Week 1 - at Duke
, September 5
Week 2 - South Alabama, September 12
Week 3 - at Kansas State
, September 19
Week 4 - Southern Miss, September 26
Week 5 - OPEN DATE, October 3
Week 6 - at Army, October 10
Week 7 - Memphis
, October 16
Week 8 - UTSA, October 24
Week 9 - at Charlotte, October 30
Week 10 - Tulsa, November 7
Week 11 - at Rice
, November 14
Week 12 - North Texas, November 21
Week 13 - at South Florida
, November 27
Last year, just a few weeks from where we are now, the then 20th ranked Tulane football team welcomed former Greenie quarterback Darian Mensah and his new team, the Duke Blue Devils , to Yulman Stadium.
The Green Wave defeated Duke, 34-27 in front of a capacity crowd of almost 30,000 at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff was the star of the show, setting a school single-game record with four rushing TDs, while throwing for 245-yards. Duke mounted a second-half rally led by Mensah, but the Wave managed the clock and recovered an onside kick late to seal the victory.
The two teams meet again in 2026, this time to open the season, as they have a Saturday afternoon tussle in Durham, North Carolina. Game time, 2:30 p.m. CT from Wallace Wade Stadium. As of this writing, Duke is a 9.5-point favorite over Tulane .
The stars of the aerial attack from 2025 are gone, losing Mensah (Miami) and their top three wide receivers in Cooper Barkate (Miami), Que'Sean Brown( Virginia Tech ), and Samir Hagans(drafted).
Duke's projected depth chart lists Jared Richardson (transfer, Penn), Jaivon Solomon(freshman), and Javen Nicholas(transfer, LSU ) as their starting three receivers.
Where the Blue Devils made a haul was at the quarterback slot. Fifth year senior Walker Eget transfers from San Jose State to finish his college career. Eget threw for 3,051-yards, 17 TDs, and 9 interceptions with a rating of 133.9 for the Spartans last season.
The real key was retaining running back Nate Sheppard . He had a solid year for Duke, rushing for 1,132-yards on 200 carries, making him average 5.7-yards per carry. He racked up four 95+ yard rushing games with two over 150-yards. His best game came against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl, where he tallied 170-yards and a touchdown.
Duke's defense was abysmal last year, allowing 30.4 points per game (96th in the country), 435.4 yards per game (119th), and 6.3 yards per play (121st). Coach Manny Diazbelieves his young defense is ready to step up in 2026, as he did what the Green Wave have done for years: rotated people in throughout a game, giving them experience.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tulane as Scouting Report for Tulane's Season Opener: Defending ACC Champ, Duke .
