Amid Pac-12 Talk, Tulane Green Wave Prepare to Open Conference Play
Amid all the conference expansion discussion, the Tulane Green Wave must keep its eye on the prize, which currently is trying to win its second American Athletic Conference title in three years.
The Green Wave opens conference action at home on Saturday when the USF Bulls pay them a visit at 11 a.m. central on ESPNU.
The Green Wave and the Bulls both got out of non-conference action 2-2. The Green Wave is coming off a 41-33 win over Louisiana on Saturday, and both of their losses came against power conference teams on back-to-back weeks. In both of those games, the Green Wave were within a score in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, USF is coming off a 50-15 loss to Miami (FL), one of the highest-ranked teams in the country. The Bulls also dropped a game at Alabama.
The Bulls beat Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss in non-conference.
Both teams believe they have the goods to win the league. But Tulane is the one with that experience. The Green Wave won the league title game in 2022 and reached the title game last season. USF is vying for its first berth.
So while administrators may be dancing with the Pac-12, Tulane’s coaches and players are firmly focused on the task at hand.
Here is a preview of the Green Wave and the Bulls.
USF at Tulane
Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, La.
Time: 11 a.m. CT
TV: ESPNU
Radio: KVDU 104.1 The Spot (flagship)
Coaches: Tulane — Jon Sumrall (2-2 at Tulane, 25-6 career as head coach); USF — Alex Golesh (9-8 at USF and overall).
Fun fact: Golesh was born in Moscow, Russia, and emigrated to the U.S. as a child. It took him 20 years to go from being the defensive line coach at Westerville Central (Ohio) High School to the USF head-coaching job.
All-Times Series: Tulane leads series, 3-1.
Last meeting: Tulane def. USF, 45-31 (2022).
Series notes: The two programs never met before joining the AAC. Tulane has a three-game winning streak in the series.
Last Week: Tulane def. Louisiana, 41-33; USF lost to Miami (FL), 50-15.
About Tulane: the Green Wave have spent their first four games breaking in redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah. Coach John Sumrall settled on him as the starter after a sharp rise in play during fall workouts. He’s been up-and-down, as one might expect. And while he only threw for 83 yards against Louisiana, he was a very efficient 11-of-17.
But against the Ragin’ Cajuns, Tulane found its groove with running back Makhi Hughes, who rushed for 166 yards and scored a touchdown. If Tulane is going to win the conference, it will be on his back, as he can gobble up yards by the hundreds every week.
Tulane still has some issues to work out on defense, but every week it comes up with a big play. Against Louisiana it was Jack Tchienchou’s 38-yard interception return for a touchdown, while Rayshawn Pleasant turned in a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Those big plays made up for the less-than-ideal yardage the Green Wave gave up last week.
About USF: The Bulls migrated to FBS in 2001 and incredibly they have never won a conference title.
Sure, they've ascended into the AP Top 25 several times, especially during their early Big East days under Jim Leavitt. But the only time USF came closest to either winning a conference title or getting into a conference title game was 2016, when Willie Taggart took them to a tie of their division in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls ended up losing the berth in the title game on a tiebreaker to Temple.
Since Leavitt’s reign ended in 2009, USF has gone through seven different head coaches, including two who were coaches on an interim basis.
Golesh has worked for some of the best coaches and some of the best programs in college football, including Ohio State, Iowa State and Tennessee. By bringing the young offensive mind to Tampa, the Bulls are saying that they're ready to win. And as USF prepare to build a new on-campus stadium for the 2027 season, the time to win is now.
Next Up: Tulane is at UAB on Oct. 5. USF is idle.
MATTHEW POSTINS