No. 25 Tulane routed Navy 35-0 Saturday to clinch a spot for both the Green Wave and No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference championship game, which could have College Football Playoff implications.
Tulane allowed only 113 yards against Navy (7-3, 5-2), which started the season 6-0 but has lost three of its past four games. The Green Wave (9-2, 7-0 AAC) will be making their third consecutive AAC title game appearance after winning the league two years ago and losing to SMU last season.
Army (9-0, 7-0), in its first season as a member of the AAC, will be playing in a conference championship game for the first time in program history. The Black Knights, who are off this weekend, will play No. 8 Notre Dame next week at Yankee Stadium before finishing their conference schedule against UTSA on Nov. 30. (The Dec. 14 Army-Navy game will not count in the conference standings.)
Tulane finishes its regular season Nov. 28 against Memphis.
None of those games will impact the AAC race, but both Army and Tulane could still be in position to claim a spot in the 12-team CFP as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions when they play on Dec. 6.
No. 13 Boise State from the Mountain West is currently the highest-ranked team from the Group of 5 conferences in the Playoff rankings. The Broncos’ (8-1) only loss came on a last-second field goal at Oregon in September. But if Boise State doesn’t win the Mountain West or slips up down the stretch, that could open the door for the AAC champ — especially if Army were to upset Notre Dame.
The site of the AAC title game is to be determined. If Army and Tulane tie for first in the standings, the team that is higher in the CFP standings going into the final regular-season weekend of games gets to host, as long as that team doesn’t lose.
(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
