Tulane opened its season with a 23-3 win against Northwestern wearing helmets that were noticeably missing any decals, honoring the 20th anniversary of the Green Wave’s 2005 squad playing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Head coach Jon Sumrall said his team wanted to go even further but were denied by their Big Ten opponents.
“I’m going to say one thing, I’m not trying to take a shot, but we requested to wear white jerseys because that’s what that team wore,” Sumrall said after the game. “It got denied by the other team. That’s their prerogative, but when you show disrespect to the city of New Orleans, that’s what’s going to happen to you. You’re going to run into a team like this. … We might have used that for a little bit of motivation to represent the city. So don’t disrespect New Orleans ever.”
“Don’t disrespect New Orleans”: Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall kept it simple when it came to Northwestern denying the Wave the right to wear their white jerseys, the same ones they wore in their first game after Hurricane Katrina. pic.twitter.com/EMujKlNx7U
— wdsu (@wdsu) August 30, 2025
The 2005 team played its first game after the hurricane wearing helmets with no decals, white jerseys and white pants. The game was played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La., as Tulane’s home city began to recover from a storm that displaced thousands of New Orleans residents and caused billions of dollars in damage.
This week we will wear green helmets without decals just like the 2005 team for the opening game against Mississippi State in Shreveport.
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) August 28, 2025
The Wildcats wore all white themselves on Saturday. ESPN reported that Tulane’s request was made on Aug. 17, “well after such uniform changes are usually made.
The request was made Aug. 17, according to sources, well after such uniform changes are normally made. Northwestern had already set up jerseys, decals, “moving an entire program all the way down to New Orleans,” according to a source. https://t.co/icgBRk8QvC
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 30, 2025
The Green Wave led by BYU transfer quarterback Jake Retzlaff, played like a team with something to prove. Retzlaff completed 18 of 31 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing touchdown that accounted for 69 of his game-high 113 rushing yards.
On defense, Tulane held Northwestern to 237 yards of total offense and picked off quarterback Preston Stone four times.
(Photo: Tyler Kaufman / Getty Images)
