The city of New Orleans hasn't been the kindest host to the Navy football team in recent years. The 1954 "Team Named Desire" beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, but that result was apparently secured through a deal with the devil. Since that landmark victory, the Midshipmen have gone 1-8 against Tulane in the Crescent City. The lone win was a mistake-filled 17-15 contest in 1994 that snapped Navy's 15-game losing streak against I-A opposition. Apparently even Beelzebub took pity on Navy fans in those days.

Today, it's a new era of Navy football. It's a new era for Tulane, too. Saturday's game won't be played at the Superdome, with its tinny public address system playing piped-in music to a cavern of unfilled seats. Nor will it be played at Tad Gormley Stadium, the old Works Progress Administration project that hosted Tulane's 2002 homecoming game against the Mids. No, this game will be at shiny new Yulman Stadium, in all of its on-campus glory. With a proper college football environment now secured, Tulane's next challenge is to fill it with a proper college football team. It's proven to be a difficult task.