Time for Tulane Football to Fish or Cut Bait

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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

All the preliminaries are done. The non-conference games are over, and this is what we have seen thus far from the 2026 edition of Tulane football under first year coach Will Hall.

A Tulane team that staggered in its season opener against a Duke team that had the same level of talent.
That same TU team struggled to stay ahead of two Sun Belt opponents, though ultimately claiming victories over South Alabama and Southern Miss
Stood toe-to-toe with a solid Kansas State team before falling on the road
An offense that has shown little consistent rhythm in a running game that has so much promise or a passing game that has dynamic weapons
Four quarterbacks at one time or another on the field
A defense that bends-but-doesn't-break, then becomes a sieve, especially where running quarterbacks are concerned
An offensive and defensive front that has gotten better as the year has worn on.
A special teams unit whose young, local legs are shining

There have been school record-setting performances in 2026.

Not one, but two 200-yard performances in Yulman Stadium by two different running backs
A school record 58-yard field goal by a freshman kicker
Game-in and game-out punts by a local kid who no one gave a second glance at, except the coaches.

Truth be told, the above zeniths excepted, this has been a middle-of-the-road kind of year four games in.

In a season with so much promise, it has been one of miscommunications on both the offensive and defensive sides, a shuffling of quarterbacks with none taking the helm (more on that in a moment), lack of usage of dynamic weapons on offense such as Fat Hill, the loss of your star linebacker probably for the year, a lack of defensive backfield coverage.

One of the main reasons of why the Green Wave stands 2-2 after four games is a lack of consistent play at quarterback. We were told by head coach Will Hall by words or actions,

that four quarterbacks were vying for the top spot, Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, Kadin Semonza, Trace Johnson, and Dagan Bruno,
that a future Michael Pratt or Darian Mensa was on this team (though never said, it was assumed to be Johnson),
that Semonza and Chriss-Gremillion were eventually named as the top two,
that Zeon won the job (though I picked Semonza out of those two),
that thirty minutes into the Duke game, Zeon was benched for Semonza (we haven't seen hide nor hair out of Zeon on the field since then),
that Semonza stagnated, giving way to the freshman Trace Johnson who would lead the Wave to a victory against Southern Miss,
except that a fourth quarterback would have to be used in the final drive of the game for Tulane, as Bruno came on to run an option to seal the deal and pick up a first down (because Johnson couldn't run the option the way Bruno can)

The lack of continuity at the most important position on a football team has led to the dearth of inclusion of game-breakers like the aforementioned Hill, or Good Hands people like Garrett Mmahat, or uncharacteristic drops by Anthony Brown-Stephens. There have been flashes of something from tight ends and second string receivers, but there has been no consistent connection with the receiving stars of this team.

Defensively, we believed this would be the strength of this team going into game one. Need an example? Just look at the first four possessions by Southern Miss two Saturdays ago. Not only was there constant pressure and tight-as-a-coat-of-paint coverage, I saw the hardest hits of the year in those attempted drives by the Golden Eagles. Then, USM made adjustments, and all those good defensive vibes stopped. What returned was slack coverage, no quarterback pressure. and allowing a Sun Belt team to almost win a game Tulane should have run away with.

Hall has said his team has not played the way they should, that this team hasn't played up to its potential yet.

I agree.

Hall has said his team and his coaches need to improve.

Again, agree.

That he takes the blame and that it will get better.

We heard the same things from Jon Sumrall after mindless defeats in games the Wave should have won. By the way, we also heard it from that same Sumrall after his Florida team got smacked by Missouri this past weekend.

So, it's time, Tulane. Time to fish or cut bait...to walk the walk...to go hard or go home...to show or go.

It's time to put up or shut up when you visit Army this Saturday morning at West Point.

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