Tulane at Ole Miss: College Football Playoff First Round Game Preview

Tulane at Ole Miss: College Football Playoff First Round Game Preview

The first round of the 2025 College Football Playoff continues as the No. 11 seed, the Tulane Green Wave, travel to Oxford to take on the sixth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday, December 20, at 4:00 pm on TNT. All the stakes, key matchups, and a prediction will be discussed here.

The Stakes: The winner of this game goes on to face third-seeded Georgia in the second round of the playoffs. If Ole Miss, they will get an opportunity to avenge their regular season loss to the Bulldogs. This is both teams first ever College Football Playoff appearance. Tulane is seeking their first-ever National Championship, while Ole Miss, meanwhile, is seeking their second National Championship and first since 1960. Tulane is trying to get revenge on Ole Miss for the 45-10 blowout loss that the Rebels handed them when these two teams met in the regular season. Ole Miss is also looking to prove that they can win even without their coach, Lane Kiffin, who left the team for LSU after their Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State.


When Tulane has the Ball: When the Green Wave have possession of the football, their quarterback is Jake Retzlaff. After being kicked out of BYU during the offseason for violation of school rules, Retzlaff went to Tulane and has had a solid season. So far this year, he has thrown 356 passes with 222 completions for 2,862 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. He is also the team's leading rusher, with 118 carries for 616 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He is decent from an efficiency standpoint, as he averages 8.0 yards per attempt. His receiving targets include Shazz Preston, who has 38 catches for 598 yards and four touchdowns on the season, Anthony Brown-Stephens, who has 35 catches for 466 yards and two touchdowns so far this year, Omari Hayes, who has 35 catches for 463 yards and one touchdown on the year, Bryce Bohanon, who has 31 catches for 417 yards and two touchdowns so far this season, and Zycarl Lewis Jr., who has 23 catches for 322 yards and two touchdowns on the year. Overall, the Green Wave average 240.5 passing yards per game, good for 57th in the country. In the ground game, Tulane's two leading running backs are Javin Gordon, who has 122 carries for 505 yards and five touchdowns on the year, and Jamauri McClure, who has carried the ball 68 times for 456 yards and two touchdowns so far this season. Tulane ranks 55th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 170.2 rushing yards per game. On the whole, the Green Wave rank 58th in the country in scoring offense, averaging 29.1 points per game, and 42nd in the country in total offense, averaging 410.7 total yards per game. This offense can do everything fine, but isn't exceptional at any one thing, something that could come back to haunt them in the playoffs. They are up against an Ole Miss defense that is tied for 24th in the country in scoring defense, giving up 20.1 points per game. Their starting linebackers are TJ Dottery, who leads the team with 77 tackles, Suntarine Perkins, who is second on the team with 64 tackles, tied for fourth on the team with four sacks, tied for second on the team with four passes defended, and tied for second on the team with one interception, and Jaden Yates, who is sixth on the team with 49 tackles. Tahj Chambers and Andrew Jones are solid backups, as they are tied for 10th on the team with 31 tackles, respectively. Along the defensive line, their starters are Kam Franklin, who is fourth on the team with 53 tackles and third on the team with 3.5 sacks, Will Echoles, who ranks fifth on the team with 51 tackles and second on the team with 4.5 sacks, Zxavian Harris, who is eighth on the team with 43 tackles and third on the team with three sacks, and Princewill Umanmielen, who is ninth on the team with 32 tackles and leads the team with 6.5 sacks, while Da'Shawn Womack, who is fifteenth on the team with 20 tackles and tied for fifth on the team with two sacks, and Jamarious Brown, who is sixteenth on the team with 18 tackles and has one sack, are solid in their backup roles. Ole Miss ranks 70th in the nation in rushing defense, giving up 150.5 rushing yards per game. In the secondary, their starting safeties are Wydett Williams Jr., who is third on the team with 55 tackles and leads the team with eight passes defended and three interceptions, and Kapena Gushiken, who is seventh on the team with 46 tackles and tied for second on the team with four passes defended. Sage Ryan, who is twelfth on the team with 26 tackles and tied for second on the team with four passes defended, and TJ Banks, who is eighteenth on the team with 15 tackles and has one pass defended, are solid backups. At cornerback, their starters are Antonio Kite, who is thirteenth on the team with 25 tackles and tied for second on the team with four passes defended, and Chris Graves Jr., who is fourteenth on the team with 22 tackles and has one pass defended. Backing up Kite and Graves Jr. are Jaylon Braxton, who is seventeenth on the team with 16 tackles, and Ricky Fletcher, who is nineteenth on the team with 11 tackles and has two passes defended. The Rebels rank 20th in the country in passing defense, giving up 182.6 passing yards per game. Overall, Ole Miss ranks 33rd in the country in total defense, giving up 333.1 total yards per game. If Tulane wants to move the ball here, they have to take advantage of Ole Miss' relatively mediocre rushing defense. They also have to figure out the Rebels' passing defense, which was a huge problem for them in the first meeting between these two teams. Retzlaff went only 5/17 for 56 yards in that game, and the Green Wave in total only threw for 104 yards. Even though Tulane rushed for 178 yards, they were still only able to put up 10 points in that game. It will be difficult, but they have to get something going through the air.


