Southern Miss at Tulane — no line posted yet, but the model favors Tulane (60%).
What’s at stake
Make the CFP field
Win the conference
Win it all
CFP odds as of September 3, 2026
The series
Southern Miss leads the series 24-10
34 meetings since 1979 · Tulane won the last meeting
- 2023Tulane 21–3
- 2022Southern Miss 27–24
- 2020Tulane 66–24
- 2019 · neutral siteTulane 30–13
- 2010Southern Miss 46–30
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Southern Miss
The chip · vs the national mediaEagle fans are tired of being filed under forgotten — the program that developed an NFL Hall of Famer and won for two straight decades, now treated like it never mattered. They'll tell you Southern Miss has more pedigree than the leagues that look past it.
What this game touches
The fall — and a coaching door that won't stop spinning. The 21-year winning streak ended in 2011, and the program bottomed at 1-11 in 2024 under two coaches in one season. Charles Huff arrived and went 7-6 in 2025, dragging Southern Miss back to a bowl — then left for Memphis after a single year, with Blake Anderson promoted to keep the rebuild from resetting again.
Tulane
The chip · vs big brotherAcross town and up the road sits LSU, the SEC giant that swallowed all of Louisiana's football oxygen after Tulane walked away from the conference. Fans believe the state forgot the Green Wave existed — and that crashing the Playoff was the loudest possible way to remind everyone New Orleans has a team of its own.
What this game touches
Talent that keeps leaving as soon as it works. Tulane finally got good again — a 2022 Cotton Bowl run, an 11-3 2025, back-to-back AAC titles — but the success keeps walking out the door: Willie Fritz left for Houston, then Jon Sumrall left for Florida the moment he reached the Playoff, forcing Tulane to promote Will Hall and start the cycle again.
Best players
Tulane
- Chris Rodgers (LB) · 2025: 80 tackles
- Jack Tchienchou (S) · 2025: 80 tackles
- Jake Retzlaff (QB) · 2025: 3,168 passing yards — Heisman odds: 66th (+20000)
Southern Miss
- Jacobe Robinson (QB) · 71 passing yards
- Braylon Braxton (QB) · 2025: 3,053 passing yards
- Josh Moten (CB) · 2025: 61 tackles
The line, and the room
Southern Miss fans are feeling better about their season (66th percentile) than Tulane fans are (35th) — even with Tulane favored here.
Conditions
Tulane is 71% at home, 52% on the road since 2018 (37-15 home, 25-23 away).