Tulane shut out 6 of its 10 opponents, with its only blemish a tie to Missouri Valley champion Missouri. For the second year in a row, Tulane set a school record for wins in a season.[1] Most notable was the defeat of Northwestern, a game which helped herald the arrival of Southern football.[2] The team was ranked No. 6 in the nation in the Dickinson System ratings released in January 1926.[3]
Coach Shaughnessy never had such a wealth of material as 1925.[5] The backfield included captain and Hall of Fame quarterback Lester Lautenschlaeger and halfback Peggy Flournoy. Though he was famous for later using the T formation,[6] at Tulane coach Shaughnessy employed the single wing. Assistant Bierman left for the Mississippi A&M job.
The season opened on a wet, sloppy field. Tulane beat Louisiana College of Pineville 77–0.[18] Coach Shaughnessy only allowed his regulars to play half of the game.[19]Lester Lautenschlaeger was probably the star of the game.[19]
The only blemish on the year was a 6–6 tie to Missouri. Missouri scored on a 30-yard pass.[20]Peggy Flournoy plunged over for the tying touchdown.[21]
The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), Brown (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Morgan (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Norman (fullback).[20]
The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), G. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Morgan (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[23]
Former assistant Bernie Bierman's Mississippi Aggies took the lead 3–0 in the opening quarter with a drop kick.[24]Harry P. Gamble blocked a couple of kicks and Tulane came back to win 25–3.[24] After the defeat of the Aggies, some Tulane supporters felt the Wave would defeat Alabama.[25]
The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), P. Brown (right tackle), D. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Flournoy (left halfback), Morgan (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[26][27]
In the 18–7 triumph over Northwestern, Flournoy scored three touchdowns and skied his punts.[24] Northwestern's score came in the second period.[28]
The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Flournoy (left halfback), Morgan (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[29][30]
On a field thick with muddy, Alabama clay in Montgomery, the Green Wave won over the Auburn Tigers 13–0,[31] scoring all points in the second half.[32]
Tulane defeated the Sewanee Tigers 14–0. All scores took place in the third quarter.[35] A 32-yard pass from Lautenschlaeger to Brown set up the first score.[36] On the second, Flournoy got loose for a 68-yard run off tackle.[33]
After a scoreless first half, Tulane beat the rival LSU Tigers by a 16–0 score.[33] A pass from Lautenschlaeger to Menville got the first touchdown.[37] The final points were scored by Irish Levy dropping the LSU quarterback for a safety.[38][16]
Tulane shared the SoCon title with Wallace Wade's Alabama Crimson Tide, which went on to win the Rose Bowl. Tulane's administration declined a Rose Bowl invitation, in order to keep their student-athletes in class.[39]
Lester Lautenschlaeger
One account reads "In the South they call "Peggy" Flournoy of Tulane University, the greatest all-round gridder in that section."[40] Flournoy led the nation in scoring in scoring with 128 points,[4] and was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award by the Veteran Athletic's Association.[41] He was selected by Billy Evans and Norman E. Brown as a first-team halfback on their 1925 College Football All-America Teams.[42][43] He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and the All-America Board.[44][45] Flournoy and Irish Levy were All-Southern. Levy was never taken out of a game for an injury during his playing career.[46] Lautenschlaeger made Billy Evans' Southern Honor Roll.
Flournoy's school record of 128 points was not broken until 2007 by Matt Forte.
The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tulane's lineup during the 1925 season with games started at the position reflected in parentheses. The chart mimics a single wing on offense.
^Evans, Billy (December 5, 1925). "Here's Billy Evans' All-Americans". The Fitchburg Sentinel.
^Brown, Norman E. (December 7, 1925). "Here Are Brown's All-American Selections: All Sections of Country On Writer's All-American". Galveston County Daily News.
^Tad Jones; Knute Rockne & Glenn Warner (December 4, 1925). "Red Grange Placed on Second All-American Team: Coaches Keep Star Off First: Rockne, Jones and Warner Claim He Has Two Main Weak Points; Friedman Is Captain; Two Michigan Men Honored; Pacific Coast Stars in the Backfield". The Davenport Democrat.
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