Football Rallies for Thrilling 28-24 Win in Home Opener

Saturday, September 12

NEW ORLEANS

6:00 PM

Tulane University

1-1 , 0-0

South Alabama

1-1 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
South Alabama	10	0	7	7	24
Tulane	0	14	7	7	28

Football Rallies for Thrilling 28-24 Win in Home Opener

Sep 12, 2026 | Football

Box Score

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NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane football team (1-1), powered by 214 yards on the ground from Jaylin Lucas and a late go-ahead touchdown reception from Destyn Hill in the final two minutes, earned a thrilling 28-24 victory over visiting South Alabama (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 12, at Yulman Stadium.

Lucas was the story of the game for Tulane with 11 carries for 214 yards including an 80-yard touchdown streak in the third quarter to help spark the offense.

With Tulane trailing by three in the final four minutes, quarterback Kadin Semonza confidently led the offense down the field on a seven play, 78-yard drive that was capped off by Hill's touchdown reception with 1:17 remaining. The grab came over a South Alabama defender in the end zone to take a 28-24 lead in what would ultimately be the final score.

South Alabama scored first as Davis Little knocked in a 40-yard field goal with 8:03 remaining in the opening quarter to put the Jaguars up 3-0 following a 12 play, 63-yard drive.

The Jaguars, after a missed Tulane field goal, marched down the field and went up two scores, 10-0, on PJ Martin's 16-yard touchdown run with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

Tulane drew to within three to start the second quarter on Johnnie Daniels's two-yard rush with 14:57 until the break. The run completed a four play, 65-yard drive aided by a 61-yard reception by Hill.

The Green Wave took a 14-10 lead on a Daniels's three-yard rush to finish off a 95-yard drive at the 1:55 mark of the second quarter.

After the break, South Alabama wrestled the lead back, 17-14, on the first possession on Bishop Davenport's 43-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Eager at the 12:17 mark of the third quarter.

Following a missed South Alabama field goal, the Green Wave took the lead back on Lucas's 80-yard touchdown with 4:53 left in the third quarter.

South Alabama wrestled the lead back again, 24-21, to start the fourth on a 17-yard pass from Davenport to Brendan Jenkins with 11:49 remaining in the game.

The Tulane defense stood strong and came up with back-to-back key defensive stops on the tackle for loss by Reshad Sterling followed by a combined sack by Sterling and Hamilton. That set up the late-game Kadin Semonza and Hill heroics. A key reception earlier on the eventual game-winning drive came when Cash Semonza was able to haul in a 36-yard pass from his brother to get the offense into USA territory.

Next, the football team is on the road and travels to Manhattan, Kansas to take on Kansas State on Sept. 19 at 11 a.m.

Offense: Kadin Semonza went 14-for-22 in the game for 212 yards and the game-winning touchdown pass. Jaylin Lucas carried the ball 11 times for 214 yards and a touchdown. Johnnie Daniels had a pair of touchdown runs. Destyn Hill recorded four receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. Garrett Mmahat totaled three catches for 40 yards. Cash Semonza had a catch for 36 yards.

Defense: Dickson Agu totaled 14 tackles. Kevin Adams III recorded 10 tackles. Makai Williams picked up eight tackles including a pair of stops for loss. Reshad Sterling had four tackles including 1.5 for loss. Chase Green had a tackle for loss.

Special Teams: William Hudlow had four punts for 184 yards (46 yards per kick). Cooper Helmke recorded a pair of touchbacks on his kickoffs.

Team: Tulane recorded 424 yards in the game with 212 on the ground and 212 through the air. The team converted six first downs in 12 attempts and were a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone with all three being touchdowns.

NOTES
- Jaylin Lucas was the first 200+ yard rusher in Yulman Stadium history as Tyjae Spears had the previous stadium record with 199 vs. UCF in the 2022 American Championship Game (12/3/22)…Lucas's 214 yards on the ground, a Yulman Stadium record, are the most for a Tulane player overall since Tyjae Spears ran for 264 against Memphis (11/27/21)…He is the eighth different running back in school history to top 200 yards rushing in a game following Matt Forte (6x), Melwelde Moore (2x), Tyjae Spears (2x), Eddie Price (2x), Andre Anderson (2x), Sherman Badie (1x), and David Abercrombie (1x)…Overall it is the 17th time that a Tulane back has topped 200 yards on the ground in a game.

- Lucas's average of 19.5 yards a carry set a new conference record in a game (minimum 10 carries) breaking Navy's Chris High's average of 17.6 yards a carry against Fordham (9/3/16).

- His 80-yard rush was the longest run for a Tulane player since Josh Rounds broke off an 84-yard carry against Tulsa in 2016 (10/22/16).

- With the win, Tulane improves to 4-1 all-time against South Alabama in a series that started in 2013…The Green Wave have also now won four in a row against the Jaguars.

- With the win, Tulane is 40-36 all-time against current schools in the Sun Belt Conference

- Since the start of the 2022 season, Tulane is 44-14 (.758).

- Tulane is one of eight schools to win 44+ games from 2022-26.

- Tulane is 1-1 on the season for the ninth time since 2016 (exceptions are 2022 and 2025) and the 57th time since the start of the program in 1893.

- Head Coach Will Hall is now 71-51 (.578) over the course of his 11-year head coaching career.

- Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Tulane has only had four games where it has been forced to punt more than six times.

- Since the beginning of the 2016 season, Tulane is 62-7 (.898) when leading at the half and 62-9 (.873) when leading at the end of the third quarter.

- Tulane has won 16 of the last 18 games when amassing at least 400 yards of total offense with the first loss coming against Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff (CFP) (12/20/25).

- The Green Wave have outrushed the opposition in 40 of the last 56 games (including 34 of the last 46). In such contests, Tulane holds 37-3 (losses: 2022 vs. Southern Miss, 2023 vs. Ole Miss, and 2025 vs. UTSA).

- Since 2022, Tulane is now 18-0 when committing no turnovers.

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