Tulane Football Schedule Breakdown: Southern Mississippi

Tulane Football 2026 Schedule

Week 1 - at Duke, September 5
Week 2 - South Alabama, September 12
Week 3 - at Kansas State, September 19
Week 4 - Southern Miss, September 26
Week 5 - OPEN DATE, October 3
Week 6 - at Army, October 10
Week 7 - Memphis, October 16
Week 8 - UTSA, October 24
Week 9 - at Charlotte, October 30
Week 10 - Tulsa, November 7
Week 11 - at Rice, November 14
Week 12 - North Texas, November 21
Week 13 - at South Florida, November 27

Travelling to Durham week one, a Mardi Gras showdown of sorts in week two, and a rough travel to Kansas State is what awaits the Green Wave for the first three weekends of the 2026 season.

Following that tough three week venture, Tulane will want to seek some breathing room when the Southern Miss Golden Eagles travel to Yulman for week four.

Like Looking in a Mirror

While the Green Wave goes through their own quarterback competition, the Golden Eagles have a three-way battle of their own.

Having one less candidate, Southern Miss seems to have come down to a quarterback who's put himself at the forefront of the conversation, Ethan Hampton.

However, Hampton went down with an injury this past Saturday. It was nothing 'structural,' so the Wave will likely have to prepare for Hampton come week three.

Hampton is entering his sixth year of college football, and he's fresh off of back-to-back transfers in 2025 and 2026. From Illinois in 2025 to Southern Miss in 2026, Hampton is looking to have a leap in production compared to former years.

His best year came when he was at Northern Illinois in 2024, throwing for 1,600-yards, 12 TDs, 6 interceptions, and 2 rushing touchdowns with a 123.9 rating.

That's a decent year for the Elburn, Illinois native, but USM will need him to cut back on the turnovers (21-15 TD-INT ratio [career]) if they wish to bounce back from a lack luster season.

So Many Questions

With a medically retired offensive lineman, as well as a somewhat split running back room between sophomore Robert Henderson and senior Robert Briggs, the offense has several questions regarding its structure.

What isn't a question is their wide receiver room, as it's led by veterans Kaden Saunders and Davis Dalton, as well as Wingate University transfer, Jaylen Himes.

Described as one of the 'deeper' rooms Southern Miss can access, the receiver room has grit, experience, and determination. The problem is literally everything else.

A split backfield isn't bad in particular, but having an offensive lineman medically retire one month before the season isn't the most ideal situation to be in.

They managed to bolster their depth with additions like Aloali'i Maui and Greg Nunnery Jr, but medically retired Brock Roman brought a lot of experience to the line, and Southern Miss was hoping he could be an essential pillar in that room.

A Fired Up Defense

The DB room over at Southern Miss has been described as 'feeding off each other.' That sense of community is vital for defenses to keep their shape, communication is everything after all.

They're described as coming into their mold as a group. Their mental toughness and grit has really come into shape midway through fall camp.

Improving their linebacker room with a good transfer in Mario Williams Jr has helped the team 'feel comfortable' with the brains of the defense.

Winning back Jameer Lewis after an NCAA eligibility issue has also helped the Golden Eagles feel better about their defense.

Promising Staff Changes

Southern Miss head coach, Blake Anderson, was a solid hire after he served as the interim head coach last year for their bowl game.

He's gone 74-55 with one 10-win season as a head coach with Arkansas State and Utah state previously. His decent background along with being an in-house hire gives the Golden Eagles both reassurance and familiarity going into 2026.

It wasn't just the head coaching position that saw changes this past December, as when Anderson was hired, he promoted Joe Bolden to defensive coordinator.

Bolden bounced around as a special teams coordinator to several teams (Nevada, Tulsa, and Southern Miss), so this will be his first stint as a defensive coordinator. His unproven pedigree will give the Golden Eagles a curious defense

They'll be looking to improve after a less than optimal performance last year, allowing 28 points, 410-yards, and nearly 200 yards per game last year. If they'll want to tussle with the Wave, they'll need to dominate the trenches and get after Tulane's deep running back room.

Joining these two is Kyle Cefalo as offensive coordinator. Cefalo has proven pedigree in passing offense, as he led multiple high powered offenses with Arkansas State and Utah State.

His elevation to the spot also came after Anderson was hired as head coach, so it's clear that Anderson knew what he wanted before he even took the position.

In that, they've been trying to build something across the state border, however, it'll be a tall task if they wish to overcome the Wave at Yulman.

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