PreGameday: Tulane

It’s difficult to determine whether the patterns between this game and the matchup in 2022 are a good omen or not. On one hand, the last time K-State played Tulane at home they lost that game despite having a Big 12 Champion-caliber squad. On the other hand, they went on to win a Big 12 Championship.

Though there are plenty of correlations to draw from 2022’s season to now, there isn’t anything on the field that remains from 2022. Both teams have changed head coaches, coordinators, players and even jerseys since their last matchup. This may be the second matchup with Tulane that falls on family weekend in week three of the season, but it is still the first matchup between the players and coaches on these teams.

Defense

When looking at Tulane, the first thing that pops out is how much their defense struggles to stop the run. Out of 138 FBS schools, Tulane ranks 131st in rushing defense, allowing 216 rushing yards per game thus far in the season. In their week one matchup against Duke, RB Nate Sheppard went for 227 yards on 35 carries. In the following week, South Alabama’s run game combined for 182 yards on 40 carries. As it stands right now, K-State has the ninth ranked rushing offense averaging 303 yards per game. Because it’s strength against weakness, this is where K-State can cause the most damage and it is the kind of matchup that would have Bill Snyder foaming at the mouth.

On top of Tulane’s struggle against the run, Tulane is also 81st in passing yards allowed two games into the season. The Green Wave allowed QB Bishop Davenport to carry South Alabama in what became a surprisingly close game against the Jaguars as Davenport threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns.

The confusing part for Tulane’s defense is that they’ve played two completely different games. In game one against Duke they let Nate Sheppard rip off over 200 rushing yards while mitigating the passing game, but in week two they allowed South Alabama to throw all over the field. For K-State, I’d expect a heavy defensive emphasis on the run game, given that K-State has had one of the most efficient run games in all of college football through two weeks. This could be a major get-right game for QB Avery Johnson to figure out his deep ball and potentially take the top off of the offense.

Offense

Offensively, Tulane showed a lot of promise in their run game against South Alabama. Senior running back Jaylin Lucas ran for 214 yards on 11 carries, having one of the most efficient rushing performances of the season so far. Though that performance is a head turner, South Alabama’s defense isn’t really a good way to measure an offense’s ability. 

K-State will be the best defense that Tulane has faced to date, with a fast pass rush and a secondary that has allowed the fewest passing yards in the nation after two games. Tulane’s QB, junior Kadin Seminoza, is a decent dual threat QB. The Ball State transfer showed flashes of speed against Duke and has a pretty good arm. Seminoza took the QB job from former Houston QB Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, who led the Cougars to a win against the Cats in 2024. Though the Green Wave have stuck with Seminoza, be on the look out for Chriss-Gremillion as his ability to run as a quarterback has gotten the best of the Cats in the past.

Overall, this matchup for K-State could be a good chance to test the defense, improve the pass game on the offense and get revenge over a Tulane team that won in Manhattan just four years ago. For the second game in a row, it will be a new coach against a new coach, but Will Hall is not foreign to the head coaching position. Hall led Southern Miss to a 14-30 record in his time with the Golden Eagles from 2021-2024. With Harley Day on the horizon, the Cats have a chance to start the season 3-0 for the third time in seven years and beat the Green Wave on home turf for the first time in program history.