It's official: Tulane will face Ole Miss in a rematch of an early-season matchup. Can the Green Wave avenge its early loss against a major SEC foe?
The Tulane Green Wave has officially earned its spot in the College Football Playoff, making its first-ever appearance in the second year of the extended 12 team bracket.
On Sunday, the matchup became official: the Green Wave will take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford for the first round of the CFP.
It's a familiar matchup for Tulane, but the first time the two teams played, things didn't exactly go in the Green Wave's favor. Ole Miss jumped out quickly in the September 20th contest, and rolled to a 45-10 victory in front of its home crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Things have certainly changed for both teams in the past three months, and while Tulane has demonstrated tremendous growth and changed up its game plan a bit since then, it's going to be a tough contest.
The two teams will face off in the postseason rematch on Saturday, December 20th, at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be aired on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.
The road to the CFP has been nothing short of impressive for the boys from Uptown. After starting the season with strong wins over the Northwestern Wildcats and the eventual ACC Champion Duke Blue Devils, the Green Wave rolled into American Conference play.
American play started off well for Tulane, with three-straight wins over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, East Carolina Pirates and Army Black Knights. The team found itself in the postseason discussion early, but the biggest test of the season was still ahead.
A tough blowout loss to the UTSA Roadrunners could've been a season-defining blow for Tulane, and the odds were quickly stacked against the program. In the face of adversity, the Green Wave rose to the occasion, with wins over the Memphis Tigers, Florida Atlantic Owls, Temple Owls and Charlotte 49ers to end the regular season with a 10-2 record and a 7-1 mark in conference play.
Of course, the strong end to the season was capped off by a dominant performance in the American Conference Championship Game on Friday night, with Tulane picking up the massive 34-21 win over the North Texas Mean Green. Fans rushed the field at Yulman Stadium to celebrate with players and coaches, because it was obvious at that point: the Green Wave would earn a well-deserved spot in the postseason.
Buckle up, Tulane faithful: it's going to be an exciting two weeks in Uptown leading up to the big rematch with the Rebels.