How did Tulane's Opponents Fare in Week Four?

BY JAKE WEINSTOCK

Tulane (3-1, 0-0), now having rounded out non-conference play, opens their American Conference slate in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this Saturday, agains the Golden Hurricane (2-2, 0-0) at 3:00 p.m. on ESPNU & 106.7 The Ticket. If Tulane intends to be in the College Football Playoff conversation at the end of the year, their strength of schedule will of course be a factor. This series aims to track how Tulane's 12 opponents are faring, each week:

Northwestern (1-2 -- lost to Tulane 23-3 in week 1)

The Wildcats were on a bye this week, but should be looking to rack up a pair of wins in the next two weeks, as they host UCLA and then ULM.

@ South Alabama (1-3 -- lost to Tulane 33-31 in week 2)

After a physical matchup with the Auburn Tigers in Auburn, South Alabama completely fell flat this past weekend at home against Coastal Carolina. The Jaguars led 14-7 at halftime, then scored midway through the 4th quarter to cut Coastal's lead to 28-20, before ultimately falling 38-20. This was especially troubling as South Alabama played the game as a 14.5 point favorite. They now travel to North Texas, where the market has made them a 13 point underdog.

Duke (2-2 -- lost to Tulane 34-27 in week 3)

The Blue Devils rebounded nicely from their defeat in Yulman Stadium, beating NC State in Durham by a score of 45-33. It was not without a bump or two in the road, however, as they trailed 20-7 in the 2nd quarter. Darian Mensah was efficient and effective, totaling 269 yards and 3 touchdowns while going 19/28 (9.6 yards per attempt) and finishing with a passer rating of 134.4. Duke now hosts Syracuse as a 5.5 point favorite, before taking a cross country road trip for a conference game to visit Cal.

@ Tulsa (2-2), September 27, 2025

Well how about that? After dropping back-to-back games, most recently losing 42-23 at home to visiting Navy, Tulsa went into Stillwater Oklahoma on Friday night and beat Oklahoma State 19-12. Oklahoma State is putrid, but they are indeed a Big 12 team. The Golden Hurricane now has an extra day (having played Friday night) to get ready for Tulane's visit this coming weekend.

vs. East Carolina (2-2), October 9, 2025

East Carolina lost 34-13 this past weekend at home to visiting BYU as a 7-point underdog. The Pirates cut the score to 27-13 with just over 8 minutes to play, but never got it any closer than that. The Pirates will now host Army on Thursday night before a week 6 bye (the same weekend that Tulane has their first of two) before they visit Yulman Stadium on Thursday, October 9.

vs. Army (1-2), October 18, 2025

Army played in Denton, Texas, this past Saturday, and trailed North Texas 28-7 before rallying and forcing overtime at 38-38, which necessitated a game-tying touchdown with 12 seconds to play. They could not complete the comeback, however, and dropped a tough one 45-38 in overtime. The Black Knights now visit UAB, before hosting Charlotte.

@ UTSA (2-2), October 30, 2025

The Roadrunners have now won two-in-a-row after escaping from Fort Collins with a 17-16 victory over Colorado State. The Rams trailed 17-10 with 0:34 to play, and then went for two. Fortunately for UTSA, they successfully defended that attempt, and hung on to get the win. The Roadrunners will now enjoy a week 5 bye before a trip to Temple that precedes hosting Rice.

@ Memphis (4-0), November 7, 2025

The Tigers finished non-conference play with a home win over Arkansas, 32-31. The Razorbacks, for the second week in a row, fumbled the ball away with less than 2 minutes to play, both times with a chance to take the lead. Memphis completed a remarkable comeback in this one, having fallen behind 28-10 late in the 2nd quarter. They now open conference play in Boca Raton against Florida Atlantic, before hosting Tulsa.

vs. FAU (1-2), November 15, 2025

Florida Atlantic was on bye this weekend. They now, as mentioned above, host Memphis on Saturday to open American Conference play. Thereafter they travel to Rice before hosting UAB.

@ Temple (2-2), November 22, 2025

Temple had a rough go of it in Atlanta this past weekend against ranked Georgia Tech. They trailed 45-17 before a garbage time touchdown with 0:08 to play made the final score look a little more respectable. The Owls now will try to get right during a week 5 bye week, and then host UTSA and Navy over back-to-back weeks.

vs. Charlotte (1-3), November 29, 2025

The Niners hosted Rice on Thursday night and got their doors blown off. Rice led 28-9 until midway through the 4th quarter when Charlotte scored to make the score 28-17, which ended up being the final. They too will try and regroup during a week 5 bye, before trips to Tampa to play South Florida and then West Point to play Army, coming out of the break.