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Parker Waters

Junior linebacker Nick Anderson celebrates following a play during the SMU game.

Last week, the Green Wave went down to the Lone Star State to take on the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University. The game was on primetime ESPN on Thursday and gave the chance for both teams to show what they have put together this season. 

Though both teams are in the American Athletic Conference, they have had quite different seasons so far. SMU walked away with the win, defeating Tulane 55-26. 

The Mustangs have had quite the season to celebrate. They started 6-0, their star junior quarterback Tanner Mordecai weaseling his way into the discussion for Heisman contender. Though they have not played a ton of notable opponents, beating up on a lot of “bottom of the barrel” teams, they have looked impressive, notably their offense, in just about all their wins.

The Tulane Green Wave on the other hand have not had the season that they hoped. After almost stunning the Oklahoma Sooners in week one and blowing out the Morgan State Bears in week two, there has not been much light for Tulane fans. With four straight losses to the Ole Miss Rebels, University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers, East Carolina Pirates and Houston Cougars, Tulane hoped that this could be the turning point of their disappointing season. 

SMU went into the game as the 21st-ranked team in the country and 13.5-point favorites. The game started with SMU receiving the opening kickoff and driving down the field to the Tulane 22-yard line before being stopped by the Tulane defense and forced to kick a field goal, making the game 3-0. 

Tulane proceeded to go three-and-out on the following possession and in turn gave SMU the ball back with decent field position. Contrary to the prior possession, SMU did not settle for three points. Instead, they drove the ball down the field to set up an eventual 1-yard run by Tre Siggers, extending their lead to 10 points within the first quarter. 

SMU continued to pour it on in the first quarter, going up 17-0 with 1:04 left. Tulane eventually showed some life when they scored quickly at the end of the first quarter to shrink the lead back to 10 points. 

As a Tulane fan, I wish I could say that the second quarter gave the Wave a little more life, but this could not be further from the truth. SMU went on to score two unanswered touchdowns to virtually put the game away. Though it was still somewhat early, the 31-7 lead that SMU had put together in the first half was more than enough to crush the spirits of the Wave.  

Tulane ended up scoring a few more times throughout the game, but the final score was less than impressive — a 55-26 loss. The offense did not seem to be the biggest issue for Tulane as they turned over the ball once and could seemingly move the ball decently well in the second half. However, the defense on the other hand looked like a sieve trying to stop water. SMU gained over 600 yards and dominated the time of possession during the game.

All in all, I do not know what else to say besides that this is not Tulane’s season. After this loss, we have fallen to 1-6 on the season, and there are not a ton of “easy” games left on the schedule. The second-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats will travel to New Orleans next week, Tulane predictably will be a huge underdog in this game, with the spread being 25.5 points.