With its American Athletic Conference opener on deck, the Tulane football team talked extensively about the 24-hour rule after being dealt a 45-10 loss at Ole Miss.

Mismatches like that can linger in the psyche for a long time, particularly for a team that was within range of the top 25 and still harbors college football playoff ambitions.

“Losing that game the way we did definitely hurt, but like coach (Jon) Sumrall said Sunday, you wake up and it’s a new day,” senior safety and co-captain Bailey Despanie said. “You’re not dead. You’re not in the hospital. There are people with far worse problems than us. We played a game. It’s not the end of the world. That’s really been the message throughout the team. The sky isn’t falling. Starting conference play is really when you’re playing for

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