NEW ORLEANS — Tulane’s football team earned a No. 24 preseason ranking in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, the organization announced on Monday.
The Green Wave totaled 224 points to place 24th overall nationally. The program was one of two from the state along with LSU (No. 5) to be ranked in the top 25. The Green Wave are the only school from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) to be ranked in the preseason poll this year. Tulane’s week two opponent, Ole Miss, is also ranked in the preseason poll at No. 22 and 281 points. This is the first time that Tulane has ever garnered a preseason Associated Press Top 25 ranking.
Earlier in the summer, Tulane was voted as the preseason favorite in the AAC in the annual media poll and No. 23 nationally in the USA TODAY Sports / AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll. The program also has preseason candidates for the Rimington Trophy (Sincere Haynesworth), the Paul Hornung Award (Jha’Quan Jackson), the Wuerffel Trophy (Michael Pratt), the Patrick Mannelly Award (Ethan Hudak), the Maxwell Award (Michael Pratt), the Outland Trophy (Haynesworth and Prince Pines), the Bronko Nagurski Award (Darius Hodges and Jarius Monroe), the Walter Camp (Pratt) and the Bednarik Award (Monroe and Patrick Jenkins).
This season, Tulane brings back four of the team’s five starters on the offensive line (Haynesworth, Pines, Josh Remetich, Rashad Green), two of the team’s top three rushers (Pratt and Shaadie Clayton-Johnson), the starting quarterback (Pratt), two of the top four receivers (Jackson and Lawrence Keys III), the team’s punter (Casey Glover), the team’s kicker (Valentino Ambrosio), the team’s leader in interceptions (Monroe) and three of the five leading defensive players in tackles for loss (Jenkins, Hodges and Keith Cooper Jr.).
In 2022, Tulane’s football team completed an unprecedented 12-2 campaign, culminating with an American Athletic Conference title and a 46-45 win over USC in the Cotton Bowl. At season’s end, the Green Wave finished with a ninth overall ranking, the second-highest in program history. Tulane opens the 2023 season at Yulman Stadium hosting South Alabama on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS (First Place Votes) |
| 1 | Georgia | 0-0 | 1572 (60) |
| 2 | Michigan | 0-0 | 1490 (2) |
| 3 | Ohio State | 0-0 | 1400 (1) |
| 4 | Alabama | 0-0 | 1398 (0) |
| 5 | LSU | 0-0 | 1276 (0) |
| 6 | USC | 0-0 | 1245 (0) |
| 7 | Penn State | 0-0 | 1177 (0) |
| 8 | Florida State | 0-0 | 1147 (0) |
| 9 | Clemson | 0-0 | 1032 (0) |
| 10 | Washington | 0-0 | 977 (0) |
| 11 | Texas | 0-0 | 882 (0) |
| 12 | Tennessee | 0-0 | 868 (0) |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 0-0 | 863 (0) |
| 14 | Utah | 0-0 | 811 (0) |
| 15 | Oregon | 0-0 | 732 (0) |
| 16 | Kansas State | 0-0 | 501 (0) |
| 17 | TCU | 0-0 | 416 (0) |
| 18 | Oregon State | 0-0 | 406 (0) |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 0-0 | 386 (0) |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 0-0 | 296 (0) |
| 21 | North Carolina | 0-0 | 292 (0) |
| 22 | Ole Miss | 0-0 | 281 (0) |
| 23 | Texas A&M | 0-0 | 227 (0) |
| 24 | Tulane | 0-0 | 224 (0) |
| 25 | Iowa | 0-0 | 131 (0) |
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