Saturday, September 19, 2026 11:00 a.m. CT Bill Snyder Family Stadium ESPN2 Last time the Wave walked into Manhattan they left with a 17-10 win in 2022. K-State got the 34-27 answer in New Orleans in 2024. This one closes the three-game series. Tulane is 1-1 after the Duke punch and a 28-24 home comeback vs South Alabama. Kansas State is 2-0, has not allowed an offensive touchdown, and is a 20.5-point favorite. Can the Green Wave steal one in Manhattan again? Roll Dat Wave Pod w/ @greenwavecolin drops today! Sponsor: @RedshirtLtd http:// Redshirtltd.com CODE: RDW = 10% Off The Best Tulane Lids Around! Tulane Green Wave: Year 1 of the Will Hall era. Ugly 17-3 opener at Duke. Then a messy, necessary 28-24 win at Yulman when Jaylin Lucas ran for 214 and Kadin Semonza hit Destyn Hill from 14 yards with 1:17 left. Semonza is the starter. 25-of-43, 352 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT through two games. Roster reality heading to Manhattan: The Wave still cannot stay on the field. Duke held the ball 36:35 . South Alabama held it 37:40 and went 10-of-16 on third down. Tulane is 13 first downs in a “win.” That will not travel against a better defense. What remains is still Wave culture: Lucas just set an American Conference yards-per-carry record (19.5) on 11 carries. Hill has 9-158-1. Anthony Brown-Stephens and Zycarl Lewis Jr are the next layer that need to start producing. Semonza and Hill need some help. Maybe the TE’s will finally get involved. Johnnie Daniels punched in two short TDs vs USA. Jamauri McClure (foot, I fear this is way more serious then they are letting on) has not played in either game. If he is not ready, Lucas / Turner / Daniels have to carry a road Power-4 defense that has allowed 144 yards per game. Kansas State Wildcats: Year 1 of Collin Klein. He was the OC in that 2022 home loss to Tulane. Asked this week if that still burns: “No doubt.” They are 2-0 after 71-3 vs Nicholls and 34-7 vs Washington State. 105-10 combined. Defense has not allowed an offensive touchdown. Ranked No. 2 nationally in total defense (144.0), No. 1 in passing yards allowed (47.5), No. 3 in scoring defense (5.0). Three penalties for 35 yards in two games. Fewest in the country. (Tulane First Test) Offense is physical and complementary: 52.5 points, 523 yards, 7.2 yards per carry, 19-of-27 on third down. K-State is healthier, cleaner, and already has the identity tape they want. Tulane has the 2022 scar on this building and a chip after having to survive South Alabama. Both teams have questions. Only one of them looks like it has answers through two weeks. Kansas State offense vs Tulane defense: Klein and Sean Gleeson want to run first, stay on schedule, and live play-action. This is not a one-read air raid. It is a physical, complementary attack that has rushed for 607 yards on 84 carries through two games. Avery Johnson is the problem. Senior dual-threat. 37-of-55, 391 yards, 6 passing TDs, 2 INTs, plus 101 rushing yards and a score. He will keep it, pull it, and throw on the move. The two picks vs Washington State were stare-downs and along the sideline 10 yds or less. Jaylen Thomas (Wash St) jumped both (1-TD). Do not expect him to gift those again, but he does get stupid with the ball sometimes so Tulane must capitalize. The run committee: Rodney Fields Jr. (Oklahoma State transfer) 206 yards, 2 TDs, including the 75-yard dagger to open the second half vs WSU. Joe Jackson still hits home runs and already has receiving TDs in both games. Jay Harris and Monterrio Elston Jr. have scored on the ground. Depth is real. Size at WR Spot: Josh Manning 6-3/220 (Missouri transfer) is the clear WR1: 13-130-2. Ten catches for 97 vs WSU. Joe Jackson and Brandon White are the YAC layer. Tulane’s 4-2-5 under Tayler Polk / Nate Fuqua just got gashed for 227 rushing yards by Nate Sheppard at Duke, then survived South Alabama’s 182-yard, 37-minute possession game. Third-down defense is the wound. 10-of-16 allowed to USA. Chris Rodgers (left leg) will not play and “may” be done for the year (2nd Opnion). That is a real loss next to Dickson Agu, who just posted 14 tackles. Next Man Up: Makai Williams stepped up in his replacement, made several key stops. Safety Jack Tchienchou is still the defensive leader. Ed Smith IV, Derrick Shepard Jr., Kam Hamilton, and the young ends have to set the edge against Fields/Jackson and keep Johnson from extending. Through 2 games Tulane has 1 sack and 4 TFL, they must improve this number if they want any chance in this game. Would love to see LB Dalton Hughes rush the passer, did very well with that at USA. Kevin Adams III has 21 tackles and is 2nd on the team, Jack with 18. The secondary