The College Football Playoff committee unveiled a new batch of rankings Tuesday night, prior to the final week of the regular season. The American Conference was represented for a third-straight week,
but only one team from the league checked into the top 25.
The Tulane Green Wave (9-2, 6-1 American) remained No. 24, getting jumped by Arizona State (previously No. 25) and ACC teams SMU and Pittsburgh (previously unranked), while passing Illinois, Missouri, and Houston — which all dropped from the rankings.
The North Texas Mean Green (10-1, 6-1 American), which wield a 10-1 record and control their own destiny for an American Conference Championship Game appearance, were notably absent from the rankings. North Texas, which is No. 21 in the AP Poll, is one of two 1-loss teams unranked by the CFP committee, sharing the designation with Sun Belt frontrunner James Madison, which is No. 20 in the AP Poll.
SMU passing Tulane is a significant deal, as the American Conference champion is now likely slated to finish as the fifth-highest ranked conference champion, should Tulane and North Texas both take care of business in Week 14. Both teams that control their own destiny in the ACC — No. 18 Virginia and No. 21 SMU — are currently above No. 24 Tulane, limiting the scenarios where the American finishes as the fourth-highest ranked conference champion.
But the American champion is guaranteed to qualify. There are potential scenarios where the American misses entirely, most likely involving a Tulane or North Texas loss this in Week 14, combined with James Madison winning the Sun Belt at 12-1 — however, James Madison’s relation to Tulane and North Texas is unclear, since James Madison and North Texas are both unranked.
Tulane hosts 1-10 Charlotte on Saturday for its season finale while North Texas hosts 5-6 Temple on Friday, and both teams are considerable favorites for their senior day contests — setting up a projected American Championship between Tulane and North Texas in New Orleans. Also in the running for the American Championship is Navy, which could sneak into the conference championship with a Thanksgiving victory at Memphis, should the Green Wave or Mean Green slip up this weekend.
Currently, Tulane is in the projected bracket as the No. 12 seed (as the fifth highest-ranked projected conference champion), slated to face No. 5 seed Texas Tech in Lubbock in the opening round.
The full CFP rankings are below:
