ULM set for homecoming dance with familiar foe

Just a week ago, Saturday’s matchup between LSU and Texas A&M looked poised to be a top-10 showdown in Tiger Stadium. The Tigers were off to a solid start after throttling Clemson in the season opener and the Aggies were coming off of their first College Football Playoff season and a 10-2 season. Unfortunately, Ole Miss and Kentucky had other plans. The Rebels took down Lane Kiffin in his return to Oxford, albeit by surviving a furious comeback by the Tigers. As for Texas A&M, they suffered a 10-point loss at home to the Wildcats. That’s right, University of Kentucky went in to Kyle Field in College Station as 17 point underdogs and beat the Aggies by double digits. Both teams fell to 2-1 and some, not all, of the mystique that was surrounding this game had faded away. I said “some”, because this is still a massive game. LSU only dropped to #10 and that’s understandable, considering that their loss came on the road to another top-10 team in a hostile environment and with the best quarterback in the country. As for Texas A&M, it’s hard to justify them staying in the top-25 at all, but, alas, they remain at #23. The loser of this game is in big trouble. Suffering a second loss before the calendar flips to October is essentially a death sentence for playoff hopes. It wouldn’t be possible, but it would be highly unlikely. The winner can get back on track and regroup. Losing a game in the first month of the season isn’t ideal, but you can survive it. There are a lot of parallels between these two teams. They each have quarterbacks that have struggled with accuracy, missing throws that they shouldn’t miss. Those quarterbacks are both playing behind questionable offensive lines that have each seen mid-game replacements. They’ll both likely send out a different starting-five than they have for the first three games of the season. Their highly talented defensive lines were negated in losses. Finally, both put a lot of resources in to making the CFP this season. For LSU, patience is key. It’s year 1 under Kiffin and while the program invested a lot of money in to this roster to compete, expecting them to make the playoff immediately is a tall task. Is it possible? Absolutely. It’s not an indictment on the new staff’s potential if they don’t, though. As for Texas A&M, they are coming off of a season in which they started 11-0, before losing to their bitter rival, Texas, in the season finale. They earned the #7 seed and hosted what was their first ever playoff game. After being tied 3-3 for 58 minutes of that game, Miami scored a touchdown with 1:44 left in the game and pulled off the upset before making a run to the national championship. A season, that was becoming historic for the Aggie program, suddenly crashed in to a wall with back-to-back losses. Still, it was a remarkable campaign for Mike Elko in only his second season, but that led to high hopes for 2026. Marcel Reed is now a senior with over a full season of experience as an SEC starter, which is why Texas A&M was ranked #8 coming in to the year. They hope that the Kentucky game was the outlier, but unfortunately for them, a Saturday night in Death Valley is a one of the last follow-ups that they’d want to see on their schedule, despite Reed’s success against LSU the past few years. LSU offense vs. Texas A&M defense Passing game The Tigers come in with three major questions. First, and most importantly is, can Sam Leavitt settle down and find his accuracy? We talked about his shortcomings against Ole Miss last week. He was frantic early and that led to most of his night being erratic. The main reason for his jitteriness leads to our second question. Can the offensive line protect better? Against the Rebels, the pass protection, as a unit, graded out with a 41.8 PFF grade. That’s unacceptable. Kiffin has mentioned potential shakeups could be coming. The first two spots to look will be at left guard for Bo Bordelon and right tackle for Weston Davis. While I don’t expect Aliou Bah to be replaced this week, he needs to be better, as well. Finally, the last question is who steps up in Trey’Dez Green’s absence. No one needs a written explanation of how important he is. He will be out, likely for a few weeks, so someone has to step up. Winnie Watkins and Eugene Wilson III have been Leavitt’s two other most targeted receivers, but someone else needs to step up. They’ve tried to get Jackson Harris involved, so could it be him? Does Jayce Brown finally get more opportunities? Maybe Malik Elzy gets back on the field consistently. Regardless of who it is, someone has to step up. Mike Elko’s defense has been far from their dominant self