Tulane Not Included in CFP Top-25, but In the Conversation
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The College Football Playoff selection committee released their weekly rankings of who would be in the playoffs if it were held this week on Tuesday. Tulane was not in that top-25 listing. However the American Conference's South Florida Bulls slipped in at #24.
In Tuesday's conference call with select media, CFP chairman Mack Rhoades, athletic director at Baylor, was asked about South Florida's movement into the 24th slot after not being ranked at all in the first poll issues last week.
"Even last week when we certainly had conversation about Group of Five, they've always been part of it," Rhoades said. "Really, the committee felt like of the Group of Five to date, they (South Florida) are the most consistent. The win versus Boise State, the committee felt like the win at Florida, really good win, beating an 8-1 North Texas team, their most recent win versus UTSA, a UTSA team that beat Tulane, I believe, the week before. Obviously Tulane beating Memphis was a part of this conversation, as well. Those were all the things that we talked about in regards to South Florida, but South Florida (has been) the most consistent of the Group of Five to date."
Rhoades was asked about Tulane and James Madison (who has slipped into the AP Top-25 poll this week) and whether they and other schools in the Group of Five were considered.
"Both of those teams that you mentioned were certainly part of the conversation and discussion when we talked about Group of Five," Rhoades told the media. "Those two, yes, were certainly part of it. Memphis and -- I'm thinking here out loud in terms of anybody else (from the Group of 5 that was mentioned). It was Tulane, it was South Florida, it was Memphis, it was James Madison. San Diego State had the bad loss at Hawai'i. Boise State certainly part of the conversation, as well. I think with James Madison, the part that was really hard to overcome for the committee was their schedule strength. Just quite frankly, that was a big part of that conversation."
When asked about playing in a conference championship game and losing, Rhoades said it depends on the game.
"For the committee, we look at it as a positive if you're playing in the championship game," Rhoades responded. "It's another datapoint. It's certainly recognized when we think about record strength. Obviously you win it, that's a plus. If you lose it, theoretically it's not supposed to hurt you. Could it hurt you? If it was a game where it wasn't competitive and you completely got blown away, then that would be a conversation, candidly, in the room amongst the committee."
Tulane plays Florida Atlantic Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Green Wave's next step toward possibly playing in the American Conference championship game. Tickets are sold out for the Homecoming game in Yulman.
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.