Could the winner of the American Athletic Conference championship game on Friday night make the College Football Playoff?
Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti is both holding out hope and making a case that the winner of the game between regular season champion Army and Tulane on Friday at Michie Stadium should get serious consideration for the 12-team national championship playoff. The game, which is being televised by ABC, will start at 8 p.m.
Speaking at a Monday press conference introducing the two teams and their coaches, Pernetti explained that the five highest-ranked conference champions in the college football playoffs rankings receive automatic bids into the playoff. While the best team from the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference are assured spots in the tournament, some say the other two guaranteed spots are up for grabs amongst the Big 12, Mountain West Conference and AAC.
Pernetti said that both Army and Tulane offer great resumes. Army, he noted, has won 10 of 11 games this season, losing only to No. 4 Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium last month. The Black Knights lead the country in rushing yards per game and are averaging nearly 33 points per game, while giving up under 16 points per game.
Tulane, meanwhile, has lost three times, but two of those losses came against nationally ranked Kansas State and Oklahoma early in the season and the third loss, last Thursday, was to No. 25 Memphis. Tulane played eight teams that are bowl eligible this year, Pernetti noted.
“We are good enough, I don’t think that has ever been a question,” Pernetti said about his league. “If Army is our champion at 11-1, ranked in the CFP all year and would have its only loss to top (four) Notre Dame than they are a legitimate playoff team.”
He added that if Tulane wins, it would have gotten to 10 wins by beating Army on its own field and would have played only four sub-.500 teams. “If you look at some of the folks that are ahead of where we are in the CFP rankings right now, they have played way more sub-.500 teams than (Tulane) has,” Pernetti said. “Boise State has played seven, UNLV and Arizona State have played eight, Clemson and Iowa State have played six.
“I am hopeful that everyone (on the CFP selection committee) is considering the overall body of work. I am confident that the body of work will be evaluated and I think we are well positioned in the conversation.”
Pernetti also said that he is confident that the Army-Navy game will remain “on a protected date” on the last Saturday of the regular season, a week after the AAC championship game.
“I don’t see it changing at all,” he said. “Army-Navy is an institution. We had a very detailed discussion about this as (conference) commissioners in the CFP meeting in April. If, in any scenario, Army or Navy go undefeated or win our league and are selected to compete in the college football playoff, the result of the Army-Navy has no impact on that selection that takes place a week prior.”