that we watched in 2025. While ranked 7 th in the SEC with 281.3 yards allowed per game, it’s been their struggles at times against the better competition that they’ve seen. We spoke with Billy Liucci on Wednesday’s episode of Geaux Deep Dive and he told us that the most surprising things have been the lack of physicality up front and the miscommunication in the secondary. As a team, the Aggies only have 3 sacks this season. That’s last in the SEC. The guys to watch are defensive ends TJ Searcy and Marco Jones, each having 1.0 sacks. Anto Saka is another name to watch out for. The secondary has guys like Dez Ricks, which is a name LSU fans should be familiar with. He was a 5-star coming out of high school and younger brother to Eli Ricks, who became a Freshman All-American and Second-Team All-SEC in his one season with the Tigers. He transferred to Alabama the next year and Dez followed him, before transferring to Texas A&M following his freshman season. Julian Humphrey and Dalton Brooks are both former 4-stars, but for whatever reason, it’s been a struggle this season. They are suffering busted coverage far too often, which led to Kentucky receivers running wide open last week. Running game Dilin Jones has had two really good games with a mediocre one in-between. He broke 100 yards rushing against Clemson and Ole Miss, but had a much slower performance against Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs did a phenomenal job of bottling him up in the first half of LSU’s offensive struggles with 10 carries for just 3 yards. Last week against the Rebels, it was Jones who started finding holes, which led to the entire offense getting going. Texas A&M has been fairly pedestrian against the run this season. Coming in ranked #8 in rush defense, the Aggies are allowing 102.7 yards per game. Last week, Kentucky gashed them over and over. CJ Baxter finished with 19 carries for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. All together, the Wildcat running backs combined for 27 carries for 159 yards and a 5.9 yards per carry average. The three backs that took a carry each had long runs of 16, 22, and 14 yards. Texas A&M’s defensive line has been getting pushed around and that’s extremely surprising for an Elko defense. There’s no doubt about it, the best way to help Sam Leavitt settle down is by establishing the run earlier in the game. In the first three games, LSU has called only two running plays combined on each of their opening drives. I would fully expect that to change on Saturday night. Look for Charlie Weis Jr. to get Jones involved early, taking some of the pressure off of the now limited passing attack that’s missing Trey’Dez Green. LSU defense vs. Texas A&M offense Passing game After shutting down Chris Vizzina, Tait Reynolds, and LA Tech’s Blake Baker through the first two weeks, Trinidad Chambliss brought the Tiger pass defense back down to earth. They come in ranked 8 th in the SEC, allowing 203.7 yards per game. After two solid performances in coverage, PJ Woodland was picked on against Ole Miss. He was targeted 7 times, the most of anyone on the defense, and allowed 4 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. DJ Pickett, on the other side, allowed just one less catch and the same yardage. To be fair, some of those receptions allowed came in soft zone coverage, which is not what either cornerback is best at. While the Aggie offense has been highly disappointing as a whole, Marcel Reed’s throwing ability is a cause for concern for Texas A&M fans. They’re only averaging 222.7 yards per game through the air, which is 14 th in the SEC. That’s just slightly more than LSU’s defense has allowed per game and they had to face the top quarterback in the country on his home field. Reed’s 59.6% completion percentage is far too low, especially when you watch him miss wide open throws. It’s not like he doesn’t have the ability to make the throws, considering we saw him do it against teams like Notre Dame in South Bend against a Marcus Freeman defense. It’s a big night for Woodland and Pickett. They’ll face off with two good receivers in Mario Craver and Isaiah Horton. Craver’s 19 receptions are 2 nd in the SEC. Neither have been able to find the big play, though. Their longest catches of the season are 33 and 36 yards, respectively, along with yards per catch averages of 10.2 and 14.2 yards per catch. It appears as if the Aggies could get back Ashton Bethel-Roman, who has been battling an injury through the first three games. Although he only has 2 receptions for 13 yards in limited time this year, he caught 5 touchdowns and over 500 yards in 2025. The biggest difference in this year’s LSU defense