Conference Championship Previews (Friday Night Games): The Tulane Green Wave Look Ready To Roll To An AAC Title!

G Fiume. Getty Images.

It all goes by so fast…..

How the heck is it already Conference Championship Weekend in college football? Did the season not just kick off a month ago?

There are three Conference Title Games tonight to kick off the weekend. Here are the lines courtesy of our partners at DraftKings.

Let's make some picks and try to earn a couple of dollars shall we?!?!?

Conference USA Championship: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State (-4 O/U 58.5)

Rich Rodriguez is trying to continue his comeback tour with a title at Jacksonville State who has only been in FBS a few years. These two teams actually just played last week with Western Kentucky winning 19-17 at home to advance to this title game. There's no reason to put a ton of stock into that loss for Jacksonville State as they already had hosting the CUSA Title Game locked up.

This total of 58.5 does seem a little high but both of these teams can score. Weather forecast is a low of 26 tonight w/ no rain & manageable 8 mph winds. 

What is the old saying? It is hard to beat a team two weeks in a row. Well that applies here and Jacksonville State should be ready on their home field playing for a championship. Rich Rod's squad started 0-3 then ripped off 8 in a row before falling last week to WKU. The Gamecocks also scored at least 30 points 8 weeks in row before slowing down in last two. 

QB Tyler Huff & RB Tre Stewart are a lethal combo. Rich Rod ALWAYS has a mobile QB in his spread option offense who does damage on the ground. Huff does have a little bit of an ankle injury but should be good to go. 

Western Kentucky does not have as much firepower as the last couple of years. After transfer QB TJ Finley did not work out, Caden Veltkamp stepped in to provide stability. Depite recent bad losses to LA Tech at home & getting blown out at Liberty, the Hilltoppers saved their spot in this game last week.

I think Jacksonville State's running game is too much for Western Kentucky ESP at home and the Rich Rod redemption tour rolls on.

Jacksonville State 34 Western Kentucky 23 FINAL

Mountain West Championship: UNLV at Boise State (-4.5 O/U 57.5)

Damn this one is MASSIVE! The winner clinches a spot in the College Football Playoffs and Boise State gets the #4 seed and a bye with a W.

This line felt a little short when coming out at Boise State (-4) originally on the famous Blue Turf. It is going to be freezing cold tonight too with a low of 26 degrees with light wind and no rain. This clearly is an edge for Boise St and superstar RB Ashton Jeanty.

Barry Odom has done the Lord's Work taking UNLV to a 10-2 record with home losses to a strong Syracuse team in OT and 29-24 to Boise. QB Haji-Malik Williams dual threat ability has been a godsend after the Matthew Sluka saga over NIL $$$ went wrong. WR Ricky White is also a star with over 1,000 yards. It is also kind of fitting for the Vegas team to succeed in NIL era with all that momey in the Nevada desert.

The only true G5 blue blood Boise State is 11-1 with only a 3 point road loss to #1 Oregon in Week 2. Heisman candidate Ashton Jeanty has shattered the record book all season. 

Strap up and prepare for a HELLUVA football game! The line came out a little short at Boise by 4 when I expected it to be 6 to 6.5 on their homefield. That makes me lean UNLV and the points. This thing should go to the wire and could be a thriller but in the end Boise finds a way as they always do. The Broncos grab the #4 seed and a bye in the playoffs.

Boise 31 UNLV 27 FINAL

AAC Championship: Tulane (-5) at Army (O/U 45.5)

Tulane blew their shot at the Playoffs and to host this game with a home loss to a damn good Memphis team on Thanksgiving night. But do not put too much stock into that. The Green Wave finished 9-3 and have been ROLLING the last two months under 1st year stud coach & Jon Sumrall.

Freshman QB Dario Mensah and RB Makhi Hughes lead a solid offense with WR talent led by USC transfer Mario Williams. The real strength of this team is the defense led by LB Tyler Grubbs. The Wave also have a stout DLine. 

Army has been an incredible story all season with only 1 loss getting blown out by Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium 2 weeks ago. Their offense started hot as hell but has slowed down the last few weeks led by option QB Bryson Daily who ran for over 1300 yards and throws just enough to keep defenses honest.

Cold weather is also a factor here with a low of 23 in upstate New York tonight but light winds and no rain help the Uptown NOLA boys some.

Tulane is in a great situation tonight. Jon Sumrall's defenses have only allowed 9 points total in their last 3 games against option offenses!! The Wave shut out Navy 35-0 on the road a few weeks ago and will be ready.

Last week's Tulane loss to Memphis means NADA here and I believe the Wave roll to an AAC Title behind a dominant defensive effort!

Tulane 23 Army 7 FINAL

Check out DraftKings for all your wagering needs this weekend (#dkpartner)! Let's get this $$$$ and close out a great season!