Thousands of fans decked in olive green and sky blue flocked into Yulman Stadium to witness a coronation. Tulane claimed the American Athletic Conference championship on the same playing surface 364 days prior. Last year’s conference title was about establishing a legacy. This year, in a revamped version of the AAC, it was about cementing a dynasty.
But enter the SMU Mustangs. SMU similarly entered this game unscathed in AAC play, riding an 8-game win streak since late September. They thoroughly dominated their conference competition by an average margin of 29 points per game and never trailed in the second half of a single AAC game.