compared to last season is the pass rush. The Tigers are ranked #1 in the SEC with 16 sacks and that could disrupt Reed. He’s been able to glide around and take off the past two years, so the pressure from guys like Princewill Umanmielen and Jordan Ross off the edge will present a new challenge. True freshman, Deuce Geralds, is second on the team with 2.0 sacks behind Umanmielen’s 6.0. Pressure up the middle can disrupt the best of the best quarterbacks, so his impact could be felt, as well. Running game There isn’t a better run defense in the country than LSU. That’s not hyperbole, either. Blake Baker’s unit is ranked #1 in the entire country, allowing just 33.0 yards per game. Although he exited the game halfway through the 3 rd quarter, Kewan Lacy was being shut down. He had 9 carries for 43 yards with a 4.8 yards per carry average, but 22 of those came on one run. Ole Miss ran for only 63 yards. Even Reed’s running ability has been less effective than a year ago. His 117 yards through three games feels low, especially considering that he has the potential to get that in one game. Rueben Owens is their primary running back, coming in to the game with 186 yards rushing and a 4.1 yards per carry average. He’s only found the end zone once. As a whole, the Aggies rank #10 in the conference with an average of 171.7 yards per game. This is probably the most important part of the game on Saturday night. Can LSU keep Marcel Reed contained. They’ve failed the past two seasons, leading to Reed publicly expressing his confidence in playing the Tigers. He ran for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns last year, following up his 62 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns in 2024 in a game in which he only played the second half. Mobile quarterbacks have been the bugaboo for Blake Baker, despite how elite of a defensive coordinator he is. It has to change on Saturday night. The biggest difference in this year’s game is having Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery. Weeks missed the game last year with his ankle injury, having to watch his defense chase the back of Reed’s #10 jersey all night. With those two on the field, this could be the chance to turn the tide. Prediction LSU is favored by 8.5 points and I honestly believe that is too much. I understand that Texas A&M just lost to Kentucky at home by 10, but the core of the team that made the playoff a year ago is still there. Will it come together on Saturday night? Who knows, because it’s not guaranteed that it will ever happen. It could happen, though, and that’s what makes these early season games so tough to predict in the first month of the season. With that being said, I believe the Tigers win this game. I believe that the additions of TJ Dottery and Princewill Umanmielen, along with Whit Weeks being on the field, will be the difference in limiting Marcel Reed. I have faith that Sam Leavitt will show more composure, as he’s put in good positions by Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. LSU – 31 Texas A&M - 24

Week 3 is upon us and the Saints make their home debut against the Las Vegas Raiders. This matchup against the Raiders should be an interesting one as both teams are trying to prove they are capable of being more than just being competitive and plucky this season. Saints fans should recognize Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak from his time with the team in 2024. He has the Raiders off to a good start with a 2-0 record with wins against the Dolphins and Chargers respectively. Meanwhile the Saints are coming into this game with a 1-1 record after a thrilling, comeback win against the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. Here is what we should expect to see in this game. The Raiders are expecting the return of tight end Brock Bowers for this game if everything checks out in pre game warmups and his presence will make defending the Raiders even more challenging. Brock Bowers is one of the best at his position and is capable of making a big play on any down. Brandon Staley will have his hands full this week trying to slow him down. Brock Bowers’ presence alone will help boost the Raiders offense who likes to be balanced in running the ball and utilizing play action to take shots down the field. The Raiders have talented running back Ashton Jeanty who is looking to have a bounce back campaign after not having the rookie season he was expecting. If the Saints are able to slow down Bowers and Jeanty they will give themselves a good chance to win on defense. On offense the Saints will look to continue their success passing the ball but improve their production running the