PFF Grades for Tulane-Southern Miss Improve
Tulane 2026 Football Schedule
Opponent | Time/Date | Result | Score | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
at Duke | 2:30PM, 9/5 | L | 17-3 | 0-1 |
Sou Alabama | 6PM, 9/12 | W | 28-24 | 1-1 |
@ K-State | 11AM, 9/19 | L | 31-20 | 1-2 |
Sou Miss | 6PM, 9/26 | W | 24-21 | 2-2 |
OPEN | 10/3 | -- | -- | -- |
@ Army | 11AM, 10/10 | |||
Memphis | 6:30PM, 10/16 | |||
UTSA | TBD, 10/24 | |||
@ Charlotte | 6PM, 10/30 | |||
Tulsa | TBD, 11/7 | |||
@ Rice | TBD, 11/14 | |||
Nor Texas | TBD, 11/21 | |||
@ Sou Fla | TBD, 11/27 |
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Tulane claimed the Battle for the Bell, 24-21, against their rival, Southern Miss, this past Saturday. As predicted by their coach Will Hall, we saw continued improvement by the team, albeit a slow rise in grading by PFF, with one exception on offense which saw a precipitous drop.
Using Pro Football Focus (PFF) as one source of data, we are able to compare the Tulane football team's progress. PFF has analysts watch and chart every player on every single snap of every game, giving them a grade from 0 to 100 based on how well they execute their assignment. Here is how PFF breaks down their scale:
- 90+: Elite
- 80–89: Good
- 70–79: Above average
- 60–69: Average
- 50–59: Below average / bad
- 40–49: Poor
- 39 or lower: Very poor / terrible
Though we are more specific when we cover professional teams, we do not refer to individual players for Tulane. We believe an 18 or 19-year old shouldn't be put on the spot in this way.
Note: PFF does not curve the grade from opponent to opponent. A team is graded solely on their performances in a particular game, no matter who they may be playing.
Offense Continues Improvement with One Exception
For the second time this season, the overall offensive numbers bumped up game-over-game. Versus Kansas State, the Tulane O had an overall grade of 69.9. Against Southern Miss, it improved to a PFF grade of 73.9. The team saw similar improvement when comparing their grades against Duke to their Week 2 opponent, South Alabama. Note: both USM and USA are Sun Belt Conference teams while Duke is from the ACC and K-State is from the Big 12.
The biggest jump for the Wave offensively was in pass blocking, where the Greenies climbed almost 20-points to a grade of 73.1. The run game continued to improve, as it has incrementally over all four games, pulling its highest numbers of the year at 79.9.
The biggest drop was in the PFF receiving category, where the Wave dropped to its lowest numbers of the year at 47.7. PFF credits the Wave with nine dropped passes in the contest. Head coach Will Hall referred to just that in his postgame media conference.
"We've got to play better. We've got to catch balls in the hands..."
Tulane D Also Shows Progress
The overall defensive grade for the Green Wave climbed a notch once again, bumping up a point from the K-State contest. Tulane graded out at 67.6 overall by PFF. Tackling continues to improve , as the Wave claimed its highest grade in the category, a 74.0 against Southern Miss, a complete turnaround from its season low of 28.8 in Week 1 against Duke. In fact, the numbers for the D improved in every category, except run defense, which dropped from a season high of 76.9 against K-State to a 63.2 versus USM.
Special Teams Bounce Back
After a drop against Kansas State in Week 3, the Green Wave special teams climbed back in PFF grading. That third of the game scored a season-high 68.4 against the Golden Eagles.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.