The Green Wave scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, then blocked a tying field goal with 1:45 left to keep the Bell at Yulman Stadium.
By Kim M. Braud | September 26, 2026
NEW ORLEANS - Hours before Tulane and Southern Miss took the field Saturday evening, Yulman Stadium and the Uptown campus around it were already shifting into game-day mode.
Fans moved toward the stadium and gathered outside the gates. Across campus, members of the visiting Southern Miss cheer squad made their way toward Yulman as the two programs prepared for another Battle for the Bell.
Inside the stadium, some of the final moments before kickoff were much quieter.
Players from both teams knelt on the field, some alone and others alongside teammates. Near the end zone, a Tulane player rested on one knee beside the goalpost, his helmet on the turf. Elsewhere, Green Wave players gathered with heads lowered. Southern Miss players shared similar moments across the field.
Once the helmets went back on, the quiet disappeared.
Four quarters later, Tulane had erased a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit and blocked a potential game-tying field goal to beat Southern Miss 24-21.
Running back Maurice Turner carried the comeback with 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, including a 74-yard fourth-quarter run that gave Tulane the lead for good.
Tulane strikes first
Tulane opened the scoring when quarterback Kadin Semonza found Anthony Brown-Stephens for a 47-yard touchdown with 8:22 left in the first quarter.
Southern Miss answered early in the second. Golden Eagles quarterback Landry Lyddy hit Davis Dalton for a 32-yard touchdown with 12:43 left in the half, tying the game at 7.
Turner responded with the first of his long scoring runs, a 43-yarder that put Tulane back in front 14-7.
Southern Miss tied it again before halftime. The Golden Eagles went 75 yards on their next possession, and Lyddy connected with Mario Sanders for a 14-yard touchdown with 4:51 left in the second quarter. The teams went to the locker room tied at 14.
Southern Miss carried that momentum into the third. After forcing a quick Tulane punt to open the half, Lyddy and Sanders connected again, this time on a 22-yard touchdown with 10:12 left in the quarter. For the first time Saturday, Tulane trailed, 21-14.
Tulane finds its fourth-quarter answer
Tulane entered the fourth quarter still down seven, and head coach Will Hall changed quarterbacks. Freshman Trace Johnson replaced Semonza and guided the Green Wave into field-goal range.
With 8:35 remaining, kicker Cooper Helmke made a 26-yard field goal to pull Tulane within 21-17.
Southern Miss had a chance to restore its seven-point cushion. Creighton Wilbanks lined up a 44-yard field goal and pushed it wide left.
Tulane got the ball back still needing a touchdown. It took two plays.
With 5:26 remaining, Turner broke through the Southern Miss defense, shed tacklers and ran 74 yards for his second touchdown of the night. The score turned a 21-17 deficit into a 24-21 lead.
Turner averaged 16.7 yards per carry. According to Tulane Athletics, he is only the third Tulane running back to average 15 or more yards per carry on at least 10 attempts, and the first Tulane player in more than 20 years with three runs of 40 or more yards in the same game. Tulane finished with 281 rushing yards as a team.
But Southern Miss still had time.
Tulane still needed a touchdown. It took two plays.
One final stop
The Golden Eagles took over at their own 25 and drove to the Tulane 3-yard line, helped along the way by a Tulane penalty for illegal substitution. On third down, Lyddy threw a fade toward Dalton that fell incomplete.
Southern Miss sent Wilbanks back out for a 21-yard attempt to tie the game with 1:45 remaining.
The Green Wave took possession and ran out the clock to finish the comeback.
Semonza finished 12 of 24 passing for 129 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Brown-Stephens led Tulane receivers with five catches for 85 yards.
Lyddy completed 18 of 29 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Sanders finished with four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Steven Robinson ran for 73 yards for Southern Miss.
The Bell stays in New Orleans
The rivalry dates to 1979. Southern Miss entered Saturday holding a 24-10 edge in the series. Tulane won the previous meeting, 21-3, in Hattiesburg in 2023.
The game carried a personal edge for Hall, who coached Southern Miss before taking over at Tulane. As the Golden Eagles' coach, he won the Bell on the same Yulman Stadium field in 2022. Saturday's win returned it to his hands from the other sideline.
After the game, Tulane players gathered on the field around the Bell to celebrate.
For Turner, the night produced 200 rushing yards, two touchdowns and the 74-yard run that changed the game. For Smith and the special teams unit, one blocked kick made sure that run stood as the winner.
The evening began with players from both teams kneeling quietly on the Yulman turf before kickoff.
Tulane (2-2) has an open date next week and returns Oct. 10 at Army to open American Conference play. Southern Miss (1-3) opens Sun Belt play at Troy.
The Bell remains in New Orleans.
Final: Tulane 24, Southern Miss 21
Reporting and photography by Kim Braud for Evans Cutchmore Press.
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Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities.
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