ball against the Raiders. The Saints currently rank near the top of most team passing metrics and rank among the worst in most team rushing metrics. The Saints have to start running the ball better given all the investments made to be able to do so on the team. The Raiders however are showing a much improved defensive unit so far this season after the additions they made in free agency and the draft. But the main player the Saints will need to keep in check is Max Crosby. Crosby can absolutely be a game wrecker if not planned accordingly. With the injury to Kelvin Banks the Saints will have to tread lightly in how they account for Crosby. Before the season started when looking at the schedule I highlighted this game as a favorable stretch of games for the Saints based on how the previous season went for some of these teams. But early in the season you quickly get a sense of who is legit and who is not and we are starting to approach that point in the coming weeks. So far the Saints have been about what I expected after two tough games against the Lions and Ravens. If they want to continue the momentum they have been building these last two games, putting pressure on the opposing team by putting the ball in the endzone in the first half would be a good place to start. Preferably by being productive running the ball. Comeback victories are thrilling and enjoyable but you cannot play winning football by needing a comeback in every game you play. Let’s see if the Saints can get off to a better start and make those improvements this weekend against the Raiders. Raiders Injury Report Brock Bowers (TE) - Questionable Aidan O’Connell (QB) - Questionable Treydan Stukes - (DB) - Out Kwity Paye (Edge) - Questionable Saints Injury Report Barion Brown (WR&RS) - Out Martin Emerson (CB) - Questionable Christen Miller (DT) - Out

The 2-1 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns are back on the road this weekend, this time heading to the East Coast to face the 0-3 Charlotte 49ers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 6:30pm ET (5:30pm in Louisiana) at Jerry Richardson Stadium. This will be the first meeting between the Cajuns and 49ers, with Louisiana entering as a 10-point road favorite. It will also be the final non-conference game of the regular season for both teams before conference play begins. Louisiana is coming off a narrow 21-14 victory over UAB last weekend, one that was largely won by its defense. The Cajuns limited the Blazers to just 11 first downs and held them to 17% on third down while not allowing a single fourth-down conversion. Safety Collin Jacob earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording six tackles, an interception and a forced fumble on fourth down late in the game that ultimately sealed the win for Louisiana. It was a hard-earned performance by the entire defense, especially considering UAB entered the game averaging 230 rushing yards per game through its first two games. Louisiana held the Blazers to just 74 yards on the ground. Charlotte, on the other hand, has had an interesting start to the season. Yes, the 49ers are 0-3, but they have been within reach of getting a win or two. They started the season at home against The Citadel, losing 43-41 in triple overtime despite finishing with 538 yards of offense. Charlotte then traveled to Ole Miss and lost 41-9 before facing App State last weekend, where the 49ers made a late push but ultimately fell 26-21. Charlotte’s quarterback, sixth-year senior Cole Gonzales, and his receiving corps have been explosive at times, which has helped keep the 49ers in games. Gonzales has completed roughly 66% of his passes through three games, while Jaylen Hampton and Jaden Barnes have combined for nearly 400 receiving yards. The problem has been consistency. Gonzales has thrown five interceptions compared with three touchdowns, and Charlotte’s passing game has struggled when the offense gets put into obvious passing situations. On the ground, Khamani Alexander has been the lead man for Charlotte. The 49ers are averaging just under 132 rushing yards per game, although that number is helped by Alexander’s 138-yard performance against The Citadel. Over the last two games, he has been held to just 30 yards on 19 carries. That may be one of the biggest matchups to watch Saturday. Louisiana just held UAB to 74 rushing yards, while Charlotte is coming off a game where it managed only 36 yards on the ground against App State. If the Cajuns can force Charlotte to become one-dimensional, it could make things difficult for Gonzales and the 49ers offense. Shelton Sampson Jr. and Trenton Chaney Back in Lineup Louisiana should get getting some help