Tulane Green Wave at Army Black Knights

The last time these two shared a field, Tulane stole it in the final 27 seconds. This time Army gets its shot at revenge on its own turf, against a Green Wave team that looks a lot different than the one that hoisted the AAC trophy.

Bush’s Picks

TULNARMY

TULNARMY

OverUnder

Best BetArmy

Army's the value side here. Tulane's brand carries the pedigree, but a first-year coach and an unresolved QB competition walking into a hostile, run-heavy environment is a real risk, and Army's got the rare luxury of returning its best rusher-quarterback from a season ago. Back the Black Knights to spring the upset at home.

Tulane

• +Defending AAC champs, reached first-ever CFP
• +Won 4 of last 5 meetings vs Army
• +Semonza threw for 2,904 yards in 2024 at Ball State
• −First-year head coach Will Hall replacing Sumrall
• −QB competition still unsettled entering fall camp
• −No Tulane players drafted in 2026, thinner proven talent

Army

• +Jeff Monken back for 13th season, total continuity
• +Hellums returns after leading FBS in rushing TDs
• +Beat this same Tulane team in 2024 AAC title game
• −Finished just 7-6 in an inconsistent 2025
• −Lost the most recent meeting to Tulane 24-17
• −Triple-option can be neutralized by disciplined fronts

Tulane comes into the 2026 season as defending AAC champs, but the program that gets off the bus in West Point won't look much like the one that beat Army in the 2025 regular season and then rolled to the program's first CFP berth. Jon Sumrall bolted for Florida after that run, handing the keys to first-year head coach Will Hall, and the QB job is still very much unsettled with Ball State transfer Kadin Semonza and Houston transfer Zeon Chriss-Gremillion battling it out.

Army, meanwhile, is the picture of continuity. Jeff Monken is back for his 13th season at West Point, and Cale Hellums returns as the presumptive starter after leading all of FBS in rushing touchdowns a year ago. That kind of experience running the triple-option matters against a team learning a new coach and a new quarterback on the fly.

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TULN Tulane

ARMY Army

Both programs enter as full-time American Conference members now, so this one carries real conference-standings weight beyond bragging rights. Army's 7-6 finish and Fenway Bowl win over UConn didn't turn heads nationally, but a home game against a Tulane squad mid-transition is exactly the kind of spot where the option offense can steal one.

Tulane Green Wave

Sep 25?vs Southern Miss—

Sep 19?@ Kansas State—

Sep 12?vs South Alabama—

Sep 5?@ Duke—

Army Black Knights

Oct 2?@ Louisiana Tech—

Sep 25?@ Temple—

Sep 12?vs South Florida—

Sep 5?vs Bryant—

The head-to-head history leans Tulane, who's won 4 of the last 5 meetings in this series, including that 24-17 nail-biter last October when Jake Retzlaff hit Shazz Preston for the winning score with 27 seconds left. But Retzlaff's gone, and so is the staff that built that offense. Army, on the other hand, beat this same Tulane team in the 2024 AAC Championship Game, so the Black Knights know they can hang.

Tulane Green Wave

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

Army Black Knights

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

Tulane still has more proven overall talent and a track record of winning big games, but a first-year coach breaking in a new quarterback on the road at Army is a genuinely tricky opening trip. Army's identity doesn't change year to year, and that stability is the biggest swing factor here.