At least I assume it's the final ranking.
Tulane tied Duke for 64th and had the fifth highest ranking out of 62 Group of Five schools, trailing Cincinnati (47), Boise State (55), South Florida (56) and Houston (60).
To put the difference between the Power Five schools and the non-power five schools in perspective (and part, though not most, is due to ratings bias in favor of the big conferences), Tulane is ahead of only five P5 programs--Arkansas (66), Virginia (also 66), Boston College (69), Oregon State (72) and Texas Tech (78) --and none of those schools signed more than 20 players.
Still, this is a huge step forward. Tulane only once finished higher than fourth, placing third in a weaker CUSA in 2004, since Rivals started team ratings in 2002. The ratings by year:
AAC:
2017: 11
2016: 9
2015: lower than 9
2014: 8
CUSA:
2013: 4
2012: 7
2011: not in top 10
2010: not in top 10
2009: 9
2008: not in top 9
2007: not in top 10
2006: tie for 9
2005: not in top 10
2004: 3
2003: 8
2002: 5
Here are the rankings for AAC teams below Tulane this year:
UCF 71
Temple 75
Memphis 80
East Carolina 84 tie
SMU 84 tie
Tulsa 86
UConn 89
Navy 90
Here are the rankings of Tulane's non-conference opponents for 2018:
Ohio State 2
Wake Forest 60
UAB not in top 99 (and nowhere to be found in CUSA rankings. Strange.) 102 on 247Sports
Nicholls NA
Tulane plays ECU, Memphis, SMU and Navy at home
Tulane plays Cincinnati, Houston, South Florida and Tulsa on the road
If Tulane beats Wake Forest, I could see the Wave going 6-0 at Yulman Stadium next year. The road schedule will be very tough.
Tulane rose to 66 in the 247Sports rankings once that site finally updated the final three signings. That placed the Wave third in the AAC behind Cincinnati (47) and USF (63) but ahead of Houston (73), with UCF (72) also ahead of the Cougars.
Tulane tied Duke for 64th and had the fifth highest ranking out of 62 Group of Five schools, trailing Cincinnati (47), Boise State (55), South Florida (56) and Houston (60).
To put the difference between the Power Five schools and the non-power five schools in perspective (and part, though not most, is due to ratings bias in favor of the big conferences), Tulane is ahead of only five P5 programs--Arkansas (66), Virginia (also 66), Boston College (69), Oregon State (72) and Texas Tech (78) --and none of those schools signed more than 20 players.
Still, this is a huge step forward. Tulane only once finished higher than fourth, placing third in a weaker CUSA in 2004, since Rivals started team ratings in 2002. The ratings by year:
AAC:
2017: 11
2016: 9
2015: lower than 9
2014: 8
CUSA:
2013: 4
2012: 7
2011: not in top 10
2010: not in top 10
2009: 9
2008: not in top 9
2007: not in top 10
2006: tie for 9
2005: not in top 10
2004: 3
2003: 8
2002: 5
Here are the rankings for AAC teams below Tulane this year:
UCF 71
Temple 75
Memphis 80
East Carolina 84 tie
SMU 84 tie
Tulsa 86
UConn 89
Navy 90
Here are the rankings of Tulane's non-conference opponents for 2018:
Ohio State 2
Wake Forest 60
UAB not in top 99 (and nowhere to be found in CUSA rankings. Strange.) 102 on 247Sports
Nicholls NA
Tulane plays ECU, Memphis, SMU and Navy at home
Tulane plays Cincinnati, Houston, South Florida and Tulsa on the road
If Tulane beats Wake Forest, I could see the Wave going 6-0 at Yulman Stadium next year. The road schedule will be very tough.
Tulane rose to 66 in the 247Sports rankings once that site finally updated the final three signings. That placed the Wave third in the AAC behind Cincinnati (47) and USF (63) but ahead of Houston (73), with UCF (72) also ahead of the Cougars.
