Tulane Green Wave Writer Details 10 Best Games at Yulman Stadium in History

Celebrating 10 years for the Tulane Green Wave at Yulman Stadium, a writer detailed the 10 best games played there.

Dec 3, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; General outside view of Yulman Stadium on an overcast day before the game between the Tulane Green Wave and the UCF Knights at Yulman Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

On September 6th, 2014, the Tulane Green Wave christened a new home, Yulman Stadium. They hosted Georgia Tech in the opener in what ended up being a highly disappointing outcome in a 38-21 loss.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary, the Green Wave will be welcoming the highest-ranked opponent to New Orleans. In Week 2 of the 2024 college football season, Tulane is facing off against the No. 17 ranked Kansas State Wildcats out of the Big 12. 

It can be argued that this is one of the biggest games in Yulman Stadium history. Fans will be ready to provide their team with a homefield advantage.

That got Guerry Smith of NOLA.com thinking. What are the best games that have been played in the history of Yulman Stadium? He shared the 10 best, based on a few different criteria such as significance, quality and drama.

Coming in at No. 1 on the list was their American Athletic Championship victory over UCF on December 2nd, 2022. A victory over the two-time defending Cincinnati Bearcats was needed to make this one possible.

The Green Wave made the most of this opportunity. They destroyed the Knights 45-28. Running back Tyjae Spears, who is now with the Tennessee Titans in the NFL, had a memorable 60-yard run to help get the win.

Tulane fell just short of being back-to-back champions, as they lost to SMU in the 2023 game 26-14 at home.

The No. 2 game on the list was from 2019. Facing a 28-7 deficit, the Green Wave had an incredible comeback against the Houston Cougars. The execution of a trick play is something fans will remember for a long time.

“...Tulane allowed a tying field goal with 21 seconds left and appeared ready to settle for OT when it lined up as if to take a knee from its own 29-yard line. Instead, Justin McMillan stuck the ball between upback Amari Jones' legs, and after waiting a beat, Jones ran around the left side for an 18-yard gain on a trick play former offensive coordinator Will Hall called “kneel.” McMillan then hit Jalen McCleskey for a 53-yard catch and run for the dramatic winning TD with three seconds left,” Smith wrote.

Three of the games on the list were actually losses. No. 4 was also against UCF in a game that ESPN’s College GameDay strongly considered heading to New Orleans for.

Both teams were ranked at a Tulane home game for the first time since 1949, but they opted to go to TCU vs. Texas. They missed a great game between two stellar teams with the Knights winning 38-31 on November 12th, 2022.

The second loss on the list, No. 6 overall, was last season. On September 9th, 2023, Ole Miss came to play in front of a sold-out Yulman Stadium. A 17-10 halftime lead for the Green Wave disappeared as they lost 37-20 in a game much closer than the score indicated.

The final loss in the top 10 was on September 19th, 2020. Smith called it, “simply the worst loss of the Fritz era,” Tulane lost 27-24 to Navy, blowing a 24-0 halftime lead. To make matters worse, it was televised on ABC for all to witness.