back offensively. Shelton Sampson Jr. and Trenton Chaney both left the season opener against Lamar with ankle injuries and have not played since. Both are listed on this week’s depth chart, although neither is listed as a starter. Coach Michael Desormeaux said Wednesday that both are probable to play, but the plan is to ease them back into the rotation rather than immediately giving them a full workload. That should still be a welcomed addition for a Cajuns passing game that has struggled to consistently get the football downfield to its wide receivers. Landon Strother returned last week against UAB after a fall camp injury and had five catches for 41 yards, including a 29-yard reception. Now adding Sampson and Chaney back into the mix gives Lunch Winfield a few more options heading into conference play. Tight end Caden Jensen is also back on the depth chart after suffering an injury against Lamar and is listed behind Brock Chappell. Keys to the Game 1. Get the Running Game Going Early Lunch Winfield has been the biggest part of Louisiana’s offense through three games, and much of that has come from what he can do with his legs. He is averaging nearly 90 rushing yards per game and has already scored five touchdowns on the ground. Winfield rushed for 91 yards against USC before following that with another 91 yards and two touchdowns against UAB. Louisiana as a team is averaging just over 200 rushing yards per game. That should once again be the starting point Saturday. Charlotte allowed The Citadel to rush for nearly 270 yards in the season opener, and while the 49ers have been better since then, Louisiana should still have an opportunity to establish itself on the ground with Winfield, Steven Blanco, Anthony Reagan Jr. and the rest of the backfield. If UL can consistently pick up four or five yards on early downs, it also takes pressure off a passing game that is still trying to find its footing. 2. Pressure Charlotte Into Difficult Third Downs Louisiana’s defense has essentially played lights out at home so far this season. Through games against Lamar and UAB, the Cajuns have allowed just one offensive touchdown. Now the question becomes whether that can carry over to the road. Charlotte has shown that it can create explosive plays, especially through the air, but its offense has been much less effective when the running game disappears. That is where Louisiana needs to take advantage. Stop the run early, force Charlotte into second-and-long and third-and-long situations, and make Gonzales beat you consistently through the air. He has made some impressive throws this season, but his five interceptions also show that he can be forced into mistakes. Louisiana has already intercepted five passes through three games. If the Cajuns can get pressure on Gonzales without constantly having to bring extra defenders, it would allow the secondary to focus on Hampton, Barnes and the rest of Charlotte’s receivers. Final Prediction: Louisiana 31, Charlotte 16 Charlotte’s 0-3 record is a little deceiving. The 49ers were two points away from beating The Citadel and were still within striking distance late against App State, so I don’t think this is a team Louisiana should overlook. They, just like UAB, have fight in them. That said, I think the biggest difference Saturday will be Louisiana’s ability to run the football and Charlotte’s struggles to consistently stop it. The Cajuns are averaging more than 200 rushing yards per game, while Winfield has become one of the most dangerous parts of that rushing attack. Between him and Louisiana’s rotation of running backs, I think UL should be able to wear Charlotte down as the game progresses. Defensively, the goal should be pretty simple: don’t allow Charlotte to establish the run and make Gonzales beat you through the air for four quarters. Charlotte will probably hit a few big plays. Hampton and Barnes are good enough to create some problems for Louisiana’s secondary, especially if Gonzales gets time in the pocket. But I have a hard time seeing the 49ers consistently sustaining drives if the Cajuns can force them into obvious passing situations. I expect Charlotte to keep things competitive early, especially playing at home, but ultimately Louisiana’s rushing attack and defense should be too much. They have played tremendously well so far this season, outside of that USC game. The return of Sampson, Chaney and Jensen should also give Louisiana a chance to start expanding the passing game a little more before conference play begins. Give me UL 31-16 as the Cajuns improve to 3-1 and wrap up non-conference play with a win before returning home to begin Sun Belt play against Arkansas State. 

