It’s hard to articulate the size of the accomplishment that we witnessed this weekend in uptown New Orleans. The Tulane Green Wave captured the AAC title and a trip to the college football playoffs with a dominant, nearly wire-to-wire win against betting favorite North Texas. I am trying to put the magnitude of this win in perspective and the best way to do so is to juxtapose the state of the program today with my freshman year on campus.
The euphoria of Friday night’s win could not have been fathomed in even my WILDEST dreams as I jumped on a yellow school bus on Freret with a handful of people to join maybe 1,000 additional folks at the Superdome for a contest between Tulane and Louisiana Monroe in September of 2012. Tulane lost that day by 53 points to drop to 0-4 on the season.
I lamented to my brother over text that afternoon as I was walking out of the dome. His response is vivid in my head, “Well Sam, you chose not to go to a football school, what did you expect?” Let me tell you I expected more than 50 point losses to ULM, but never once that day on the school bus did I anticipate walking into an on campus stadium to see my Green Wave play for a spot in the playoffs. As you all already know, I did just that on Friday night, a short 13 years and three months later.
Let’s get back to present day as the Curtis Johnson era fades further and further into the east New Orleans distance. Friday night, I walked into Yulman to see a roaring student section much different than the ones of my college career.
The seniors among the masses under the scoreboard were likely attending their 3rd conference championship game at Yulman and preparing to watch their fourth AAC championship game in four years in school featuring the Wave.
Tulane was not just happy to be here for the first time in school history like their foes from Denton. The Wave has become the undisputed class of the AAC and an example of consistent success that ANY football school would love to emulate. In fact, Tulane has won more games in the last four years than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Look it up, that’s a legitimate statistic. Tulane football had already arrived, but this night would be the coronation. The crowning of a champion and the cementing of Tulane’s status as a football school.
If you’re reading this, you watched the game live and probably the highlights another 20 more times. You do not need my step by step recap so we’ll keep it concise. Here’s the AI summary for those with short attention spans for long reads.
The opportunistic Tulane Green Wave defense turned north Texas’s vaunted #1 offense over 4 times including twice in the green wave end zone and benefitted from a muffed punt to make it +5 on the turnover margin for the game. Enjoy video of all of the defensive takeaways again right here.
It’s funny, North Texas also had 5 turnovers in their only other game against decent competition this season. Coincidence or validation that strength of schedule matters, you tell me.
The 5th and final turnover came in the end zone as Mestemaker found Joker Johnson without a north Texas receiver anywhere in the picture. The deal was sealed on defense, the unit that carried the wave all night. Jon Sumrall’s unit.
I waited until the end to bring up Sumrall here for good reason. I could write an entire additional article on Coach. He has handled this job transition with grace even when many in the fan base and media have given him none. David Harris said that his coaching Friday night was in the best interest of the student athletes and the program and boy was he right. Sumrall’s players showed out and he will leave Tulane with his last memory at Yulman being that of raising a trophy.
Thank you coach for all you have done for this program and congratulations on winning a championship and ending your tenure in New Orleans on the ultimate high note. As we end our time together Uptown, I had to give you a pat on the back for a job well done.
The Tulane green wave is your 2025 AAC Champion and headed to the playoff. Bask in it. Coaches come and go. Flags fly forever at the school in Uptown New Orleans. A football school.
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