The Green Wave checks in at No. 18 following a historic season that ended in the College Football Playoff.
The 2025-2026 college football season officially came to an end on Monday night, as the Indiana Hoosiers took down the Miami Hurricane in the CFP National Championship to finish the year with a perfect 16-0 record.
On Tuesday, the final AP Poll of the season was released, and the Tulane Green Wave found itself as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the poll, coming in at No. 18 overall.
Tulane finished its impressive campaign with an 11-3 overall record and a victory over the North Texas Mean Green in the American Conference Championship Game. The Green Wave would go on to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, where it fell to the eventual-semifinalist Ole Miss Rebels in the first round.
Here's a look at the final AP Top 25 in its entirety.
1. Indiana Hoosiers (16-0)
2. Miami Hurricanes (13-3)
3. Ole Miss Rebels (13-2)
4. Oregon Ducks (13-2)
5. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2)
6. Georgia Bulldogs (12-2)
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-2)
8. Texas A&M Aggies (11-2)
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-4)
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)
11. BYU Cougars (12-2)
12. Texas Longhorns (10-3)
13. Oklahoma Sooners (10-3)
14. Utah Utes (11-2)
15. Vanderbilt Commodores (10-3)
16. Virginia Cavaliers (11-3)
17. Iowa Hawkeyes (9-4)
18. Tulane Green Wave (11-3)
19. James Madison Dukes (12-2)
20. USC Trojans (9-4)
21. Michigan Wolverines (9-4)
22. Houston Cougars (10-3)
23. Navy Midshipmen (11-2)
24. North Texas Mean Green (12-2)
25. TCU Horned Frogs (9-4)
Others receiving votes: Illinois Fighting Illini (123), Washington Huskies (76), SMU Mustangs (69), Duke Blue Devils (58), Arizona Wildcats (54), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (44), Tennessee Volunteers (10), Missouri Tigers (8), Louisville Cardinals (7), Old Dominion Monarchs (3), Western Michigan Broncos (2), Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2), Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (1), Boise State Broncos (1)
Out of any G5 conference, the American Conference finished at the top with three teams earning a spot in the poll; the league also finished with more ranked teams than the Power Four ACC. The 18th-overall placement by Tulane is the highest end-of-season ranking for an American team since the Green Wave capped off an incredible 2022 season with a No. 9 spot in the poll.
There have been plenty of significant changes in Uptown this offseason: Will Hall was named the team's next head coach following Jon Sumrall's departure to the Florida Gators and there were a few key additions and losses in the transfer portal. However, the program has undoubtedly earned plenty of respect following this year, and there are high expectations that it can continue its recent string of success in the years to come.