Angel Reese's brother in the Big Easy

Battle For The Bell! Saturday, September 26, 2026 6:00 p.m. CT Yulman Stadium ESPN+ Hall of Fame night in Uptown. Southern Miss leads the all-time series 24-10. They walked into this building in 2022 and left with a 27-24 win. Tulane answered 21-3 in Hattiesburg in 2023. The Wave’s last home win in this series was 2002. Both teams are 1-2. Tulane is an 18.5-point favorite. The Wave just took Kansas State the distance after the Duke punch and the South Alabama escape. Southern Miss beat Alcorn State 49-3, then got manhandled 43-8 at Auburn and 48-20 by UConn. Will Hall faces the program that fired him. He will not make it about him. Saturday night should. Can the Wave finally take the Bell back at home? Sponsor: @RedshirtLtd http://Redshirtltd.com CODE: RDW = 10% Off The Best Tulane Licensed Lids Around! Tulane Green Wave: Year 1 of the Will Hall era. Ugly 17-3 opener at Duke. Necessary 28-24 home win when Jaylin Lucas ran for 214 and Kadin Semonza hit Destyn Hill with 1:17 left. Then a 31-20 road loss at Kansas State that was closer than the first two weeks and still not enough. Semonza is the starter. 38-of-69, 517 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT through three games. He also has a rushing TD and too many sacks. 10 carries for -27 at K-State. Roster reality heading into Saturday night: The Wave still cannot stay on the field on defense. Third down remains the wound. K-State converted enough of them for Avery Johnson to take the game over with his legs. Tulane allowed 6 sacks and finished with 260 total yards. What remains is still Wave culture: Lucas has 215 yards on 18 carries. The USA explosion was real. The K-State night was not. Maurice Turner gave them a spark in Manhattan (64 rush, 25-yard TD catch). Johnnie Daniels has two short TDs. Destyn Hill is 9-158-1. Jamauri McClure (foot) has not played in any of the three games. Zycarl Lewis Jr. is questionable (leg). If McClure is not ready again, Lucas / Turner / Daniels have to finish drives against a defense that has been gashed on the ground. Southern Miss Golden Eagles: Year 1 of Blake Anderson. Seventy-four new players! They flattened Alcorn State, then found out the rest of the schedule is not Alcorn State. They are 1-2 after 43-8 at Auburn and 48-20 vs UConn. Anderson called it getting manhandled. Starting QB Ethan Hampton is out (throwing hand). Same hand he bruised in camp. Anderson does not expect him to play. Landry Lyddy gets the offense this week. 20-of-33, 265 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. He threw for 194 in the second half vs UConn, including a 56-yarder to Mario Sanders. Steven Robinson is the problem if Tulane does not set the edge. 56-246-4. Jamarice Wilder has 120 and 2 scores. Sanders is the WR1: 16-233-1. USM defense has allowed 220 rushing yards per game and 31.3 points. That is the number that should keep Hall’s group from getting cute. Both teams have questions. Only one of them is playing at home with a two-score line and a chance to put a bad three weeks behind them. Southern Miss offense vs Tulane defense Anderson and Kyle Cefalo will want to run Robinson and play-action off it. QB Hampton is out. This is Lyddy’s operation. He can push it downfield. He also turned it over once vs UConn and this Tulane defense has to make him live in obvious passing downs. The run committee: Steven Robinson 246 yards, 4 rushing TDs, plus a receiving score. Workhorse. Not a home-run back so much as a volume back who will take what you give him between the tackles. Jamarice Wilder is the change of pace. 120 yards, 2 TDs, 5.2 a carry. Receivers: Mario Sanders 16-233-1. The 56-yarder vs UConn is the tape. MJ Johnson 7-103. AJ Little 11-101. Grant Page has a 33-yard catch from Lyddy. Tulane’s 4-2-5 under Tayler Polk / Nate Fuqua just watched Avery Johnson run for 152 and two scores. Before that, Nate Sheppard gouged them for 227 at Duke and South Alabama held the ball for 37 minutes. Chris Rodgers (left leg) is out and would’ve played a huge role for spying on Avery. Makai Williams has stepped up. Dickson Agu is still the tackling machine. Jack Tchienchou is still the defensive leader. Kevin Adams III is right there with him. Ed Smith IV, Kameron