Tulane Football Schedule 2026Week 1 - at Duke, September 5Week 2 - South Alabama, September 12Week 3 - at Kansas State, September 19Week 4 - Southern Miss, September 26Week 5 - OPEN DATE, October 3Week 6 - at Army, October 10Week 7 - Memphis, October 16Week 8 - UTSA, October 24Week 9 - at Charlotte, October 30Week 10 - Tulsa, November 7Week 11 - at Rice, November 14Week 12 - North Texas, November 21Week 13 - at South Florida, November 27Sign up for the weekly On Si Tulane Newsletter here.In six days, the Tulane football team will kickoff the 2026 season as they travel to Durham, North Carolina to take on the defending Atlantic Coast Champion: the Duke Blue Devils. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.Last Time OutLast year, the Green Wave welcomed Duke and its quarterback (and former TU QB) Darian Mensah to Yulman Stadium in week three of the season. Already 2-0 to start the year, shutting down Northwestern in week one 23-3 then holding off South Alabama 33-31 in Mobile, the Wave took care of business against the ex-Tulane quarterback and his new team, 34-27.Mensah would go on to lead Duke to the ACC championship game where the Blue Devils would beat Virginia in overtime, followed by a New Year's Eve Sun Bowl victory over Arizona State.TU Retains, Duke Doesn'tBut Duke did not have the year Tulane did in retaining athletes. While the Green Wave is bringing back 68 of its players, the Blue Devils are returning less than half that. Suffice it to say Mensah won't be around to seek revenge (he transferred...again...this time to Miami), nor will his three top receivers from last year. Reporter Colin Cummings' look at Duke can be found here.DraftKings Says DukeSo, with that information in tow, the odds makers have come to the conclusion that Duke is a 9.5-point favorite over Tulane this Saturday afternoon. The moneyline for the game as of Monday is +300, which means if you bet $100, and you're right, you'll get the money back and another $300 to boot. Be forewarned, the implied probability of winning is only 25% with a +$300 moneyline.Tulane - Duke Odds by DraftKings | DraftKings website. By clicking on the above image, you'll be taken to the Tulane-Duke portion of the DraftKings websiteWe are not the betting type. In fact, if we were, we would probably not still own a house...or a car...or clothes on our collective backs.Returning Players Does Not Equal Being a FavoriteHowever, Tulane being a 9.5-point underdog, returning as many people has it has, and getting the haul it did in both the transfer portal and recruiting, just doesn't make much sense.Yes, we know that there is a giant anchor tied around the neck of new head coach Will Hall: the anchor of how poorly he did while head coach at Southern Miss. Excuses can be made. Reasons can be pushed forth. The only thing that will make that go away is winning. We understand that.We'll have our picks on the game later this week, but in the meantime, give this a thought (while NOT betting on the game, because, hey, this advice is free, unlike losing a bet: - Tulane is on the biggest roll of its football life. Willie Fritz started it, Jon Sumrall continued it, and both think Will Hall is the man to keep it rolling.Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.