Tulane is just a few votes shy of cracking into the AP’s top 25 for the first time this season and a few spots outside of the Coaches’ top 25 after its rebound win at Memphis.
The Green Wave (7-2, 4-1) received the 26th-most and 30th-most votes, respectively, in the latest editions of the polls released Sunday afternoon.
Tulane’s conference title and College Playoff hopes and building rankings momentum all took a major hit Oct. 30 with a loss at UTSA, but enjoyed a notable rebound Friday with an upset of No. 22/23 Memphis (8-2, 4-2), which had been the country’s highest-ranked Group-of-Five program.
The strong pack of American Athletic Conference contenders — including Tulane, Memphis, South Florida (7-2, 4-1), Navy (7-2, 5-1) and North Texas (8-1, 4-1) — had been considered likely to produce this year’s G5 bid to the College Football Playoffs.
But the group’s self-cannibalization the past couple weeks has opened the door notably for Sun Belt member James Madison (8-1), which climbed into this week’s rankings at No. 24 and No. 25 on the AP and Coaches lists, respectively.
South Florida received the 25th-most and 26th-most votes in those polls. Tulane earned the third-highest vote total among Group-of-Five members in the AP and fourth-highest in the Coaches, where North Texas also edged the Green Wave.
The top of each major poll remained largely in tact, led by a matching top five of No. 1 Ohio State (9-0), No. 2 Indiana (10-0), No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0), No. 4 Alabama (8-1) and No. 5 Georgia (8-1).
The biggest changes in the top 10 came in four-spot slides by BYU (8-1) to No. 12 on both lists after a loss at Texas Tech (9-1), which moved up to No. 8.
Texas (7-2) moved up three spots to No. 10 on an idle weekend thanks to losses by BYU and Virginia (8-2).
AP POLL — WEEK 12 (NOV. 9)
1. Ohio State (9-0) — steady
2. Indiana (10-0) — steady
3. Texas A&M (9-0) — steady
4. Alabama (8-1) — steady
5. Georgia (8-1) — steady
6. Ole Miss (9-1) — up 1
7. Oregon (8-1) — down 1
8. Texas Tech (9-1) — up 1
9. Notre Dame (7-2) — up 1
10. Texas (7-2) — up 3
11. Oklahoma (7-2) — steady
12. BYU (8-1) — down 4
13. Vanderbilt (8-2) — up 2
14. Georgia Tech (8-1) — up 2
15. Utah (7-2) — up 2
16. Miami (7-2) — up 2
17. USC (7-2) — up 2
18. Michigan (7-2) — up 3
19. Louisville (7-2) — down 5
20. Virginia (8-2) — down 8
21. Tennessee (6-3) — up 2
22. Cincinnati (7-2) — up 3
23. Pittsburgh (7-2) — previously unranked
24. James Madison (8-1) — previously unranked
25. South Florida (7-2) — previously unranked
Others receiving votes: Tulane, Missouri, North Texas, Iowa, Houston, SMU, Arizona State, San Diego State, Illinois, UNLV, Memphis.
COACHES POLL — WEEK 12 (NOV. 9)
1. Ohio State (9-0) — steady
2. Indiana (10-0) — steady
3. Texas A&M (9-0) — steady
4. Alabama (8-1) — steady
5. Georgia (8-1) — steady
6. Oregon (8-1) — steady
7. Ole Miss (9-1) — steady
8. Texas Tech (9-1) — up 1
9. Notre Dame (7-2) — up 1
T-10. Texas (7-2) — up 3
T-10. Oklahoma (7-2) — up 2
T-12. Georgia Tech (8-1) — up 2
T-12. BYU (8-1) — down 4
14. Vanderbilt (8-2) — up 2
15. Utah (7-2) — up 4
16. Miami (7-2) — up 2
17. Michigan (7-2) — up 3
18. USC (7-2) — up 3
19. Virginia (8-2) — down 8
20. Tennessee (6-3) — up 2
21. Louisville (7-2) — down 6
22. Cincinnati (7-2) — up 3
23. Pittsburgh (7-2) — previously unranked
24. Missouri (6-3) — down 7
25. James Madison (8-1) — previously unranked
Others receiving votes: South Florida, North Texas, Iowa, Houston, Tulane, SMU, Illinois, Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, Memphis, Arizona State, Navy, San Diego State, East Carolina.