NORMAN, Okla. — In the ever-changing college football conference landscape, Tulane found itself the subject of speculation this week after Oregon State and Washington State announced they were resurrecting the Pac-12 with the addition of Mountain West schools Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State.
Six is the minimum for a conference to be sanctioned, and the Pac-12 is expected to expand beyond those teams quickly, with Tulane, Memphis, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State among those considered options.
Sources within Tulane did not confirm a report the school already had hired a search firm to deal with conference realignment. In an interview this summer, new athletic director David Harris sounded open to considering a western-based based league while acknowledging the disadvantages.
“If you ask any AD or college president, they would probably say if given a choice, they would prefer that things lined up geographically,” Harris said. “There have just been opportunities where people have decided they are not going to let the lack of geographic alignment prevent them from pursuing what they feel is a great opportunity. Ideally, sure, you’d like to be in a conference situation that aligns geographically because it goes into the expenses it will take to be a part of that conference, so it’s always something you are going to keep an eye on.
“That’s one consideration. It’s not the only consideration. It’s like finances aren’t the only consideration or the academic component isn’t the only consideration. There are a lot of things that go into those conversations, and you have to take a look at all of them and see how they stack up.”
Tulane has been a member of the American Athletic Conference for 11 years. The league, which was the strongest of the Group of Five conferences for several seasons, took a hit with the departure of Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida for the Big 12 in 2023 and SMU to the ACC this season. If Tulane stayed while Memphis and others left, the already-declining league would be a shell of its former self.
Injured kicker
When Jacob Barnes exacerbated a tweak he felt a week early while missing a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter against the Sooners, coach Jon Sumrall had to go to Plan B with his kicking game.
It started just as poorly as the rest of the first half had gone for Tulane in what turned out to be a 34-19 loss on Saturday. Walk-on freshman Ethan Head’s extra-point attempt with 19 seconds left in the half went under the crossbar, ending the Wave’s streak of 203 makes dating to the 2020 opener at South Alabama.
“The worst thing you can do with a kid like that on his first shot is go over and give him an earful,” Sumrall said. “I just said, 'Hey, that went as planned, didn’t it.' He looked at me like I was crazy, and I said I know the second one can’t be worse than that; you’ll be fine.”
Head, who has been kicking off since the opener, connected on his next extra point.
Sumrall did not specify Barnes’ injury, and it is unclear when he will be able to return.
“He was good to go today, and then on the field goal, that swing irritated it,” Sumrall said. “He definitely had something that bothered him.”
Lagniappe
Will Karoll’s 78-yard punt in the second quarter was the third longest in Wave history. Casey Roussel had an 83-yarder vs. ECU in 1999 and O.J. Key had an 87-yarder in 1946 vs. Florida. … The announced attendance was 83,325 — Oklahoma’s 155th consecutive sellout.