Memphis was projected as the 12 seed and the best Group of 5 team in the College Football Playoffs’ first official rankings on Tuesday night. Although they were surprisingly not ranked in the top 25, the Tigers are ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the Coaches Poll.
The best Group of 5 conference champion gets an automatic bid to the College Football Playoffs and right now that seems like it will go to whoever wins the American Conference. This year has been one of the toughest American Conferences since the departures of UCF, Houston, Cincinnati and SMU.
Right now, there are six teams atop the American, all with one loss. Memphis controls their own destiny and if they win out, then they are automatically in the conference championship. The Tigers play three of the one-loss teams in their remaining three games, making every game huge.
Memphis plays Tulane at home this Friday night. Tulane lost early in the year against 13th ranked Ole Miss, then fell last week in an upset loss to UTSA to suffer their first conference loss. Despite this setback, Tulane is still fighting for a spot in the conference championship, making Friday’s 8 p.m. game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium a huge matchup.
