Phoenix Suns
Group of Five Rundown: Tulane Looks to Stay in AAC Title Hunt
More conference championship games could be locked up this week among the Group of Five conferences
Currently, Toledo is the only team out of the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West and Sun Belt conferences to wrap up a spot in the conference championship game. That figures to change after Week 12.
Whether it is Tulane trying to bounce back from its first conference loss of the season or Boise State looking to put the finishing touches on the Mountain Division title run in the Mountain West, there are some intriguing games.
According to the college football playoff odds, UCF is now favored to win the American Athletic Conference title, followed by Cincinnati.
Tulane is involved in the Group of Five Game of the Week for the second week in a row.
There are plenty of Group of Five and FBS independents facing teams from Power-5 conferences this week. Liberty is favored against Virginia Tech, Coastal Carolina is making the trip to face a Virginia team that is dealing with the murder of three of its players, Western Kentucky plays at Auburn, UMass is a 33½-point underdog on the road against Texas A&M, UAB plays at Louisiana State and New Mexico State is a 28-point road underdog against Missouri.
Let’s check the latest NCAAF picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAF predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAF expert picks for you to consider.
Game of the Week
SMU vs Tulane
- Date, time (TV): Thursday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- Line: Tulane -3
Tulane is the top defensive team in the American Athletic Conference, allowing 323 yards each time out, while Southern Methodist is second in the conference with an average of 484 offensive yards per game.
Tulane (8-2, 5-1 AAC) finished with just two victories, including one conference win last season. Now the Green Wave can secure a spot in the AAC Championship Game by winning out.
A key will be slowing down SMU’s Rashee Rice, the conference leader with 1,167 receiving yards for the Mustangs (6-4, 4-2). The Green Wave allowed UCF to convert on 10 of 18 third-down plays in a 38-31 loss that knocked Tulane out of sole possession of first place.
SMU has covered against the college football betting lines in five of the last seven meetings with Tulane.
Rest of the Schedule
Toledo vs Bowling
- Date, time (TV): Tuesday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
- Line: Toledo -17
Toledo (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) has gone from allowing 476 yards during the 2019 season to giving up 341 this season, and that has been a key to the Rockets already clinching a division title and the MAC championship game berth.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗜-𝟳𝟱!!
🕖7 P.M. ET
📍Glass Bowl
🟡WEAR GOLD!
📺ESPNU | https://t.co/uikRkhCiBN🎟️https://t.co/jeecvAPHv8
📻https://t.co/KcWvN2RHZ3
📊https://t.co/UL5ZIpDYaa
📖https://t.co/OVsnTnmoXB pic.twitter.com/mviJytQNqv— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) November 15, 2022
Junior Dallas Grant leads the way with 89 tackles and senior Dyontae Johnson has 80 tackles.
The Rockets are the only MAC team to allow fewer than 200 passing yards per game and have the best passing efficiency mark as well.
Bowling Green (5-5, 4-2) needs to win to have a chance to meet Toledo for the MAC title. The Falcons are 1-4 when rushing for less than 100 yards so keep an eye on the running game.
Bowling Green features Karl Brooks, who has two games with at least three tackles for loss this season.
Toledo has won the last six home games against Bowling Green. Toledo winning by 13-18 points is priced at +375. For those feeling an upset, a Bowling Green win by 7-12 points could pay out at +2000, according to the sportsbook.
Houston vs East Carolina
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 19, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Line: East Carolina -6
After reaching the American Athletic Conference championship game a season ago, Houston needs to win out and get some help to return to the title tilt.
Picking up a key road win would keep the hopes alive, even though Houston has lost to two of the three teams ahead of them in the standings.
Quarterback Clayton Tune leads the conference with 3,024 yards and 31 touchdown passes while Nathaniel Dell is the conference leader with 85 catches for Houston (6-4, 4-2).
East Carolina (6-4, 3-3) ranks in the middle of the AAC in passing defense. ECU is second in the conference with nine interceptions, with three of them being recorded by Jireh Wilson.
Houston has covered against the Las Vegas odds in just two of its last six contests.
UTSA vs Rice
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 19, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
- Line: UTSA -13
Just three years ago UTSA was 11th in Conference USA in yards per game and now the Roadrunners have the top offense in the conference.
Quarterback Frank Harris has over 3,000 passing yards for the second season in a row for UTSA (8-2, 6-0) while Joshua Cephus, Zakhari Franklin and De’Corian Clark are all over 700 receiving yards and have combined for 22 touchdowns. Clark will miss the rest of the season with a leg injury.
Rice (5-5, 3-3) ranks 10th out of 11 Conference USA teams in passing efficiency defense, so this could be a long day at the office for the Owls unless Josh Pearcy, Trey Schuman and the rest of the Rice defense can put the pressure on the UTSA quarterback.
UTSA has won the last six games against Rice, although the Owls have covered in two of those contests.
South Alabama vs Southern Miss
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m. ET (NFL Network)
- Line: South Alabama -7½
It is a must-win for South Alabama (8-2, 5-1) to have a chance to reach the Sun Belt title game. The Jaguars are tied with Troy for the West Division lead. However, South Alabama lost to Troy by four points and finishing tied atop the standings won’t secure a spot in the title game.
South Alabama trails only Marshall in total defense among Sun Belt teams.
Southern Miss (5-5, 3-3) ranks 10th or lower in most offensive categories so the Golden Eagles might struggle to sustain drives. The total has gone under in nine of Southern Mississippi’s last 13 games against Sun Belt foes.
Boise State vs Wyoming
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
- Line: Boise State -14
Boise State’s defense is allowing one fewer yard per play than a season ago and that has paved the way for the Broncos to be the last of the Mountain West teams yet to lose in conference play.
Boise State (7-3, 6-0) can wrap up a division title and spot in the Mountain West championship game with a win on Saturday night.
It won’t be easy going on the road against a Wyoming team that has won four games in a row.
Wyoming (7-3, 5-1) is tied for the conference lead with 31 sacks while Boise State has allowed the second-fewest sacks in the Mountain West, so the Cowboys will look to pressure Taylen Green, the highest-rated passer in the conference.
Boise State has covered against the college football predictions in each of its last five games against Mountain West teams.
