The 2025 college football season kicked off with a bang, and nowhere was the drama more pronounced than in the Group of Five (G5) battle for the coveted automatic berth in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Forget the Texas-Ohio State showdown. While preseason favorites like Boise State entered the year with high expectations, Jon Sumrall's regrouped Tulane Green Wave emerged from Week 1 as the clear frontrunner with new quarterback Jack Retzlaff leading the way.
A dominant 23-3 home win over Northwestern showcased Tulane's balanced attack and a stifling defense with a nasty streak. The 20-point blowout did not even seem that close in the fourth quarter either, so there would be repeat of last season's Kansas State shocker. This Week 1 performance demonstrated that Tulane has maintained the defensive identity that made them so successful in 2024 (24th nationally in scoring defense) while developing a more balanced offensive attack.
Uptown's not-so-surprising upstarts also capitalized on stumbles from other top G5 contenders getting attention from the polls. Boise State (Mountain West) got crushed by South Florida (American) to set the conference heirarchy. Army lost to Tarleton St; Louisiana was cooked by Rice. UNLV and Liberty were unimpressive as well. It is almost impossible to honestly argue any else has a real shot of overtaking the Green Wave should Tulane sweep the American and upset Duke and/or Ole Miss.
Jon Sumrall's defense dominates
Tulane's season-opening victory over Northwestern was anything but the narrow win many analysts had predicted. The Green Wave defense delivered a dominant performance, holding the Wildcats to just a single field goal while forcing four critical interceptions and two fumbles (one lost). This defensive clinic limited Northwestern to just 237 total yards and a measly 76 rushing yards, establishing Tulane as one of the most formidable defensive units in the country.
Northwestern QB Preston Stone (19/36) was dropped four times for -42 yards as three different Green Wave defenders had sacks. A variety of looks kept Tulane in the Northwestern backfield and Stone's 50/50 throws were largely unthreatening. Five attempts were deflected, four were turnovers, a handful were throw aways, and the completions went for 4.5 yards on average (161 yards).
Javion White, Kevin Adams III, and Jahiem Johnson might be the best secondary in the Gulf South, this side of Baton Rouge anyways. Sumrall sounds pretty convinced, per NOLA.com's Guerry Smith.
“When the ball was in the air, our guys played it like it was theirs,” Sumrall beamed. “Javion White, both of his were special plays. Kevin Adams made an unbelievable play. It is a difference-maker when you can go get takeaways that are not simple and easy ones.”
South Alabama (1-0) will get a say in the matter in Week 2 but most sportsbooks have the visiting Tulane Green Wave as two-possession (-10.5) favorites.
Tulane's Jake Retzlaff rolling
Jake Retzlaff's Tulane debut could not have gone much better from a game management standpoint. He threw a touchdown pass on the opening drive and added a spectacular 69-yard rushing score in what became a comprehensive dismantling of a Big Ten opponent. In between were a lot of smart, aggressive throws (18/31, 151 yards). The Green Wave offense racked up 421 total yards, including a punishing 269 on the ground at an average of 6.4 yards per carry.
It was easy for Retlzlaff, still relatively new to campus after a late transfer, to not force the issue. Running back Maurice Turner contributed 86 yards on 14 carries. Three other backs added 70 yards on 15 carries, providing a reliable ground game that controlled the clock and wore down the Wildcats. The 20-point victory margin against Northwestern wasn't just impressive; it was the kind of statement win that separates legitimate playoff contenders from pretenders.
Sumrall could not do much screaming even if Tulane failed to convert a third down. The special teams were near perfect. Every kick counted on the scoreboard; every punt flirted with 50 yards of a field position flip. Redshirt freshman kicker Patrick Durkin was named American Special Teams Player of the Week. When the offense got bogged down, the Green Wave had way to walk away feeling satisfied.
Will that be the case after the next rankings are released? How about after Darian Mensah's Duke team leaves town? Well, Sumrall is stressing just how much that does not matter at all right now. The next three weeks will test this team's resolved in way a coaching staff cannot plan for, only predict through experience of dealing with teenagers.
“The challenge is we’ve got young guys in our locker room and everybody is going to pat them on the back and tell them how good they are right now,” stated Sumrall. “We’ve got to make sure we understand that every seven days in our world you can either be promoted or exposed, and the only way you get promoted is by working your tail off. We’ll be fine. I have a pretty good talent of humbling them real quick.”
While Tulane didn't crack the initial AP rankings, the Green Wave received 23 votes in the preseason poll, placing them in a strong position among Group of Five teams receiving votes. Expect this type of Top 25-worthy success to continue as well.
“A year ago, we had five (defensive) guys start game 1 that showed up in May and were trying to duct tape it together,” Sumrall explained. “Everybody that started today was here in January. They’ve had time on task.”
Starting with the Willie Fritz era and now with Sumrall, Tulane has built the type of program infrastructure that can sustain success. The combination of strong coaching, improved recruiting to the New Orleans market, and a program culture that emphasizes competing at the highest level has positioned the Green Wave as more than just a one-year wonder.
So, just to be clear for those who still remember J.P. Losman and Shaun King: This victory was not just a season opener for Tulane. It was a statement to the committee that the Green Wave are ready to become the next Group of Five program to crash the College Football Playoff party consistently.
