Jack Tchienchou picked an opportune time to have his best game of his young career.
During Tulane’s 34-21 win over North Texas in the American Conference Championship, the Green Wave redshirt sophomore safety was all over the field making a variety of big plays.
Tchienchou led the defense with nine tackles, including eight solo. He also had a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception. That performance earned him the MVP honors for the championship game.
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Tchienchou became the first Tulane player with a forced fumble, fumble recovery, and interception in the same game since Trent Mackey in 2010.
That earned Tulane a spot in the College Football Playoff, where the Green Wave will visit Ole Miss on Saturday in a rematch of their regular season meeting that the Rebels won 45-10.
With the score tied 7-7 in the American Conference title matchup, Tchienchou made the game-altering play. After a complete pass to standout North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins, Tchienchou’s big hit forced a fumble and teammate LJ Green returned it 34 yards to the North Texas 37-yard line. Two plays later, Jamauri McClure followed a 30-yard gain with a 7-yard touchdown run, giving Tulane a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Tchienchou later recovered a fumble on a punt return that led to another Tulane touchdown.
In the championship game,Tchienchou tied his single-game career high in tackles. He also had nine in this season’s 24-17 home win over Army. The eight solo tackles also tied a career high. He also had eight in last year’s 45-37 win at North Texas.
It was the second straight year that he made his presence known in the American Conference Championship. During last year’s loss to Army, Tchienchou had eight tackles, which tied his season high in 2024.
Even in this year’s regular season loss at Ole Miss, Tchienchou shared the team lead in tackles with Kevin Adams III. Both recorded six tackles.
After beginning his career in 2023 at Troy, Tchienchou has become a productive player at Tulane, where he took a big step after a strong first season.
In 2024, when Tulane advanced to the American Conference Championship before losing to Army, Tchienchou appeared in 13 games and recorded 50 tackles (33 solo) with one interception and one pass breakup.
This season, Tchienchou was an All-American Conference first-team choice, one of two safeties selected. He enters the Ole Miss game with 77 tackles, including 50 solo.
He has two tackles for loss, two interceptions, and three pass breakups.
Tchienchou hopes his big-play ability can show up as the Green Wave look for a more competitive game in a rematch with Ole Miss.
