The Tulane Green Wave are going to need to rely on a different part of their offense against the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday.

Freshly named starting quarterback Darian Mensah opened the season up with a bang against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in week one.

Mensah went 10-for-12 for 205 yards and two touchdowns through the air, making things look easy.

The rushing attack was successful as well, but they didn’t really lean on one player in particular to get things done. They may not be afforded that same luxury against the Wildcats this time.

New Orleans has dealt with heavy showers over the past few days and that is expected to continue into game time on Saturday. With downpour, the ground game will become even more important.

That becomes even more crucial when factoring in that the team is dealing with a young quarterback. The pressure will be Mensah facing the toughest defense of his career while also dealing with the weather. Having the run game going early will make his life much easier.

Kansas State also faced a small school in their season opener, so it’s hard to gauge how good their run defense will be. They did give up just 36 yards, though.

Their run defense a year ago was ranked No. 56 in the country as they allowed 147.5 yards per game. They can be expected to be stout, but not impenetrable.

Makhi Hughes will need to have more success than he did against Southeastern Louisiana’s defensive front. Hughes walked out of that game with touchdown, but had just 59 yards on 14 attempts. That’s over a full yard less per carry than he averaged last season.

The redshirt sophomore was one of the best backs in the country a year ago and will be counted on to have the same success this year in a revamped offense.

Shaadie Clayton-Johnson returns as the lead backup, but is more of a ground-and-pound rusher rather than the elusive Hughes. Clayton-Johnson made the most of his four rushes against the Lions as he had 48 yards with a long of 28. After averaging just 3.7 yards per carry last season, he’ll hope to have more success this year.

This game will likely fall on the shoulders of Hughes, though, the lead back. There are a couple of other rushers fighting for playing time down the depth chart, but Tulane should rely on more established players in this one.

It wasn’t by as wide of a margin as it could’ve been, but the Kansas City Chiefs opened up their 2024-25 slate with a victory nonetheless.

The back-to-back Super Bowl champs are 1-0 to start the year, securing a dramatic win over the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Thanks to some timely scores and a close touchdown reversal at the end of the game, Andy Reid’s squad got the best of John Harbaugh’s group for the second time this calendar year.

Countless individual performances are worth noting – both good and bad – from the opener. With that in mind, let’s point out some of the Chiefs’ biggest winners and losers from the first week of the regular season.

The Chiefs were without Chris Jones for Week 1 last season, and his absence was evident. The pass rush struggled without him, which certainly would’ve been the case had he missed the inaugural game of the 2024 campaign as well. This time around, the All-Pro defensive tackle made an impact early with a pressure and a run stop on Baltimore’s opening possession. A forced fumble in the second quarter also set Kansas City up for a field goal. Steve Spagnuolo and company allowed Jones to hunt matchups all night and while he wasn’t perfect, he started the year with a bang.

Even with so many other talented players to compete with, there might not be a more polarizing Chief than Nick Bolton. On Thursday night, however, there seemed to be a clear majority outlook on his performance for the first time in quite a while. He didn’t make splash plays in the run game. The fourth-year linebacker was slow to react on multiple plays, also struggling to pursue the action away from his direct assignment. Isaiah Likely’s touchdown, one that saw Bolton whiff on the chance to prevent a score after a pass from Lamar Jackson, was the most obvious mishap. Bolton deserves some slack given the fact that he’s still getting his legs back under him following an elbow injury. With that said, he looked off-pace and out of place in Week 1.

The Chiefs’ first-round pick gave them immediate returns to launch the regular season. Xavier Worthy’s speed is extremely real, as evidenced by his touchdown run in the first quarter. The Texas product also had a solid snag for a first down later in the game, capping things off by making the most of a blown coverage in the fourth quarter and getting another score. While Worthy doesn’t need to get crowned as the next WR1 in Kansas City for simply running to the right spots, it’s clear that he’s a weapon. He dreamed about making an impact, which is exactly what he did against Baltimore.

Following a very strong rookie campaign, safety Chamarri Conner played some uninspiring football in the preseason. That bled into Week 1, where the former Day 3 draft pick missed multiple tackles in the first half and couldn’t come down with an interception on Baltimore’s first drive of the second half. On the Ravens’ penultimate possession, he failed to convert a tackle that would’ve been good for a stop behind the sticks. Conner’s range, closing speed and aggressiveness are all plus traits, although he’ll have to rein things in moving forward and be more efficient.

Even with Worthy in the fold, Rashee Rice picked up right where he left off last season. Looking even shiftier in his movements, the second-year man did plenty of damage over the middle of the field. Finishing with seven receptions for 103 yards, Rice logged 78 of those yards after the catch and had 60 of them against off-coverage. Given Worthy’s speed and tight end Travis Kelce’s gravity, expecting this quality of production every week is realistic. The quantity may not always be there, but Rice remains a key cog in the machine that is the Chiefs’ offense.

Right around training camp time, Spagnuolo hinted at linebacker Leo Chenal playing a few different roles on defense this year. The athletic former third-round pick had opportunities open up due to the departure of Willie Gay Jr., and he capitalized in Week 1. Chenal was excellent at containing Jackson, and a specific two-play sequence of a forced throwaway and a tackle on the next snap stood out. He also had a couple of tipped passes, a staple of the Chiefs’ front seven. Chenal, not necessarily known for his consistency, passed his first test of the year with flying colors.

