🚨Conference Opener Preview🚨 

Saturday, October 10, 2026 11:00 a.m. 

CT Blaik Field at Michie Stadium 

CBS Sports Network

American Conference opener for the Wave.

My QB prediction: Trace Johnson Starts and Dagan Bruno running option plays!

Last year in Uptown, Tulane took this one 24-17. The year before that, in this building, Army took the American title game 35-14. 

Jeff Monken is 1-5 against Tulane. 

The one win is that championship night.

Both teams are 2-2.

Army is a 3-point favorite. Total sits at 48.5.

The Wave just took the Bell back against Southern Miss, then got a bye. Army just lost 31-29 at Louisiana Tech after the defense gave up 503 yards. Cale Hellums and that option are still first in the country in rushing. 

The Army defense is not.

Can the Wave get enough snaps to make that matter?

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Tulane Green Wave: 

Year 1 of the Will Hall era. 17-3 at Duke. 28-24 over South Alabama when Jaylin Lucas ran for 214 and Kadin Semonza hit Destyn Hill late. 31-20 at Kansas State. Then 24-21 over Southern Miss to take the Bell, with Maurice Turner going for 200 on 12 carries.

Hall has not named a starter. Semonza has started three straight: 646 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, about 54%. True freshman Trace Johnson got a look in relief against Southern Miss (2-of-5, 35 yards). Zeon Chriss is still in the building.

Roster reality heading into Saturday: 

The Wave still cannot stay on the field. Time of possession is 25:42, near the bottom of the FBS. Army lives at 34:42, top five in the country. That gap is the game.

What is still Wave culture: 

Lucas and Turner have the explosives. Destyn Hill is the chain-mover and the shot play, 12 catches, 169 yards, a score. Anthony Brown-Stephens said it plain this week: they leave plays out there, and they know they have the guys.

Jamauri McClure (foot) practiced Tuesday and Wednesday. Hall said Thursday he expects McClure, Turner (leg), and Zycarl Lewis Jr. (lower leg) to play barring a setback. 

Lewis was the forgotten man coming back from 2025. Hall called him maybe the most explosive player they had.

Offensive line Hall likes from the Southern Miss finish: Dominic Steward, Gresham Perry, John Bock, Reese Baker, Ryan Mickow, left to right. Darion Reed is likely out. That five closed the Bell game. They have to do it again on the road.

Army Black Knights: 

Year 13 of Jeff Monken.

They smashed Bryant 59-3, lost 28-24 at home to South Florida, won 21-17 at Temple, then lost 31-29 at Louisiana Tech. Hellums threw for 151 and ran for a score in Ruston. Samari Howard went 12 for 158 and a touchdown.

Hellums is the offense. 337 passing, 3 TD, 1 INT. 301 rushing and 6 scores. Howard is at 293 on 27 carries, 10.9 a pop. Godspower Nwawuihe has 164 and 2. Zach Mundell has 159 rushing and 3 scores, plus 84 receiving.

Army is first in the FBS in rushing at 334 a game. They are 135th in passing. That is not a flaw in this offense. It is the plan.

The defense returned three starters. Opponents are at 6.89 yards a snap, near the bottom of the country. Army still allows only 19.8 points because the defense barely plays. 54 snaps a game. If Tulane gets the ball, the numbers say the Black Knights can be had. If they do not, none of it matters.

Both teams are 2-2. Only one of them controls the clock for a living.

Monken is not going to reinvent Saturday. Fullback, quarterback, slot. Hellums on the mesh. Howard and Nwawuihe on the edge and the pitch. Mundell as the home run if the Wave flies up.

Third down is where Army wins games. They convert 50%. Fourth down too: 6-of-7. They do not punt themselves off the field. 79 rushing first downs already, most in the country.

Hellums does not have to throw it. When he does, it is off the run fake. Brady Anderson is the chain target (7-102). One interception on the year. Do not give him a free one.

Tulane’s 4-2-5 under Tayler Polk and Nate Fuqua just watched this movie. Nate Sheppard for 227 at Duke. South Alabama held the ball 37 minutes. Avery Johnson for 152 and two scores at Kansas State. Southern Miss was better. It was not clean.

The Wave allows 191 rushing yards a game. Army runs for 334. That is the mismatch on paper.

Dickson Agu and Makai Williams have to fit the dive and not chase the pitch. Jack Tchienchou and Kevin Adams III have to be right on the edge and right on the quarterback. The young ends have to set it and stay set. Army wants the force player to widen, then the fullback kicks him and Hellums is gone.

Will Hall said the quiet part. Stop them for 2 and do not let the pile turn it into 4. Third-and-6 is a win. 

Third-and-3 is Army’s offense.

Chris Rodgers was out against Southern Miss. If he is back, the spy and the edge fit get a veteran. If he is not, Williams and Agu have to be perfect for 60 minutes they may only play 25 of.

Louisiana Tech just ripped this defense for 503 yards and 7.4 a carry. South Florida and Temple were in the same neighborhood once you throw out Bryant. The vulnerability is real. Tulane only gets to it if the defense gets off the field.

X Factor: 

Win first down. If Hellums is in third-and-short all day, Michie never gets quiet. If the Wave tackles at the point of attack, Army has to throw, and this secondary can hunt.

Hall and Russ Callaway cannot fall behind the chains and live on third-and-long. Army will take that. They want four snaps, a punt, and another eight-minute drive.

Semonza, if he starts, does not need 40 throws. He needs to be on schedule, hit Hill, Brown-Stephens, and Lewis when the box loads, and not turn it over. 

If Hall goes to Johnson or Bruno (Option), the rule does not change. Protect it. The possession count will already be short.

The line is the swing unit. Thirteen sacks allowed in four games. That cannot happen against a defense that only needs a couple of negative plays to end a drive. Steward at left tackle is the piece that closed the Southern Miss game. Baker is the veteran. If that five stays together, Tulane can run it.

Lucas is the explosive. Turner just went for 200. McClure, if he is actually back, is the closer they have not had. Lewis is the vertical they lost in the Duke opener. Hill already has the explosive gene. 

Army has allowed 8.1 yards a play to FBS opponents since Bryant. South Alabama, one of the few defenses worse than this one, gave up 212 on the ground and 212 through the air to this same Wave.

Red zone is the other leak. Army has allowed a score on every red-zone trip. Tulane has to finish. Field goals in a 28-possession game are how you lose by 7 at West Point.

Last time these teams were in this building, Army won the title game 35-14. Last time they played, Tulane won 24-17 in Uptown. In 2019, with Hall calling the offense for Willie Fritz, the Wave put up 525 in a 42-33 win here. 

Different roster. Same building. Same problem: you have to get the ball.

X Factor: Explosives without the empty possessions. One sack-fumble or one red-zone stall and Army’s clock does the rest.

Three keys for Tulane:

1.  Tackle the dive and set the edge. Hellums, Howard, Nwawuihe, Mundell. If the pile moves forward, this is a 34-minute Army game and the offense never sees the field. Third-and-6, not third-and-3. Force a throw. Do not let a quarterback who has thrown 54 times all year get comfortable play-action.

2.  Get McClure, Turner, Lucas, and Lewis on the field together and feed them. The portal is not the issue Saturday. Finishing drives is. Army cannot cover all of that if the line gives them a hat. Hill should never leave. Lewis is the shot they have been missing.

3.  Win the snaps you get. The line does not have to dominate for 70 plays. It might only get 55. Clean pocket on first and second down, a run that moves the chains, no turnovers. Third-and-long is where Duke and Kansas State got away. Stay ahead of the sticks and the 6.89 yards per play Army is allowing becomes the story instead of the clock.

Michie will be loud if Army punches first and keeps it. It gets nervous if Tulane hits one early and forces Monken off the mesh.

Play complementary, tackle, finish in the red zone, and steal the possession game. That is the only way a 2-2 Wave walks out of West Point with the conference opener.

#RollWave

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