Antoine 'Twan' Ducros-Labat · Tulane Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Roll Wave! Hey now, I'm Antoine Ducros-Labat, but all Uptown calls me Twan. I've lived within earshot of a brass band my whole life, and I believe every football game is a brass-band parade: you dance your way through it, no matter what. I travel with the Green Wave and I live with the Green Wave, and every week I'll bring you the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines, with a little music and a lot of food. You'll hear me say a big play "deserved a beignet." I mean that literally. I keep a bag of them in the booth. Uptown on game day, there's a brass band on every corner and a Green Wave flag on every porch. When we win, the parade rolls all night. When we lose, we still dance home. Roll Wave, and save me a beignet.
The School in 60 Seconds
The Green Wave represent Tulane University and compete in the American Conference. Home is Yulman Stadium on campus in Uptown New Orleans, opened in 2014 and listed at 30,000 seats. And the music lately has been sweet: after 2-10 in 2021, Tulane went 12-2, 11-3, 9-5 and 11-3. That's four straight years of brass band, y'all.
The Coach and the Scheme
Will Hall is the head coach in his first season; CFBD dates his hire to Dec. 8, 2025. The calling card of this defense is the red zone: opponents score on just 65.4% of their trips inside our 20, 5th in FBS. We allow 21.7 points a game, 50th, and we have 12 sacks. That's a defense that bends like a trombone slide but doesn't break. The trouble spots: we allow 212.5 rushing yards a game (133rd), and opponents convert 45.6% of third downs (124th). On offense, we gain 332 yards (116th) and score 20.5 points (117th). We've turned it over just 5 times.
Players to Know
QB: Kadin Semonza leads the team with 64 of 119 for 804 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT. Trace Johnson started against Memphis and threw for 165 yards and a touchdown. Who starts this week? I haven't seen it announced.
RB Maurice Turner: 315 yards on just 37 carries, 2 TD. That's 8.5 yards a carry, and that deserves a beignet.
RB Johnnie Daniels: seven carries for 55 yards and a touchdown against Memphis.
WR Destyn Hill: 21 catches, 285 yards, 2 TD; a touchdown catch against Memphis.
LB Dickson Agu: team-high 56 tackles. LB Makai Williams: 3 sacks. S Kevin Adams III: 2 interceptions.
The Conference Picture
Tulane is 3-3 and 1-1 in the American, 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. The home wins: South Alabama 28-24, Southern Miss 24-21 and Memphis 31-17. The road losses: at Duke 17-3, at Kansas State 31-20 and a 20-17 heartbreaker at Army. After UTSA, we go to Charlotte on Oct. 30. No standings math in the booth tonight. I'll just say Yulman's been our happy place, and this week we're home.
Home sweet home: three games at Yulman, three wins. The brass band knows the way.
Season so far: the Army loss was by a field goal. The Southern Miss win was by a field goal. This team lives in close games, and close games at Yulman have gone our way. When the Memphis game was over, I swear the whole neighborhood was dancing. That's what this team does for Uptown. A good brass band doesn't play the same song twice, and neither does this team. One week it's the defense, the next week it's Turner breaking a long one. Somebody always steps up to lead the parade.
This Week: UTSA (6-1) at Tulane (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. Central) · Yulman Stadium, New Orleans · ESPNU.
Last week: we beat Memphis 31-17 on Oct. 16. UTSA beat Navy 38-34.
Their offense vs. our defense: UTSA quarterback Owen McCown threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Navy, and has thrown only 2 interceptions all year. Running back Will Henderson III has 562 yards. Our run defense has to tighten up. But our red zone defense ranks 5th. Make them kick.
Our offense vs. their defense: UTSA allows 199.9 rushing yards a game (128th). Turner and Daniels should find room.
Penalties: UTSA averages 83.9 penalty yards a game, 134th. Free yards, y'all.
Series: I couldn't find an all-time series record in a free source.
Availability: no official availability report found for either team as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Our run game against UTSA's 128th-ranked run defense. (2) Red zone defense. (3) Who's at quarterback, and whether we keep protecting the ball.
To Marisol Ybarra, UTSA's insider: breakfast tacos against beignets? Darlin', we can both win that one. Come hungry.
Why I Love This Team
I love a defense that won't break in the red zone. I love Turner's yards per carry. I love that Tulane has won 43 games over the last four seasons. And I love the parade after a home win. Roll Wave!
My call: Tulane Green Wave 26, UTSA Roadrunners 25.