The teams at the very top of the College Football Playoff rankings are focused on securing a first-round bye and working their way into their conference championship games, but the best Group of Five squads in the country are focused on outpacing each other to earn the final spot in the 12-team field as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion at the end of the season.
For much of the year, it has looked like that would be whoever wins the American conference, which is very competitive at the top. However, James Madison has been dominating the Sun Belt and surely has its eyes on a bid as well.
Unfortunately, that quest looks far-fetched after Tuesday night’s rankings reveal heading into Week 13. Many people thought that, after South Florida’s loss on Saturday, that the Dukes would be the highest-ranked Group of Five team coming into Week 13. Instead, JMU is still unranked and Tulane is the projected G5 representative at No. 24 in the rankings.
After the rankings were revealed, fans took to social media to express their disappointment in the Dukes’ lack of a ranking.
“The North Texas and James Madison disrespect has me raging,” one fan expressed.
“Tulane has no business being ranked ahead of James Madison or North Texas,” another added.
The debate between Tulane and North Texas will sort itself out, either in the American Championship Game or before then. However, things are looking especially bleak for James Madison, who is at the mercy of the committee to rank it above the American champion.
For now, that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. The Dukes are ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, ahead of both Tulane and North Texas, but the committee clearly does not see it the same way. CFP chair Hunter Yurachek cited James Madison’s lack of Power Four teams on its schedule, plus the fact that the Dukes lost their only game against a Power Four opponent when they lost to Louisville early in the season.
On the other hand, Tulane has wins over Northwestern and Duke this season before being blown out by Ole Miss. At this point, that is enough to keep the Green Wave in the driver’s seat, just three wins away from its first CFP berth.
