The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly in Tulane Upset of Memphis Friday Night

Friday, October 23rd is the 100th anniversary of the opening of Tulane Stadium. This Monday morning, please join On SI Tulane'sYouTube Channel for our exclusive interview with a digital creator who put together a 3D rendering of the old gal that will blow your mind. The interview, some of his videos, and a link to the full library he has created goes live Monday, October 19th at 6:00 a.m. CT. We hope you'll join us on our YouTube channel.

The Tulane football program procured its most important win of the season on Friday night. With Memphis riding high atop the American Conference, few were giving the Green Wave a chance against the Tigers, including us at On Si Tulane. All signs were pointing to a Memphis victory on a windy night in Yulman.

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Instead, a stalwart Wave defense, a steady-eddie offense, along with a solid kicking game led Tulane to a 31-17 upset victory over touchdown-favored Memphis. It all came down to being consistent in something the Green Wave had not accomplished all year long: doing the basics well.

The Good

The Tulane Defense

Led by safety Kevin Adams III's two interceptions, the Tulane defense had its most impressive outing in years. After forcing one turnover in its first five games, the Wave D coerced a heavily favored Memphis team into a half dozen. Six turnovers including a pick six, which gave the Green Wave its first defensive points of 2026.

In addition to TJ Smith's pick six and Adams' two interceptions:

• Ed Smith IV forced not one fumble, but two.
• Sophomore defensive tackle Geordan Guidry forced another one.
• Freshman bandit Warren Roberts, Jr. forced a fourth.
• Nine tackles for losses totaling negative-46-yards by the Tulane D
• Seven sacks of the Memphis QB
• Two quarterback hurries

This is the defense we have been expecting all year long. It is something we pointed to as being necessary against Memphis, to allow their freshman quarterback starting his first game to have some breathing room.

Calm, Cool, Collected Freshman QB

You would have never known it was Trace Johnson's first start as a collegiate quarterback. The Florida native just rolled with things from the beginning.

His coaches tried to protect him early by running the ball often. His passes were safe and only in places where his receivers could catch it. His one mistake in the first half, an interception run back deep into Tulane territory, was turned around quickly by the dynamic Tulane defense with Smith's pick six. Otherwise, he was able to stay within himself and make plays regularly when allowed to.

Johnson has been compared to football legend Michael Pratt. We saw some of that from him in drills in the Spring and Fall. Though he didn't have the debut Pratt did when he came into a game against Southern Miss and lit up the scoreboard, Johnson showed poise under pressure, a strong arm, and extremely good decision-making skills.

Tulane Special Teams

Sure he had a 20-plus mile an hour at his back for half the game, leading to one punt that soared 72-yards. However, that wind had nothing to do with William Hudlow kicking not one, but two punts inside the Memphis 20, pinning the Tigers down. The New Orleans native also used the wind to his advantage when he was kicking into it, allowing the gales to knock down his punts and wreak havoc with the Memphis punt returners.

Though he missed his last field goal from 47-yards out, Cooper Helmke showed Tulane fans why the coaches have quickly moved the more experienced Jackson Courville to the side. Helmke hit three of his four field goals for the night, including one from 56-yards.

That miss by Helmke could be partially attributed to long snapper Jason Arredondo having an off night. Considered one of the best deep snappers in the country, the usually spot-on sophomore had a pair of field goal snaps that were a little off target. The rest of Arredondo's snaps were right where they were supposed to be.

Tulane Coaching

This was a must win game for Tulane. As coach Will Hall has said in every game this season, the Green Wave has not played up to their potential. Instead of panicing, this coaching staff allowed their players to grow into themselves, The athletes then chose to grow themselves, holding leadership meetings and helping each other along the path.

It was seen in the vivacity of the Tulane defense, in the focus by the Wave receivers (not one drop in this game), in giving a freshman quarterback enough room for him to experiment and succeed but not too much as to force him into making mistakes.

It has been a painful road over the first five games of the year, but this week was the best coaching job Hall and his coaches have done this season; not because of a much needed victory over the top team in the conference, but because they allowed the growth of this team to come naturally.

The Bad

Offensive Line Penalties

The Tulane offense had seven penalties in the game. Every one of them was called on the offensive line: four false starts and three holding flags.

It was a shame, too, because this line protected their freshman quarterback as if their lives depended on it. Memphis' vaunted pass rush sacked Johnson only once, and there was nary a quarterback hurry credited to the Tigers. That this frosh QB was able to overcome penalties by his offensive line is another example of how good Johnson can be. If this O-line can overcome its mistakes, this Tulane offense has a bright future in 2026.

The Ugly

The Wind

Don't get us wrong: we are beyond excited for a cold front to come through the Crescent City. The strong winds were fine, and handled well by Tulane for almost the entire game. That's not why it's our ugly.

The fun that was the drone show had to be cut short Friday night because of those darn winds. Gusting near 40-miles an hour at times in the second half, those running the drone show flew valiantly through the winds between the 1st and 2nd quarter, and even stronger gales at halftime. If you got to watch the show, Louisiana was a little catawampus along our northern border with Arkansas because of those blasts.

The blasts got so strong, the show had to be called off, even though there was supposed to be more between the 3rd and 4th quarter and at the end of the game.

Drone show = Good
Wind cancelling part of it = Ugly