Tulane, JMU Fall Flat in CFP Debuts as Group of Five Takes a Hit
Saturday’s College Football Playoff action was supposed to be a celebration of expansion - a new era where Group of Five programs could finally crash the party. Instead, it felt more like a harsh reminder of the gap that still exists between the sport’s traditional powerhouses and its hopeful outsiders.
In Oxford, Ole Miss made quick work of Tulane in a 41-10 rout that never felt close. This was a rematch from earlier in the season, and unfortunately for the Green Wave, the sequel looked a lot like the original - only worse.
The Rebels controlled the tempo, the scoreboard, and just about everything in between. And in the broadcast booth, ESPN’s Jesse Palmer and Joe Tessitore weren’t shy about voicing their frustration with the matchup.
“This has been a completely non-competitive game,” Tessitore said bluntly. Then came the question that hung over the afternoon like a cloud: What if this had been Notre Dame instead?
Palmer followed up with a pointed observation about the environment in Oxford and how much more electric it could’ve been with a marquee opponent. “Imagine how big this environment already is for this one and what that would have looked like if Notre Dame had that opportunity,” he said.
“We got a rematch of what we already saw earlier this season. The scoreboard in this one is not much different than what we saw in September.”
It wasn’t just Tulane that struggled to keep pace. Over in their own playoff debut, James Madison found themselves buried early against Oregon, trailing by as many as 31 points in the first half. Two Group of Five teams, two blowout losses - and a whole lot of questions about what this means moving forward.
Let’s be clear: blowouts aren’t new to the College Football Playoff. We’ve seen blue bloods get steamrolled in semifinals before.
But this year, with the expanded format and new broadcast partners involved, the stakes were different. And so were the optics.
TNT, airing its first-ever CFP games under a sublicensing deal, got saddled with the most lopsided matchups of the round. Meanwhile, ESPN held onto the more competitive showdowns - Miami vs.
Texas A&M and Alabama vs. Oklahoma - both of which delivered on the hype.
That contrast wasn’t lost on viewers, or the network executives keeping a close eye on ratings.
It’s hard not to wonder if these matchups will be used as ammunition against future Group of Five inclusion. The idea of expanding the playoff was to give more teams a shot, to let programs like Tulane and JMU prove they belong on the biggest stage. But Saturday’s results gave fuel to the skeptics who argued that the gap is still too wide.
This isn’t just about one bad weekend for the G5. It’s about the long-term implications.
The playoff committee made a conscious decision to include champions from outside the Power Five. But if blowouts like these become the norm, there will be pressure - from networks, fans, and maybe even within the committee - to rethink that approach.
For Tulane and James Madison, this was a tough way to make a first impression. For the Group of Five as a whole, it’s a setback in a battle that’s always been uphill. And for the College Football Playoff, it’s a reality check: inclusion is great in theory, but the product on the field still has to deliver.