and Mississippi St transfer Johnnie Daniels, who had over 500 yards with the Bulldogs in 2024. The Wave are always stacked at RB, so we expect them to feature a strong RB group once again.
Three of the top four wideouts are no longer with the team, but Tulane still has a solid piece to build around in last year’s WR2 Anthony Brown-Stephens (523 yards, 2 TD). The Green Wave are adept at finding WR gems, and we’ll see how the rest of the unit looks during fall camp. Local product Destyn Hill is a name to keep an eye on as he brings pedigree and decent size (6-1, 197) to the table.
The offensive line is going to have to prove itself. They only return one starter to the mix, and it’s virtually certain there’ll be a downtick in the quality of pass protection.
DEFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (American):
- Scoring: 23.9 PPG (#5 American)
- Total Defense: 384.2 YPG (#7 American)
- Rushing Defense: 122.6 YPG (#2 American)
- Passing Defense: 261.6 YPG (#13 American)
- Sacks: 36 (#1 American)
Tulane was stingy vs the run last year and were the MASTERS of PENETRATION in the conference. They gave up oodles of yards thru the air, but that was partly because teams gave up trying to move it on the ground.
The DL was hit by a metaphorical DRONE STRIKE as essentially anyone of consequence from last year’s outstanding front is gone. Outside of QB, that was the strength of the team in 2025. Tulane has a small handful of big bodies up front but we’re not sure where the pressure is going to come from. Local kid Reshad Sterling (6-3, 260) comes back from Houston and has potential, but he might need more time. It’ll be important to pay attention to the reports from fall camp to see how worried the staff is about the new front.
We feel great about the middle layer of the defense as the Wave boast a pair of studs in MLB Chris Rodgers, who led the team in stops last season, and Dickson Agu, who was on pace for a very productive 2025 season before suffering a season-ending injury at the end of September. The secondary has every reason to improve with the return of senior safety Jack Tchienchou (#2 in tackles, 7 TFL) and sophomore CB E’zaiah Shine (7 PBU).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Argh. The Wave have featured outstanding special teams in two of the last three seasons, but it’s a TOUGH SCENE heading into 2026 as they lose their excellent punter Alec Clark, along with All-Universe PK Patrick Durkin (25/28 FG). Anthony Brown has shown good ability on kick returns, but we’ll have to see how the new kicking tandem works out.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Tulane will almost certainly be no worse than 2-2 in non-conference play, and maybe they can pull an upset at Duke or Kansas St (again!). We like the list of American assignments as they miss mighty Navy and get to play UTSA at home in New Orleans. They’ve got four of the softer teams in successive matchups beginning on Oct. 30, so there’s potential for a strong finish.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Kansas St (Sept 19)
It’s hard to imagine Tulane giving the Wildcats trouble this early in the season with a new QB and a questionable DL. And as we noted earlier, the Green Wave rolled into Manhattan a few years ago and SHOCKED THE WORLD. Kansas St will be ready.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – July 1
Over 7.5 +120
Under 7.5 -150
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
They’ve gotta go 6-2 in conference play to hit the over, and there are a small handful of legit question marks with this team.
Note – Our official list of season win total investments will be posted in the blog section of the website.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Tulane’s old home stadium (Tulane Stadium) hosted THREE Super Bowls, including the coldest one in NFL history. Super Bowl VI in 1972 was played in 39-degree weather — still the lowest temperature for a Super Bowl game. Shrinkage, yo.
Tulane is one of the few major universities in the country that requires students to complete a community service project before they can graduate. The school lives by its motto: “Non sibi sed suis” (“Not for oneself, but for one’s own”). That’s pretty cool.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
These guys just keep winning. It’s nice to see, and what a GREAT time to be alive for Tulane fans.
New head coach Will Hall has big shoes to fill, and he didn’t exactly set the world on fire as the head man at Southern Miss, but maybe the return to the BIG EASY will be just what the doctor ordered. Our gut tells us the Wave will fall short of making their fifth consecutive title game appearance, as there are some significant roster holes that need to be addressed. The schedule helps, but we’ll call for seven wins and a bowl appearance.
Roll Wave!