Southern Miss Golden Eagles @ Tulane Green Wave Rivalry Week Preview
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?
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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.
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