“Must be a lot of bad football”: Tulane HC Jon Sumrall downplays team’s Top-25 status in striking post-ranking remark

Jon Sumrall's Tulane beat the Florida Atlantic Owls in Week 12 of the 2025 college football season on Saturday. It was the Green Wave's eighth win of the season, and it bumped them into the top-25 of the latest rankings by the College Football Playoff Committee.

Tulane is currently ranked No. 24, and on Tuesday, Sumrall was asked whether he believed that his team was worthy of that ranking. However, it's safe to say the Green Wave coach is not planning to let his program get comfortable despite the national recognition.

“I don’t know, you know, I haven’t watched that many other people play,” Sumrall said. “I watch us play and I watch whoever we’re getting ready to play, play. And after that, I don't really know who else is out there, I’ll just be very candid. There's some days I feel like we’re one of the bottom 25 teams in the country watching us play. So if we want to start feeling comfortable or feeling casual about somebody wanting to vote us in the top 25 teams.

"There must be a lot of bad football going on if we’re one of the top 25 teams. I mean, there must be some really bad football played right now in college football. We’re average, we’re an average team. We get every six or seven days, depending on the schedule that week, to promote ourselves or embarrass ourselves. And we’ve done that before, so we better get ready to play.”

Tulane hired Sumrall in December 2023. He led the team to a 9-5 record in his first year.

This season, the Green Wave has a chance to make it to the College Football Playoff.

Jon Sumrall's Tulane will face Temple in Week 13 of the 2025 college football season

Tulane HC Jon Sumrall - Source: Getty

Jon Sumrall's Tulane (8-2, 5-1 AAC) will face Temple (5-5, 3-3 AAC) in Week 13 of the 2025 college football season on Saturday. The game will kick off at 3:45 p.m. ET from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The Owls have lost two straight games. Given Tulane's recent ranking, Sumrall's team is the favorite to come away with a win.