Tulane Green Wave Make Great Gains in Week 13 Despite Being on Bye

Despite not having a game to play, the Tulane Green Wave is in a great spot after Week 13.

Nov 16, 2024; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah (10) rusheds during the second half against the Navy Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Tulane Green Wave football fans didn’t have the pleasure of watching their team on the field this week as they were on bye. But, there was plenty of other action for them to keep an eye on around the country.

Ranked No. 20 in the polls, there is still some work to do for the Green Wave to make a run at a spot in the College Football Playoff. But, they have already clinched a place in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game against the Army West Point Black Knights.

Army was one of the teams right ahead of them in the rankings, but that will change after they were blown out by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 49-14.

That should move Tulane up a little bit in all of the standings, but will give a slight dent to their resume as defeating an undefeated and highly ranked Black Knights team in the AAC title game would have been better than a one-loss opponent.

Another team Jon Sumrall and his squad were keeping a close eye on was the Boise State Broncos. Right now, the Mountain West Conference contenders have the inside track to the Group of 5 automatic bid.

They were able to escape disaster on the road against the Wyoming Cowboys, winning 17-13 as running back Ashton Jeanty continued his Heisman campaign with 19 carries for 169 yards and one score.

There was a bit of good news from the MWC for the Green Wave, as the UNLV Rebels won Friday night over the San Jose State Spartans to move to 5-1 in the conference. Combined with the Colorado State Rams losing to the Fresno State Bulldogs, we could see a rematch between the Broncos and Rebels in their championship game.

UNLV is likely the best chance Tulane has to see Boise State get tripped up and lose a second time.

It was probably a good thing that the Green Wave were idle because if you were a College Football Playoff bubble team this weekend, you were defeated. 

There were two matchups between ranked teams, the Indiana Hoosiers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big 10 and the BYU Cougars against Arizona State Sun Devils in the Big 12. The No. 5 Hoosiers and No. 14 Cougars both lost.

Tulane could conceivably jump to No. 14 in the country, at a minimum, as No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes both suffered losses on the road.

That likely takes them out of College Football Playoff consideration along with the No. 8 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. They lost in embarrassing fashion on the road to the Oklahoma Sooners 24-3, giving them their third loss of the campaign.

Also suffering their third loss was the Ole Miss Rebels, who were No. 9 coming into the week but were defeated in The Swamp by the Florida Gators.

That is likely six teams that will be moving down the rankings, some almost certainly behind the Green Wave. It will be interesting to see where they fit in among the Clemson Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Iowa State Cyclones, Missouri Tigers, and Illinois Fighting Illini, who all won in Week 13 and were ranked between Nos. 17 and 25.

Clemson and South Carolina face off in their annual rivalry game next week in what will potentially be an elimination game as well.

One of Clemson's main competitors in the ACC, the SMU Mustangs, strengthened their position with a dominant win over the Virginia Cavaliers, which was not helpful to Tulane.