South Florida did every contender in the American Conference a major favor by beating Boise State, 35-7, in the 2025 season opener.
After one full week of action, Tulane and its fellow American Conference contenders have a much better chance already at earning the College Football Playoff berth as the top Group of Five team.
Tulane has the type of schedule that could aid its bid for that postseason spot.
That’s not to suggest Tulane has an easy schedule, but it is certainly manageable, especially since the Green Wave don’t have to face American contender Navy in the regular season, although the two could conceivably meet in the conference championship game.
Either way, Tulane got off to a flying start with a 23-3 win over Northwestern.
It never hurts to secure an opening win over a Big Ten team, although Northwestern was considered basically a bottom three squad in the 18-team league.
Still, it was Tulane’s first victory over a Big Ten team since 1956, which also came over Northwestern.
Plus, a loss would have been disastrous. The decisiveness of the win certainly bodes well for the Green Wave.
Tulane has a tricky non-conference game this week when visiting South Alabama (1-0). The Green Wave are a 10.5-point favorite via BetMGM.
The rest of the non-league schedule is also interesting. The Green Wave host Duke on Sept. 13. Duke’s quarterback Darian Mensah transferred after last season from none other than Tulane.
Then Tulane visits Ole Miss on Sept. 20. It wouldn’t be impossible for a 4-0 start, but even at 3-1 with a loss to Ole Miss wouldn’t be devastating.
Tulane’s offense was bolstered in late July by the addition of BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff. The fact that Retzlaff was only with Tulane about a month and operated effectively in the opener against Northwestern has to be encouraging for Tulane fans.
Retzlaff completed 18 of 31 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. His completion percentage would have been better had not Tulane dropped a number of catchable passes. Retzlaff ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
What’s going to happen once he has some time in Tulane’s offensive system?
Last season, he led BYU to an 11-2 record, completing 58% of his passes for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns, although he threw 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 417 yards and six touchdowns.
Besides the departure of Mensah, Tulane also lost one of the best running backs in the country, Makhi Hughes, who transferred to Oregon. But Louisville transfer Maurice Turner rushed for 86 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, in his debut.
The offense should be fine, but as Tulane showed against Northwestern, the defense may be its calling card.
Last year, Tulane led the nation in points off of turnovers with 92 and was tied for 27th with 22 caused turnovers. The Green Wave were up to their old ways against Northwestern, forcing five turnovers including four interceptions. They scored 17 points off turnovers. Against Northwestern, Javion White led the way with two interceptions.
This game indicated that Tulane has a chance to be dominant on both sides of the ball.
Tulane has been to the American Championship three straight years. In 2022, Tulane beat UCF 45-28 in the championship. The next season, the Green Wave fell to SMU 26-14, and last year Tulane lost to Army 35-14.
A fourth straight appearance is possible, and a potential CFP bid is there for the taking.
