Football Opens Season With 17-3 Road Loss to Duke

Saturday, September 5

Durham, NC

2:30 PM

Tulane University

0-1 , 0-0

Duke

1-0 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Tulane	0	0	0	3	3
Duke	7	3	0	7	17

Photo by: Parker Waters

Football Opens Season With 17-3 Road Loss to Duke

Sep 5, 2026 | Football

Box Score

Photo Gallery

DURHAM, NC – The Tulane football team (0-1) lost its season opener to Duke (1-0) Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, by a score of 17-3.

Duke scored first on a nine-yard touchdown run by Nate Sheppard, capping a 17-play drive and giving the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead with 5:07 remaining in the first quarter.

The home team added a 22-yard field goal by Cosme Salas as time expired in the first half, extending its lead to 10-0 at halftime.

Tulane narrowed the gap to 10-3 with a 37-yard field goal from Jackson Courville with 13:37 remaining in the game.

Duke responded on the ensuing drive, moving down the field for a 14-yard touchdown run by Sheppard with 6:44 left, increasing its lead to 17-3.

Sheppard was the standout player of the game, rushing for 227 yards and two touchdowns.

The Green Wave returns home to host South Alabama at 6 p.m. Saturday at Yulman Stadium.

Offense: Kadin Semonza came off the bench and completed 11 of 21 passes for 140 yards. Johnnie Daniels led the rushing attack with eight carries for 31 yards. Destyn Hill caught five passes for 67 yards.

Defense: Kevin Adams III led Tulane with 11 tackles. Jack Tchienchou and Dickson Agu each totaled nine tackles. Chris Rodgers recorded eight tackles, and Warren Roberts Jr. forced a fumble.

Special Teams: Courville connected on a 37-yard field goal. William Hudlow punted seven times, averaging 45 yards per kick.

Team: Tulane was limited to 258 total yards—54 rushing and 204 passing. The offense earned 10 first downs, went 3-for-14 on third down, and was penalized 15 times for 104 yards.

NOTES
- With the loss, Tulane falls to 3-4 all-time against Duke in a series that started in 1946.

- Tulane is now 70-119-2 all-time against current schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

- Since the start of the 2022 season, Tulane is 43-14 (.754).

- Tulane is one of six schools to win 43+ games from 2022-26

1. Georgia – 52
2. Ohio State – 49
t-2. Oregon – 49
4. Michigan – 45
t-5. Tulane – 43
t-5. Notre Dame – 43

- With a turnover forced against the Blue Devils, Tulane has now won 36 of its last 45 games when forcing a turnover.

- The loss drops Tulane to 0-1 to start the season for the first time since 2021 when the program lost on the road to then No. 2 Oklahoma…The game was the first time in the last four seasons that the program started the year on the road although the contest in 2021 was originally scheduled to be a home game until Hurricane Ida forced the change.

- Head Coach Will Hall is now 70-51 (.578) over the course of his 11-year head coaching career.

- The three points scored for the team was the lowest point total for the program since getting shutout against Temple during the 2016 campaign (11/19/16).

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