Hamilton, and the young ends have to set the edge against Robinson/Wilder and keep Lyddy from extending. We’re about to hit Conf play and I believe the young edges are heating up! Through three games the pass rush has been too quiet. Dalton Hughes rushing the passer could still be a fun option, if healthy. If Robinson gets 20 carries on schedule, this becomes a 60-minute possession game and Yulman gets quiet. If Tulane wins first down and forces Lyddy into third-and-7+, the secondary can hunt. X Factor: Just show the world what this D is capable of. Fast, Aggressive, and Turnover hungry. Tulane offense vs Southern Miss defense: Hall and Russ Callaway will still want to run it and play-action off it. Semonza does not have to throw 40 times. He has to stay on schedule, hit Hill / Brown-Stephens / Richardson when USM loads the box, and protect the football. Zero interceptions in three games is the best thing on this tape. Keep it. The offensive line is the swing unit at home. Reese Baker is the veteran. K-State teed off for six sacks. That cannot happen against a Golden Eagle front that has not traveled well. If McClure is still out, Lucas is the feature again. 214 on 11 vs USA was real. 4 carries for -2 at K-State was also real. Turner and Daniels have to finish drives. Tight ends Dawson Johnson, Vance Bolyard and the F package still need to be involved. TE and Superback let em work! Southern Miss defense last two weeks: Auburn and UConn ran through them. 220 rush yards allowed per game. 31.3 points allowed. Third-down defense is not a strength. If that front stays gap-sound, Semonza is in obvious passing downs by the middle of the second quarter. If they overpursue Lucas the way USA did, the Wave can steal explosives. Hill already has a 61-yarder and the game-winner. Mitchell had the 41-yarder at K-State. Last time this building saw this series, USM won 27-24 in 2022. In 2023 in Hattiesburg the Wave punched first and never let them up, 21-3. The difference Saturday is whether Tulane plays like an 18.5-point favorite or like the team that needed a last-minute score to beat South Alabama. X Factor: Explosive run game + zero turnovers. Anything less and a 1-2 USM team with a backup QB stays in it longer than this crowd wants. Overall and three keys to victory for Tulane: On paper this one should not be close. Tulane’s favor. The Wave is at home, healthier at quarterback, and playing a team that just got smashed in back-to-back weeks and is starting its backup QB. Southern Miss is 1-2, missing Hampton, and has allowed 220 rushing yards a night. The only reason this is interesting is 2022 in this building and the fact that this Wave team has not played a complete game yet. Hall will not talk about Hattiesburg. Everybody else will. Saturday night. 6 p.m. kick. ESPN+. Hall of Fame. The Bell is in the building! Three keys for Tulane: 1. Set the edge and make Robinson/Wilder earn everything. If Robinson gets 20 carries on schedule, Lyddy gets free play-action and the Wave defense spends the night in the middle of the field. Set the edge, tackle in space, force USM into third-and-7+. Generate pressure. Do not let a backup QB get comfortable. 2. Play-calling/Feed your Stars. Play-calling has to get better and keep your stars on the field, you can’t be worried about the Portal. Lucas and Hill should never leave the field, use this so called superback! 3. Win early downs and stay out of obvious passing situations. The line does not have to dominate. It has to give Semonza a clean pocket on first and second down and create enough push for Lucas / Turner / Daniels / McClure (if healthy) to keep that front honest. Third-and-long is where the K-State game got away. Stay ahead of the chains and this should be the night the offense finally looks like a Wave offense. Yulman will be loud if they punch first. The only time Southern Miss should be in this game is kickoff. They almost never had to sweat Alcorn State and then they had to sweat everything. This is a plus for Tulane if they strike first. Play complementary and clean football, finish in the red zone, tackle, and take the Bell back in the building that lost it in 2022. #RollWave Make sure to follow Patrick Harkness on X

Southland Showdown in Thibodaux