Ranking Tulane Green Wave Football's Toughest Opponents in 2025
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Heading into his second year as the head coach of the Tulane Green Wave football program, head coach Jon Sumrall will face a multitude of high-level competition on the gridiron in 2025.
In his first year at the helm in New Orleans, Sumrall led his team to a 8-4 regular season record and the school's third consecutive appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship game.
With a full season competing under the bright lights of Yulman Stadium, Sumrall now faces a plethora of new challenges on the road leading to the 2025 season opener. Tulane has lost a multitude of star athletes to the 2025 NFL Draft and the transfer portal, including starting quarterback Darian Mensah who now resides as the QB1 at Duke.
It is way too early to count out Sumrall and the Green Wave, however. Brick-by-brick the program has built a foundation of success in the Big Easy. In 2024, Tulane also notched the consecutive winning season dating back to the historic 2022 season which ended with a Green Wave victory over USC in the Cotton Bowl.
Now, it is time for Sumrall and his team to turn the page and focus on the mission ahead, and it is never too early to dive into the top-three toughest opponents Tulane will face on the gridiron in 2025.
1. Sept. 20, 2025 at No. 25 Ole Miss
Undoubtedly the toughest game on Tulane's schedule this season is against one of the most explosive offenses in the Southeastern Conference.
Head coach Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels are coming off another nine-win season in 2024, which featured numerous victories over top-ranked foes such as then-ranked No. 2 Georgia at Vaught Hemingway and No. 15 South Carolina at Columbia, South Carolina. Kiffin's high-flying offense ranked as the third-best scoring offense in the country and also ranked in the top five with a defensive stop rate of 75.9%.
The Green Wave and Rebels last met in 2023, when Ole Miss came to New Orleans and pulled off a win over the Olive and Blue, 37-20, in a contest that Tulane grasped for the majority of the first three quarters before the team from Oxford, Miss., pulled away.
With an early contest against arguably one of the most talent-filled rosters in the SEC heading into the new year, the Green Wave have a perfect opportunity to be an early spoiler for the Rebels who are chasing the program's first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. A big performance from the Tulane defense will play a key-role in this matchup in the Vaught.
2. Date TBA at Memphis
For the 19th time in school history, Tulane will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, to face the AAC rival Memphis Tigers following the contest at Ole Miss. With integral AAC Championship implications, this matchup will be circled on the Green Wave's calendar heading into 2025.
Between Army and Memphis, this was a tough decision placing the Tigers into this second spot for the toughest opponent heading into the new year. However, there is not enough respect going around for the job Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield has done in the last six years with the program in the Mid-South.
In 2023, Silverfield led the Tigers to a 10-3 record after defeating the Iowa State Cyclones, 36-26, in the Liberty Bowl. The 10-win season was only the fifth in program history and the fourth bowl victory over Silverfield's career secured his spot at the top of Memphis history with the most in that category.
Tulane dropped a close 34-24 contest to the Tigers at Yulman last season and will seek revenge against the Green Wave's top conference rival. Memphis currently holds a 15-3 home record over Tulane dating back to 1977, which is something Sumrall will likely prepare his team for heading into the third road contest of 2025.
3. Date TBA vs. Army
The departure of quarterback Bryson Daily plays a huge role in Army's position on this list. Do not count out head coach Jeff Monken in his 11th year at the helm for the Black Knights.
Monken secured one of the school's best season in over a decade with a 12-2 record and wins over Tulane in the AAC Championship and Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl last year. The program is losing a significant amount of offensive production heading into 2025 and are looking to replace some key pieces to make another postseason appearance.
As the program's lack of reliance on the transfer portal can rare its' ugly head this season, Army has an incredible football mind at the helm to lead them to historic heights again this season.
Not if the Green Wave have anything to say about it, however. It will likely consist of a battle between two incredible offensive minds battling for the top spot in the AAC in 2025.
