Tulane Green Wave Ranked Among Three Best Group of Five Programs
Jon Sumrall has proven that he is capable of leading a team to victory throughout his short time serving as a head coach, and that has been no different in his first year at the reigns for the Tulane Green Wave.
Sumrall joined the Green Wave with a 23-4 overall record as a head coach, with a 14-2 record in conference play and two conference championships after his first two years as a head coach with the Troy Trojans in the Sun Belt Conference.
He has since turned that into a 6-2 overall record so far this year, with a 4-0 record in conference play, and helped Tulane remain more than competitive in their two games against Power Four opponents earlier in the campaign.
It has been a season that has shown that this team is more than capable of winning, outside of just against Group of Five opponents, as the Green Wave lost those two games by only a combined 22 points.
The program has easily been one of, if not the best, Group of Five teams in the country this year, with Heather Dinich ranking the team third in the latest Group of Five power rankings for ESPN.
Tulane does still have a tough road ahead, however, as two of their toughest games on the schedule this year are still to come, but could prove helpful in their quest for a berth in the newly expanded College Football Playoffs.
"The last two games, against Navy and Memphis," writes Dinich, "will be Tulane's best chance to impress the committee."
The Green Wave already have one solid win on their resume in their 41-33 victory over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns, a team that is projected to win the Sun Belt.
It is but one of many dominant showings that Tulane has provided throughout the year, as they have outscored their opponents 324-178, scoring almost twice as many points as they have allowed on the year.
There is still work to be done, though, for the Green Wave, as though they are bowl-eligible for the third consecutive season, they do still have to win out in order to claim the American Athletic Conference Championship and give themself the best opportunity at claiming one of the coveted berths in the College Football Playoffs.
If Sumrall's track record is any indication, a conference championship is more than possible for this program, they just need to keep their eyes on the prize.
