Before Saturday even started, the hottest narrative in college football media was that Group of 5 (G5) schools like Tulane and James Madison didn’t belong in the College Football Playoff.
Neither school did much on the field to convince the doubters otherwise. The Green Wave lost 41-10 to Ole Miss, and JMU got blown out by Oregon.
Even before those contests were over, many college football pundits and broadcasters were taking victory laps, including the broadcasters calling Tulane’s game.
Fox Sports’ Robert Griffin III, however, went the other direction. RGIII defended both schools as worthy of inclusion in the CFP, using a different rationale than we’ve seen from others.
The Results of the JMU and Tulane game don’t matter. They earned their way into the College Football Playoff and earned their butt whopping like:
-Alabama lost 44-16 to Clemson-2019
-Oklahoma lost 63-28 to LSU-2019
-OSU lost 31-0 to Clemson-2016
-OSU lost 52-24 to Alabama-2021 https://t.co/qdI9nLqIk1 pic.twitter.com/UTxqNuTVFa— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 21, 2025
“The Results of the JMU and Tulane game don’t matter,” Griffin wrote on X. “They earned their way into the College Football Playoff and earned their butt whopping like: Alabama lost 44-16 to Clemson-2019, Oklahoma lost 63-28 to LSU-2019, OSU lost 31-0 to Clemson-2016, OSU lost 52-24 to Alabama-2021.”
While many point to the games’ outcome as proof that the G5 schools didn’t belong, Griffin says the result is irrelevant. Inclusion came from what the schools accomplished during the season. And besides, if you’re going to penalize them for getting blown out, you have to hold big-time programs like Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State to that standard as well.
Ironically, Josh Pate has a similar stance but takes the opposite side of the coin. He argues that the CFP outcome is irrelevant, but what matters is who you play in the regular season. According to him, G5 schools like Tulane and JMU just haven’t “earned” the right to play in the CFP, whereas schools like Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and BYU have played more demanding schedules that make them more “worthy.”
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.