Read More: Three Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 Win Over the Baltimore Ravens

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were seen leaving Arrowhead Stadium together after the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Kelce and the Chiefs made the perfect start to their second straight Super Bowl defense after holding on for a dramatic 27-20 victory over the Ravens in Kansas City.

Baltimore thought they had tied the game up with zero seconds on the clock in a frantic finish, only for tight end Isaiah Likely’s toe to be deemed out of bounds after he caught Lamar Jackson’s pass at the death.

On a memorable opening night of the new NFL season, Swift also made her eagerly-awaited return to Arrowhead to cheer on boyfriend Kelce.

And after watching the game alongside Travis’ family in a private suite, the pop megastar was seen leaving the stadium hand-in-hand with her man in the early hours of Friday morning.

Swift watched Kelce and the Chiefs hold on for a victory on the first night of the NFL season

She arrived on Thursday evening sporting a stunning denim outfit for her first NFL outing since the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory in Las Vegas back in February.

Kelce, meanwhile, strolled into Arrowhead wearing a white and light brown ombré number along with a white-and-red cap and shades. He later threw the outfit back on after the game.

Amid speculation over the state of their friendship, Swift did not sit with Brittany Mahomes at Thursday night’s game in Kansas City.

Brittany, the wife of Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes, sparked controversy last month after fans spotted she had liked one of Donald Trump’s Instagram posts. 

Given she has publicly condemned Trump in the past, Swift’s legion of fans have been urging her to snub her fellow Chiefs WAG after she appeared to endorse the divisive former President. 

As they took their seats on the opening night of the new NFL season, both appeared to be in different suites. It is a marked difference from last season when they were inseparable at games.

Swift arrived wearing a stunning denim outfit as she made her eagerly-awaited NFL return

Kelce strolled into Arrowhead wearing a white and light brown ombré number along with a white-and-red cap and shades

Swift watched Thursday night’s game in a private suite alongside Kelce’s dad Ed (right)

But she did not watch the game with Brittany Mahomes, who was at the stadium with daughter Sterling Skye

Brittany and Taylor were inseparable at games last season, but their friendship is now in question after the former appeared to endorse Donald Trump last month 

Swift took her her usual spot in Kelce’s luxury suite alongside the tight end’s family and friends. She was captured sitting next to both of Kelce’s parents – Ed and Donna – in the first half.

Mahomes, meanwhile, was sat with her adorable daughter Sterling Skye in a different suite as she cheered on her husband. 

During the Chiefs’ win, Kelce sent Swift wild in the stands after helping Mahomes enter the history books once again.

Mahomes picked out his teammate with a 23-yard pass in the second quarter. It was Kelce’s first major moment of the game but it was a historic moment for the quarterback.

The 23 yards made Mahomes the all-time passing leader in franchise history for the Chiefs, overtaking Hall of Famer Len Dawson.

As Kelce made the catch, Swift leapt up off her seat and huge Kelce’s mom, Donna, who was sat alongside her for the 27-20 victory over the Ravens.

By Kelce’s impeccable standards, it was a quieter game than usual on opening night but his team recorded a crucial win against distinguished opponents in their first step towards a potential ‘three-peat’.

Kelce helped the Chiefs hold on for a dramatic 27-20 win over the Ravens on opening night

A passionate Swift could be seen cheering her man on throughout the game up in the stands

She was all smiles as Kansas City got their bid for a ‘three-peat’ off to the perfect start

The Ravens drew first blood on the night with a surgical drive downfield in the opening quarter that showed there’s no lingering effects of last season’s AFC Championship game defeat by the Chiefs. 

Their marquee offseason signing Derrick Henry proved why John Harbaugh was desperate to bring him to Baltimore, smashing his way through the Chiefs defense to score the first touchdown of the new season. 

But Andy Reid’s own new recruit tied the game on the Chiefs’ first drive. The speed of Xavier Worthy was too much for the Ravens defense as he burst through a gap to score on his first NFL start.

Two field goals from controversial kicker Harrison Butker gave the Chiefs a 13-7 lead at halftime before they extended their lead in the third quarter when Isiah Pacheco was shoved over the line.

In the first play of the fourth quarter, however, Isaiah Likely caught a pass from Lamar Jackson and burst down the sideline. It looked like Chiefs safety Bryan Cook was primed to make a tackle, but neat footwork from Likely saw him the dodge the tackle and reach the end zone.

Jackson completed 26 of 41 passes for 273 yards with a touchdown and added 122 yards rushing on 16 carries.

The Ravens thought they had tied the game up at 27-27 when they scored with 0.0 seconds left

But Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely’s toe was out of bounds, sending the Chiefs fans wild

On the ensuing drive, Worthy came up with perhaps the biggest play of the game, hauling in a pass from Mahomes on a second-and-10 play from the Baltimore 35 and giving the Chiefs a 27-17 lead with 10:25 to play.

A 32-yard field goal by Justin Tucker pulled the Ravens to within seven with 4:54 left in the game. Baltimore got the ball back at the two-minute warning but with no timeouts. 

On a first-and-10 play with 43 seconds to play, Jackson threw a 38-yard pass to Bateman to the Kansas City 10 before Likely was ruled out of bounds on the game’s final play.

Jackson then threw a pair of incompletions before the ill-fated throw to Likely to end the game.

Baltimore Running back Derrick Henry, who was signed as a free agent this offseason, ran for 46 yards on 13 carries and scored on a five-yard run on the game’s opening drive.