The Tulane Green Wave would have liked to wrap that game up against the Charlotte 49ers much more handily, in regulation.
But no football game is a given, and they could have easily come out of the gate looking closer to their UTSA Roadrunners performance than anything else.
They seemed to not have their heads in it as much against the Roadrunners. Self-inflicted as it may have been, they had nothing but fight in the final two minutes of regulation and through overtime in the 38-31 victory.
There were plenty of standout individual performances to talk about in the matchup. Guys young and old stepped up in big moments.
No one stood out more than linebacker Makai Williams.
Williams has been at Tulane since 2023. He primarily played on special teams his first season until Jon Sumrall's staff came to town, and injuries to the position thrust him into a heavier role.
In 2025, linebacker Dickson Agu went down in Week 5 of the season for the year. Then Sam Howard got hurt and missed nearly a month of action. That put both Chris Rodgers and Makai Williams into major starting roles, with Rodgers taking on an extra load with Agu's injury.
Then this season, Rodgers gets injured in Game 2 and ...