When Ole Miss has the Ball: When Ole Miss has the ball, they are led by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Chambliss' story has been well-documented. of how he was at Division II las year, how he transferred to Ole Miss in the offseason, and of how he stepped in at quarterback to replace an injured Austin Simmons early in the season and has been the starting quarterback for the Rebels ever since. On the season, Chambliss has thrown 333 passes with 218 completions for 3,016 yards with 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He has also carried the ball 118 times for 470 yards and six touchdowns. His top receiver is Harrison Wallace III, who has 46 receptions for 719 yards and three touchdowns so far this season. Deuce Alexander, who has 34 catches and 577 yards and two touchdowns on the season, Cayden Lee, who has caught 33 passes for 537 yards and three touchdowns so far this year, De'Zhaun Stribley. who has caught 38 passes for 533 yards and five touchdowns this year, as well as tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who has caught 30 passes for 489 yards and four touchdowns this season, are all major contributors in the passing game as well. Overall, Ole Miss has an elite passing offense, ranking 3rd in the country in that category, averaging 309.6 passing yards per game. In the ground game, the Rebels' lead running back is Kewan Lacy, who has carried the ball 258 times for 1,279 yards and 20 touchdowns so far this season. They don't really have a second running back who contributes that much, as their backup running back, Logan Diggs, has only carried the ball 25 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns this year. The Rebels rank 31st in the country in rushing offense, averaging 188.5 rushing yards per game. Overall, Ole Miss ranks 11th in the country in scoring offense, averaging 37.3 points per game, and third in the country in total offense, averaging 498.1 total yards per game. Tulane's defense, meanwhile, rank 50th in the country in scoring defense, giving up 22.6 points per game. At linebacker, they have a deep rotation led by Chris Rodgers, who ranks second on the team with 75 tackles and seventh on the team with two sacks, Sam Howard, who ranks sixth on the team with 44 tackles and fourth on the team with four sacks, Makai Williams, who is ninth on the team with 37 tackles and has one sack, Dickson Agu, who is tenth on the team with 36 tackles, Harvey Dyson, who is tied for eleventh on the team with 35 tackles and leads the team with seven sacks, Jordan Norman, who ranks eighteenth on the team with 24 tackles and second on the team with six sacks, Jah'rie Garner, who is 23rd on the team with 14 tackles, and Mo Westmoreland, who is 27th on the team with 9 tackles and tied for sixth on the team with 2.5 sacks. Along the defensive line, the players involved in their rotation are Tre'Von McAlpine, who is eleventh on the team with 35 tackles and has one sack, Kameron Hamilton, who ranks thirteenth on the team with 29 tackles and fifth on the team with three sacks, Santana Hooper, who ranks fourteenth on the team with 28 tackles and tied for third on the team with 4.5 sacks, Gerrod Henderson, who ranks eighteenth on the team with 20 tackles and has 0.5 sacks, Geordan Guidry, who ranks tied for twentieth on the team with 14 tackles, Armondous Cooney, who ranks 22nd on the team with 13 tackles, and Eliyt Nairne, who is tied for 23rd on the team with 12 tackles. The Green Wave rank 30th in the nation in rushing defense, giving up 120.4 rushing yards per game. In the secondary, their main players at safety are Jack Tchienchou, who leads the team with 77 tackles, is tied for fifth with three passes defended, and tied for third with two interceptions, Bailey Despanie, who ranks third on the team with 55 tackles, fourth on the team with five passes defended, and has an interception, and Kevin Adama III, who ranks fifth on the team with 45 tackles, tied for fifth on the team with three passes defended, and tied for third on the team with two interceptions. At nickelback, their starter is Javion White, who is fourth on the team with 46 tackles, third on the team with six passes defended, and second on the team with three interceptions. At cornerback, their starters are Jaheim Johnson and E'zaiah Shine, who are tied for seventh on the team with 38 tackles apiece. Johnson leads the team with eight passes defended and four interceptions, while Shine ranks second on the team with seven passes defended. Tulane's passing defense is very bad, as they rank 123rd in the country in that category, giving up 255.2 passing yards per game. Overall, Tulane ranks 68th in the country in total defense, giving up 373.5 total yards per game. From a matchup standpoint, Tulane will have a hard time stopping Ole Miss' passing offense. Ole Miss is going to try to take advantage of Tulane's weak passing defense, and they are well equipped to do so, with their prolific passing offense. In the first game between these two teams, Chambliss threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns. Ole Miss also ran for 241 yards in that matchup. Tulane needs to improve from that first matchup against both the run and pass if they are to slow down this high-flying Rebels offense. 

    Prediction:          This is an interesting game, but, to pick it, I am going to look at what happened in the first game between these two teams. In that game, Ole Miss dominated Tulane 45-10, dominating every aspect of that game. Therefore, I am going to pick Ole Miss to win this game again. I think that Trinidad Chambliss is going to dice up Tulane's weak pass defense, and that Ole Miss is going to score a lot. I don't see Tulane being able to keep up. To be honest, I have a hard time seeing Tulane win this game. I have Ole Miss avoiding this upset relatively easily. I think that it will be closer than last time, but not by much. 

    Projected Final Score: Ole Miss 42, Tulane 17