Tulane Green Wave’s Latest Bowl Projection Comes with Trip to Paradise
With the bulk of American Athletic Conference play still ahead, the Tulane Green Wave aren’t trying to look ahead to where they could end up during bowl season.
After all, Tulane (3-2, 1-0 in AAC) has its eye on not only winning the league but perhaps claiming a berth in the College Football Playoff. If the Green Wave win the AAC and are the highest-ranked conference champion outside of the Power Four (AAC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC), they would be in.
For now, though, the Green Wave are projected for a non-playoff game by the Action Network. But, perhaps the location of their projected bowl game is a good consolation prize?
The site projects that the Green Wave will spend Christmas in paradise playing the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Hawai’i Bowl on Dec. 24.
Right now, the site has UNLV winning the Mountain West and claiming that Group of 5 playoff berth.
Tulane is making a habit of making bowl games. Since 2018 the Green Wave have been to a bowl game in five of their last six seasons under former head coach Willie Fritz. That dates back to 2018 when they went to the Cure Bowl.
In 2019 Fritz and the Green Wave went to the Armed Forces Bowl, followed by a trip to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2020.
After missing bowl season entirely in 2021, the Green Wave had an incredible season as they won the AAC and claimed the at-large berth in the New Year’s Six Bowls designated for the non-power conferences. Tulane played in the Cotton Bowl and defeated USC, 46-45.
It was Tulane’s first berth in a New Year’s Day bowl game since the 1939 Sugar Bowl.
Last season Tulane reached the AAC title game for the second straight year but lost and ended up accepting a berth in the Military Bowl. With Fritz taking the job in Houston, assistant coach Slade Nagle led the Green Wave in the bowl game before Jon Sumrall took over.
Before Fritz, the only other Tulane head coach to take the Green Wave to multiple bowl games was Chris Scelfo, who led them to the 1998 Liberty Bowl and the 2000 Hawai’i Bowl, which just happens to be their only other bowl trip to the islands.
If Tulane is able to reach a bowl game this season it will be the 17th bowl game in program history and Sumrall will be the 13th coach to guide the Green Wave in a bowl game.
Tulane is getting ready for its second AAC contest this Saturday as the Green Wave travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on the UAB Blazers in a noon central kickoff on ESPN+.
