Tulane receives No. 11 seed in CFP, will play at Ole Miss

For the second time in the history of the College Football Playoff, the American Conference is represented.

The Tulane Green Wave (11-2, 7-1 American) received the No. 11 seed as the fourth highest-ranked conference champion and will face the Ole Miss Rebels (11-1, 7-1 SEC) in Oxford, MS in the first round on Saturday, Dec. 20. Tulane joins 2021 Cincinnati as the only American teams to qualify for the playoff, becoming the first to crack the 12-team field which debuted in 2024.

The second year 12-team CFP format differs from the first, as first round byes are no longer exclusive to conference champions. Under the 2024 format, Tulane would have received a first round bye as the fourth highest-ranked conference champ.

Tulane vs. Ole Miss will be one of two 2025 rematches in the first round. The two teams collided on Saturday, Sept. 20 in the same venue of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, with Ole Miss dominating the Green Wave in 45-10 fashion. This will mark the 73rd meeting between the former SEC opponents, and the Rebels lead the all-time series 46-28 — winning all 14 matchups since 1989.

Tulane captured its second American championship in four years on Friday night, handling North Texas 34-21 despite entering as home underdogs. The Green Wave earned their fourth-straight conference championship and fourth-straight 9+ win season in the midst of a highly prosperous stretch, but this is the first time they’ve received the right to play for a national championship. Tulane is led by head coach Jon Sumrall who already accepted a position at Florida. However, the second-year Green Wave head coach committed to coaching his team through the remainder of this historic run.

Ole Miss was idle conference championship weekend, but the Rebels’ regular season body of work — which featured a new program record with 11 wins — earned them the No. 6 seed in the bracket. There is one notable difference between December Ole Miss and the version of the team that eviscerated the Green Wave by 35 in September. Head coach Lane Kiffin departed for the LSU job, but unlike Sumrall, Kiffin will not coach the Rebels’ first-ever playoff run. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to be the program’s next full-time head coach, and Golding will lead Ole Miss in this rematch vs. Tulane.

The first round matchup between 11-seed Tulane and 6-seed seed Ole Miss kicks off from Oxford on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on ESPN. Tulane strives to become the first American team to triumph in a playoff atmosphere, while Ole Miss aims to generate its first playoff win in history in front of its home crowd.