In a CFB season that’s given us Cinderella stories galore, one has perhaps slipped under the radar. There’s been plenty of fervor and coverage around Indiana and Colorado’s escapades. However, one G5 school has been making waves of its own. Green-tinted ones. Not only are they demanding their due credit, but they also want a piece of playoff football.

The Tulane Green Wave (9-2, 7-0 in conf. play) has simmered underneath the surface all year. They’ve threatened to boil over into mainstream discourse for a while now. Their time has seemingly arrived. The national lens has avoided Tulane, but as the season approaches finality, a handful of teams worth attention remain. The Green Wave find themselves in the fray for a CFP berth. However, they tread a very narrow road.

Joel Klatt expressed his stance on a contentious debate entailing Tulane and their adversaries on this road. The question that beckons is which conference deserves the fifth and final conference champion auto-bid? Klatt believes it’ll go to the Big 12 over The American. Klatt laid bare the circumstances under which Tulane can sneak in on his YouTube show. “Is there a way that Tulane gets in? Yes, [but] I think a lot of things have to happen”, Klatt said. Strap in, because the scenario’s just as convoluted as Tulane’s potential traversal through it. 

“You’ve got to get that crazy scenario where you’ve got, like a Kansas State-Texas Tech Big 12 championship game. If that were to happen, then Tulane would probably end up being the fifth champ included in the CFP. They would not get a bye, but they would be included in the CFP. They need Big 12 chaos, because if the champ of the Big 12 comes from one of the 4 ranked-teams right now, and maybe even Kansas State-you could throw in Kansas State as well I think-those teams would pass them. Remember, Kansas State has a win over Tulane. So even Kansas State, who’s sitting at no.24. If they find themselves, somehow, some way, in the Big 12 championship game, the Green Wave is going to get knocked out of there”, said Joel Klatt, perhaps all but closing the curtain on Tulane’s hopes. Texas Tech-2024 Big 12 Champs- Does that have a ring to it?

Listen, if you said Tulane would even be on the periphery of the CFP picture in the final weekend, you’d have been laughed off. What John Sumrall has achieved in Year 1 down in New Orleans is nothing short of commendable. He’s been getting his plaudits to an extent- and has even been name-dropped for potential openings elsewhere. Tulane would hope they weren’t a short-stop en route to bigger and perhaps better things. 

Tulane Green have a sliver of hope to make the CFP

Besides the scenario Joel Klatt discussed, there is another path. The advent of the 12-team playoff was bound to cause hypotheticals to run astray. Reality has abided. That path involves a fellow G5 team- the only other one in the reckoning. 

If Tulane wins the American Conference and one of the teams expected to win the Big 12 takes care of business as well, then the onus falls on Boise State. They’ve seemingly built up credit with the committee from the onset. The Broncos have never been at the risk of falling out of the playoffs. However, one misstep may be enough. If Boise State loses the conference championship game, then the Mountain West could lose its auto-bid.

As it stands, Boise State will play a resurgent UNLV team. These two played a close 1-score game earlier in the season. The Broncos won, but UNLV are hot right now. They’ll have fans all the way in Louisiana hoping for a miracle. In many ways, this whole ordeal is a miracle for those of a Tulane persuasion.