Tulane cracked into the top 25 of both major national polls Sunday after spending much of this season knocking at that door.
The Green Wave (8-2, 5-1) entered the AP and Coaches lists at No. 24 and No. 25, respectively, following their 35-24 home win against Florida Atlantic (4-6, 3-4).
Coach Jon Sumrall’s squad is the third-highest ranked Group-of-Six program in both polls behind James Madison (9-1) and North Texas (9-1, 5-1).
The next edition of College Football Playoff rankings is scheduled to be released Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Tulane visits Temple (5-5, 3-3) on Saturday before returning home to close the regular season against Charlotte (1-9, 0-7).
The Green Wave remain in the thick of the American Athletic Conference title race — and, accordingly, the race for a CFP bid — as one of four teams with a lone loss in league play along with North Texas, Navy (8-2, 6-1) and East Carolina (7-3, 5-1).
Navy will be off this coming weekend before visiting Memphis (8-3, 4-3) on Thursday, Nov. 27.
North Texas visits Rice (5-5, 2-4) on Saturday before hosting Temple on Friday, Nov. 28.
And East Carolina visits UTSA (5-5, 3-3) and Florida Atlantic the next two Saturdays.
James Madison, the Sun Belt Conference’s hope for CFP inclusion, hosts Washington State (5-5) on Saturday before wrapping up its regular season Saturday, Nov. 29, at Coastal Carolina (6-4).
The top of the AP and Coaches polls featured few, but notable shifts near the top.
Previous No. 4 Alabama (8-2) fell six spots on each list to No. 10 after a 23-21 home loss to Oklahoma (8-2), which subsequently leapfrogged the Crimson Tide to No. 8 in both rankings.
Texas (7-3) fell seven spots to No. 17 in the AP and eight spots to No. 18 in the Coaches following a 35-10 loss at No. 4 Georgia (9-1).
AP POLL — WEEK 13 (NOV. 16)
1. Ohio State (10-0) — steady
2. Indiana (11-0) — steady
3. Texas A&M (10-0) — steady
4. Georgia (9-1) — up 1
5. Ole Miss (10-1) — up 1
T-6. Oregon (9-1) — up 1
T-6. Texas Tech (10-1) — up 2
8. Oklahoma (8-2) — up 3
9. Notre Dame (8-2) — steady
10. Alabama (8-2) — down 6
11. BYU (9-1) — up 1
12. Vanderbilt (8-2) — up 1
13. Utah (8-2) — up 2
14. Miami (8-2) — up 2
15. Georgia Tech (9-1) — down 1
16. USC (8-2) — up 1
17. Texas (7-3) — down 7
18. Michigan (8-2) — steady
19. Virginia (9-2) — up 1
20. Tennessee (7-3) — up 1
21. James Madison (9-1) — up 3
22. North Texas (9-1) — previously unranked
23. Missouri (7-3) — previously unranked
24. Tulane (8-2) — previously unranked
25. Houston (8-2) — previously unranked
Others receiving votes: Navy, Illinois, SMU, Arizona State, Louisville, Iowa, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Arizona, UNLV, Washington, South Florida, East Carolina, UConn.
COACHES POLL — WEEK 13 (NOV. 16)
1. Ohio State (10-0) — steady
2. Indiana (11-0) — steady
3. Texas A&M (10-0) — steady
4. Georgia (9-1) — up 1
5. Oregon (9-1) — up 1
6. Ole Miss (10-1) — up 1
7. Texas Tech (10-1) — up 1
8. Oklahoma (8-2) — up 2
9. Notre Dame (8-2) — steady
10. Alabama (8-2) — down 6
11. BYU (9-1) — up 1
12. Georgia Tech (9-1) — steady
13. Vanderbilt (8-2) — up 1
14. Utah (8-2) — up 1
15. Miami (8-2) — up 1
16. USC (8-2) — up 2
17. Michigan (8-2) — steady
18. Texas (7-3) — down 8
19. Virginia (9-2) — steady
20. Tennessee (7-3) — steady
21. Missouri (7-3) — up 3
22. James Madison (9-1) — up 3
23. North Texas (9-1) — previously unranked
24. Houston (8-2) — previously unranked
25. Tulane (8-2) — previously unranked
Others receiving votes: Navy, SMU, Illinois, Washington, Iowa, Arizona, Louisville, San Diego State, Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, East Carolina.
