What this win means for Tulane Green Wave QB Kadin Semonza.
It means Kadin Semonza is no longer the backup who waited. He is the quarterback who won the game.
Saturday was his first start at Tulane after transferring from Ball State in January 2025, sitting behind Jake Retzlaff last year, then losing the August camp battle to Zeon Chriss-Gremillion. He came in at halftime of the Duke loss. Five days later Will Hall named him the starter.
Against South Alabama he went the distance, 14-of-22 for 212 yards, one touchdown, zero picks and the throw that decided a 28-24 win.
That last ball is the whole story. Down three with 1:22 left, third down at the South Alabama 14, the play was a run read. Semonza saw the look, threw it anyway, and dropped a back-shoulder fade to Destyn Hill in the corner. Hill held it. 28-24, 1:17 left.
Defense gets the stop.
Victory formation.
That is not a caretaker quarterback. That is a starter taking the play off-script because the game asked for it. Hall’s postgame line was the endorsement: “Yeah, he’s a quarterback, man.”
What changed for him:
He had already proven he could produce. MAC Freshman of the Year at Ball State in 2024: 2,904 yards, 25 touchdowns.
What he had not proven in New Orleans was that he could close.
Saturday he did it on the first chance he was given for four quarters.
The winning drive was clean: option pitch to Jaylin Lucas, 13 yards to Garrett Mmahat on third-and-1, 36 yards down the sideline to his brother Cash, then the fade to Hill. Three-for-three, 63 yards, no panic. Pocket presence was better than it was at Duke. The ball came out on time. He did not hunt hero ball until the play actually required it.
That matters because the job was never just about arm talent.
Hall needed someone who would not flinch after a 17-3 opener and a midweek quarterback change. Semonza’s own words after getting the start were that he prepares like a starter because he knows in his heart that is what he is.
The South Alabama tape is the first public proof.
Kansas State is next:
The offense still lived on explosives instead of chains. Thirteen first downs is not a starter’s weekly standard.
The defense is a problem he cannot throw his way out of every week.
AIE:
He stayed, practiced, took the half at Duke, and then made the throw when Hall handed him the keys.
That path, waiting, then delivering is now part of how this staff will talk about him.
The real takeaway:
For Semonza, this win is identity. Not “the guy who replaced Zeon.” The guy who took a run call and threw the winner anyway.
Long, hard journey, first start, first win of the Will Hall era, local receivers and a 214-yard back making it possible and the quarterback finishing it.
That is what he has been chasing since Mission Viejo. Saturday he finally got to play the last snap as the starter, and the last snap was the one that counted.
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