How did Tulane's Opponents Fare in Week One?

BY JAKE WEINSTOCK

While it was obviously a mostly clean outing for Tulane (1-0, 0-0) in their season opening 23-3 win over visiting Northwestern, it's time to turn the page and look ahead to what the rest of the season holds in store for the Green Wave, starting with this coming Saturday in Mobile, where Tulane opened as a 10.0 point favorite against the South Alabama Jaguars (Hancock Whitney Stadium, 6:00 p.m. CT, ESPN+, 106.7 The Ticket).

@ South Alabama (1-0), September 6, 2025

The Jaguars opened as a 28.5 point favorite against visiting FCS opponent Morgan State and won by a score of 38-21. They led 38-14 with less than four minutes to play in the game, however, but did surrender 340 yards to the Bears. South Alabama Quarterback Bishop Davenport was efficient, completing 12 of his 14 attempts, for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns.

vs. Duke (1-0), September 13, 2025

The Blue Devils, quarterbacked by old friend Darian Mensah, entered as a 36.5 point favorite over FCS Elon, and found themselves in a 24-17 game in the 4th quarter, before pulling away and winning 45-17. Mensah finished 27/34 for 389 yards and a touchdown. We should learn much more about Duke this week, however, as they host Illinois from the B1G, and are a 2.5 point underdog at the time of this writing.

@ Ole Miss (1-0), September 20, 2025

There weren't many things to take away from the Rebels' 63-7 thrashing of Georgia State, even as a 33.5 point favorite. We should learn much more over the coming weeks, as Ole Miss plays Kentucky on the road before hosting Arkansas, ahead of Tulane's week 4 visit to Oxford. Quarterback Austin Simmons, making his first career start (replacing 1st round pick Jaxson Dart) was a bit uneven. Despite tossing for 341 yards and 3 scores, he did suffer 2 interceptions across 3 "turnover worthy" throws.

@ Tulsa (1-0), September 27, 2025

Tulsa was remarkably just a 5.5 point favorite over visiting Abilene Christian (FCS), but they dominated, nearly doubling up the Wildcats and total yards, en route to a 35-7 victory. The Golden Hurricane led 35-0 midway through the 4th quarter, and now plays as a 3.5 point favorite on the road, at New Mexico State. They then host Navy and travel to Oklahoma State, before hosting the Green Wave at the end of the month.

vs. East Carolina (0-1), October 9, 2025

In an odd twist, East Carolina played NC State for the second time in just 8 months, after the schools faced off in the 2024 Military Bowl (Annapolis, Maryland). Back in December, the Pirates got the better of the Wolfpack, 26-21, but that was not to be this past weekend, as NC State hung on to win by a score of 24-17. Despite not being able to get much of anything going on the ground, the Pirates found some success through the air behind quarterback Katin Houser, who finished 30/44 for 366 yards, 1 touchdown, good enough for a quarterback rating of 101.1.

vs. Army (0-1), October 18, 2025

Easily the most disappointing and miserable weekend for anyone on Tulane's schedule. After finishing 12-2 (9-0) last year, and ranked 21st in both the Coaches and AP polls, there was a level of expectation that the Black Knights would take a step back. Indeed, they were picked to finish 6th (of 14 schools) in the preseason American Conference poll but my goodness... Losing at home as a 14-point favorite to Tarleton State (FCS), and only being a 14-point favorite against them, to begin with, is tough. Things don't get easier this week, as a trip to Manhattan, Kansas to play Kansas State awaits them, on Saturday night.

@ UTSA (0-1), October 30, 2025

The Roadrunners, who were picked to finish 4th in the preseason American Conference poll had an expectedly rough go of it on Saturday in College Station. They trailed Texas A&M 42-17 with less than a minute to play, before a garbage touchdown made the final look a little more respectable 42-24. They now host Texas State, as a 5-point favorite, on Saturday. UTSA and East Carolina should be low-key two of the three better opponents on Tulane's conference slate, along with Memphis.

@ Memphis (1-0), November 7, 2025

Unfortunately there's not much we can take away from Memphis comfortably beating Chattanooga (FCS) as a 30.5 point favorite by a score of 45-10, even if they did pile on an extra touchdown with about 2 minutes to play. The Tigers new quarterback Brendon Lewis was quite solid, finishing with a quarterback rating of 93.3 and a ProFootballFocus grade of 86.8. Lewis is a 6th-year player, after spending 3 seasons at Colorado, followed by the last two at Nevada.

vs. FAU (0-1), November 15, 2025

Florida Atlantic may be in for another rough season, as they dropped their opener 39-7 to Maryland, despite entering the game as "just" a 13.5 point underdog. The Owls offense, without Omari Hayes and Zuberi Mobley, moved the ball a decent pit (354 yards), but turned it over 6 (!) times, without forcing a single takeaway, themselves. They host Florida A&M this week, before traveling to Florida International, the week following.

@ Temple (1-0), November 22, 2025

The Owls obliterated UMass in a season-opening road victory, 42-10, despite just entering the game as a 2 point favorite. Temple is looking for bowl eligibility for the first time since 2019, and certainly got off to the right start. They now host FCS Howard before Oklahoma travels to Lincoln Financial Field, in week 3. Quarterback Evan Simon was precise on Saturday, tossing 6 touchdown passes while completing 19 of his 25 throws for 248 yards and finishing with a passer rating of 146.3.

vs. Charlotte (0-1), November 29, 2025

The Tim Albin era at Charlotte did not get off to an ideal start as the 49ers lost to visiting Appalachian State 34-11. Charlotte was just a 3-point underdog, but trailed 27-3 into the 4th quarter. They now play host to something called Lindenwood (FCS) on Saturday, before a trip to Hattiesburg to play Southern Miss.