For more than a half-century, Tulane has been trying to make amends for the mistake of leaving the SEC in the mid 60s.  Now, however, the Green Wave can say they are coming close to doing so, after a wildly-exciting campaign featuring an AAC championship and a raucous fightback in the Cotton Bowl to take out Heisman winner Caleb Williams and USC in the final seconds. (Tommy Bowden's unbeaten 1998 team, which can also make claim to the program's high-water mark for the past 60 or so years, could do no better than a Liberty Bowl invite that year).

All credit to head coach Willie Fritz, whose reconstruction job last season exceeded all expectations. From the rubble of a two-win disaster in 2021, Fritz oversaw a stunning 10-win improvement last fall. Regional insiders, however, cautioned all offseason a year ago to not write off the Wave because of 2021, a campaign that was totally disrupted by Hurricane Ida in September, causing a temporary relocation of the team to Birmingham and two home games moved out of New Orleans to Norman, Oklahoma vs. the Sooners, and to old Legion Field for a game vs. Morgan State. With the weather more cooperative last year, Tulane didn't have to relocate or move any games, and momentum snowballed all the way to the AAC title game, avenging a November loss to Gus Malzahn's UCF, and to the Cotton Bowl thriller vs. Lincoln Riley's Trojans...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Tulane's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the AAC season.

AAC preview: Conference winner | Charlotte | East Carolina | Florida Atlantic | Memphis | Navy | North Texas | Rice | SMU | South Florida | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UAB | UTSA

2023 Tulane at a glance

• Last Year: 12-2 SU, 12-2 ATS, 8-6 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 6; Defense 3

• Win total: 9 (Over -125, Under -105)

What do you need to know about Temple before locking in your AAC futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see AAC futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!