Despite having one more loss than North Texas and James Madison, Tulane has been ranked higher than both teams in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Why is that?
The Tulane Green Wave received somewhat surprising -- but welcome -- news on Tuesday Night.
The team earned its first College Football Playoff ranking of the season, coming in at No. 24 in this week's poll. The Green Wave is the only Group of Five team ranked this week, thus making them the G5's bid if the CFP began today.
Up to this point, the biggest things holding Tulane back were a pair of blowout losses: one to the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels, and another to the UTSA Roadrunners just a few weeks ago. Obviously, the second loss looks much worse on paper than the first, and to many, it was something that should've knocked the Green Wave from the playoff race completely.
However, the big wins have arguably been much more notable than the bad losses. Tulane started the year with a dominant win over a Northwestern Wildcats squad that sits in the middle of the pack in the Big 10, and added a victory against the ACC-contender Duke Blue Devils just a few weeks later. Add to that a big road win over Memphis -- which was considered the G5's playoff bid at the time -- and its easy to see that the team has plenty of talent to compete with larger programs.
There are two other top contenders that could be fighting for that lone CFP spot at this point: the James Madison Dukes and the North Texas Mean Green.
The Dukes have the most compelling case out of any team, with just one loss on the year to a talented Louisville Cardinals squad. They sit atop the Sun Belt Conference and have really been running the score up on opponents over the past few weeks. Unfortunately for James Madison... they have played weaker opponents, and its only Power Four game of the season resulted in a loss. The Dukes best wins of the season came against Old Dominion and Liberty -- which isn't saying much.
Strength of schedule simply can't be ignored when it comes to postseason football. While JMU might have one less loss than Tulane, would the team be able to find success if it had the Green Wave's schedule?
North Texas is currently Tulane's biggest threat in the American Conference. While both teams have a 5-1 record in conference play, the Mean Green went unblemished in non-conference action and currently sits at 9-1 as a result.
The Green Wave currently has the tie-breaker in the American, which does give them a leg-up in the eyes of the selection committee. Plus, once again, North Texas hasn't played any Power Four opponents this season. Tulane has challenged itself more in non-conference games, and this is a prime example of that paying off.
So yes, the Green Wave earned that CFP ranking despite having one more loss on the year than the next-closest Group of Five teams. The program picked up bigger wins to offset the losses and actually challenged itself to compete against the Big 10, ACC an SEC... and won two of those three matchups.
The solution for teams like James Madison and North Texas is simple: take the opportunity to play some tougher, resume-defining opponents outside of conference play. Those good wins are going to outweigh the bad losses, because it shows what a team is capable of at its best. After all, the committee wants the proven, competitive teams... right?