Tulane Green Wave Football Holding Steady in Group of 5 Power Rankings
The Tulane Green Wave were idle in Week 13, as they got to watch the chaos that ensued in college football from their couches.
The Top 25 was shaken up with three ranked matchups and several other teams losing on the road.
As a result, the College Football Playoff picture has changed drastically from where things were a week ago.
It was a perfect storm for the Green Wave, which needs all the help it can get to continue climbing the rankings. Early projections for the fourth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings still have them on the outside looking in.
One thing working in their favor is that Tulane currently has the best chance of winning their conference among any of the Group of 5 teams realistically battling it out for a spot in the playoff.
In the Week 14 bubble watch, Heather Dinich of ESPN shared that Jon Sumrall’s squad has an 80.7% chance of winning the American Athletic Conference.
To have any shot at advancing, they will need to win out the rest of the way.
That means defeating the Memphis Tigers on Thanksgiving night and then handling business against Army in the AAC championship game the following weekend.
Despite having the highest percentage to win their conference, they are still holding steady in the Group of 5 power rankings that has them in the second spot behind the Boise State Broncos who have a 69.7% chance of winning the Mountain West Conference.
“The Green Wave will face Army in the American Athletic Conference championship game, and are clinging to hope that Boise State loses and the winner of the MWC is ranked behind the AAC champs. Tulane's only two losses were to K-State, which can technically still win the Big 12, and Oklahoma, which just beat Alabama. If the Green Wave can avoid a Thanksgiving Day upset to Memphis and win the AAC, it will have a chance,” wrote Dinich.
While Tulane is right behind Boise State in the power rankings, it is fair to assume there is a sizable gap between the two in the eyes of the committee.
The AAC standouts are sitting at No. 17 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, while the Broncos are currently projected to get a bye.
That insinuates the MWC contenders could lose once and still not be surpassed by the Green Wave in the rankings, earning the Group of 5 automatic bid.
Tulane should be hoping the UNLV Rebels can get into the Mountain West championship game to face the Broncos, as that is likely their best chance of seeing the 10-1 squad suffer their second loss of the year.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.