Comparing Tulane & Army Grades by PFF: Scores Closer than Expected, Except One
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Tulane 2026 Football Schedule
Opponent | Time/Date | Result | Score | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
at Duke | 2:30PM, 9/5 | L | 17-3 | 0-1 |
Sou Alabama | 6PM, 9/12 | W | 28-24 | 1-1 |
@ K-State | 11AM, 9/19 | L | 31-20 | 1-2 |
Sou Miss | 6PM, 9/26 | W | 24-21 | 2-2 |
OPEN | 10/3 | -- | -- | -- |
@ Army | 11AM, 10/10 | |||
Memphis | 6:30PM, 10/16 | |||
UTSA | TBD, 10/24 | |||
@ Charlotte | 6PM, 10/30 | |||
Tulsa | TBD, 11/7 | |||
@ Rice | TBD, 11/14 | |||
Nor Texas | TBD, 11/21 | |||
@ Sou Fla | TBD, 11/27 |
There are many ways to rank teams. The Associated Press has media members from across the United States polled on who they think are the best college football teams in the nation. The USA Today relies on coaches to do the same. Various other media use their power ranking systems to determine their top squads.
Another way of ranking teams is by using data from a particular source to see how each college team is graded. Pro Football Focus (PFF) does that and has its ranking system based not on a media person's belief or a coach's bias, but instead from the scores that have been tabulated from thousands of analysts who grade each team on how well they have played, using PFF's scoring system, a scale of 0-100 in various categories.
PFF has analysts watch and chart every player on every single snap of every game, giving them a grade from 0 to 100 based on how well they execute their assignment. Here is how PFF breaks down their scale:
- 90+: Elite
- 80–89: Good
- 70–79: Above average
- 60–69: Average
- 50–59: Below average / bad
- 40–49: Poor
- 39 or lower: Very poor / terrible
According to PFF's scoring tallies, the top team in the nation is Georgia with a PFF overall score of 98.5. Miami is 2nd at 96.6 as is Indiana with an identical score. Ohio State is a decimal behind at 96.5, then Notre Dame with an overall PFF score of 96.4.
That leads us to this weekend's Tulane opponent, Army. Though the Black Knight's record is 2-2 on the season, 1-1 in American Conference play, PFF ranks Army as the 32nd best team in the country by its overall scoring system. The men from West Point graded out at an overall 91.9 PFF score, tying them with Boise State in that 32nd slot.
Army has an incredible 92.9 PFF grade overall on offense, most of that relying on their solid run game with a score of 89.9. The weakest spot for the Black Knights lies on the defensive side of the ball, where Army's overall PFF score of 62.8 brings them back down to earth. Their lowest score is in tackling, where the Black Knights are a low 52 overall. Their coverage in the passing game is not much better at 57.8.
Army special teams are okay, at grade of 61.
How Does that Compare to the Visiting Green Wave?
Tulane is ranked tied for 113th with UNLV by PFF in their score rankings with an overall grade of 74.3. The Tulane offense sits at an overall 68.2. The Greenie running game grade by PFF is a very solid 79.5, while the Wave's passing game is an also solid 75.3. On the defensive side, the Wave is graded better overall than Army with a PFF grade of 67.5 for the squad. Like the Black Knights, tackling for the Green Wave was also graded low at 51.8, while the Tulane run defense is its best score on the defensive side of the ball, according to PFF, at 70.9.
The Tulane special teams have been solid, especially of late, moving up grade-wise by PFF to 69.6.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.