Running back Quinton Jackson is back for a 4th season after 889 rushing yards, and Abell kept his whole staff intact into year 2 — coordinators Vince Munch, John Kay and Mark Hogan all return. That continuity matters for a program that's gone 11 straight seasons without a winning record. A 5-8 finish in 2025 doesn't sound like progress on paper, but for Rice it included road upsets over Louisiana and UConn and represented real forward motion.
Tulane's counter-argument is simply talent and program trajectory. Even in a rebuilding year, the Green Wave have qualified for the American title game 4 years running and won it twice since 2022, including that Cotton Bowl run. Five starters do return, and Semonza — who led the MAC in touchdown passes 2 years ago before sitting out all of 2025 — looks like the favorite to win the job by the fall. The question is whether a first-year head coach and a rebuilt two-deep can keep pace with where this program has been.
None of that gets settled until players are actually in pads, which is exactly why this is worth filing away now. Friday, November 13's meeting will land deep into the American Conference race, with both staffs having had a full season to find their footing — Hall trying to defend a title with a retooled roster, Abell trying to turn a scrappy debut into an actual winning record. Circle it as one of the league's better measuring-stick games.