can hunt if it is third-and-7+. K-State is converting 70% of those. Last time in this building the Wave made K-State scoreless in the second half. That script does not exist if Fields hits the edge on first down and Johnson gets clean play-action. Look for Macho Stevenson to get a bunch of work with the height of K-State WR room. X Factor: Defense, Defense, Defense. Clean tackling, generate pressure, force mistakes that’s the only way! Kansas State defense Vs Tulane Offense: Hall and Russ Callaway will still want to run it and play-action off it. Semonza is not Retzlaff and he is not Johnson. He does not have to throw 40 times. He has to stay on schedule, hit Hill / Brown-Stephens / Lewis when K-State loads the box, and protect the football. The offensive line is the swing unit on the road. Reese Baker is the veteran. The rest of that front is still proving it. Against a Jordan Peterson front that has allowed 47.5 passing yards per game and stuffed two opponents under 200 total yards, early-down protection is everything. The line is improving and played way cleaner. If McClure is still out, Lucas is the feature. 214 yards on 11 carries vs USA is real. It is also 11 touches. He cannot be the entire plan for 60 minutes in Manhattan. Turner and Daniels have to finish drives. Tight ends Dawson Johnson, Vance Bolyard and the F package (Ty Thompson/Gabe Lovorn) have to be involved. They were afterthoughts at Duke and USA. K-State defense last two weeks: No offensive touchdowns allowed. 144 yards per game. 2-of-12 third downs vs Washington State. Gabe Powers leading the linebacker room. Wendell Gregory and Elijah Hill wrecking the edge. Secondary has not been stressed because nobody has stayed on schedule. First Test for them. Peterson is multiple. Four-man, five-man, nickel. They are assignment-sound and the least-penalized team in the country. You will not draw them offside into a free first down. If that front stays gap-sound, Semonza is in obvious passing downs by the middle of the second quarter. That is when this defense lives. If they overpursue Lucas the way USA did, the Wave can steal explosives. Hill already has a 61-yarder and the game-winner. Last year in New Orleans K-State finished 34-27. In 2022 in this building they could not score after halftime. The difference Saturday is whether Tulane can stay ahead of the chains against a front that has not blinked yet. X Factor: Explosive run game + zero turnovers. Anything less and the clock becomes K-State’s friend. Tulane Green Wave @ Kansas State Wildcats: Overall and Three keys to victory for Tulane: On paper this one should not be close. Kansas State’s favor. K-State is 2-0, healthier, cleaner, and already has the run-game and defensive tape they want. They have not allowed an offensive touchdown. They convert 70% of third downs. They have three penalties in two games. Tulane is 1-1, a 20.5-point dog, missing Chris Rodgers, and still waiting on Jamauri McClure. The Wave just needed a last-minute score to survive South Alabama at home. The only reason this is interesting is 2022. This building has seen the Wave win here. Klein has not forgotten it. Hall’s group has to play a complete, complementary, clean road game it has not played yet. Harley Day in Manhattan. 11 a.m. kick. ESPN2. Loud. Three keys for Tulane: 1. Set the edge and make Fields/Jackson earn everything. If Fields hits the 75-yard variant early, Johnson gets free play-action and the Wave defense spends the morning in the middle of the field. Set the edge, tackle in space, force K-State into third-and-7+. That is the only down this secondary can hunt. Generate pressure and force mistakes 2. Let Semonza be efficient without turning it over. He does not have to out-duel Avery Johnson. He has to stay on schedule, take what Peterson gives him, and protect the football. One or two completed drives that end in the end zone change how K-State has to play the rest of the morning. Ball security is non-negotiable on the road as a three-score dog. 3. Win early downs and stay out of obvious passing situations. The reloaded Wave offensive 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 Peterson honest. Third-and-long against this front is where the game gets away. Stay ahead of the chains, convert a couple of third-and-mediums, and you at least give yourself a fourth-quarter chance. Bill Snyder will be loud. Kansas State will have moments. They almost never had to sweat the first two weeks, this is a plus for Tulane if they strike first. Play complementary and clean football, finish in the red zone, tackle, and make Klein remember 2022 for one more Saturday. #RollWave Make sure to follow Patrick Harkness on X