Welcome to Championship Week.
The college football regular season has officially concluded, which means conference championships, the Army-Navy game and bowl season are next on deck.
Speaking of Army, Action Network's Mike Calabrese broke down the Championship Week slate and came away with his favorite early bet for Army vs. Tulane in the AAC Championship.
So, if you're looking to get some early action down, Calabrese has you covered.
Continue reading for Army vs. Tulane odds, NCAAF picks and early predictions for the American Athletic Conference Championship on Friday, Dec. 6.
Army vs. Tulane Odds
| Army Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+6 -112 | 45.5 -112o / -108u | +190 |
| Tulane Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-6 -108 | 45.5 -112o / -108u | -230 |
Just a week ago, Tulane had a path, albeit a narrow one, to the College Football Playoff.
If it beat Memphis and Army convincingly en route to an AAC title and got an upset from UNLV over Boise State in the Mountain West Championship, there was a high likelihood that the committee would have selected them as the Group of Five entrant into the 12-team field.
But then Tulane got steamrolled at home by Memphis, allowing the Tigers to run up 242 yards on the ground during a 34-24 Thanksgiving night letdown.
The Green Wave's three losses on the season came to teams with an average SP+ ranking of 31st.
Their nine wins?
Well, if you take out their victory over FCS Southeastern Louisiana, their FBS victories come with a massive asterisk. The FBS opponents they beat barely cracked the SP+ top 100, checking in with an average ranking of 93rd.
And now they travel over 1,300 miles, heading directly into hostile territory. For most road games, that’s merely a figurative statement, but with frigid conditions on tap, tens of thousands of rabid members of the military bearing down on them and helicopters circling overhead, the word hostile feels quite literal in this context.
On the field, Tulane has struggled to contain quality opponents on the ground. In bouts with Kansas State, Louisiana, Memphis and Oklahoma, the TU defense has allowed over 200 yards and two rushing scores per game.
Army remains a fine-tuned rushing attack, ranking top-five in Rushing Success, Line Yards, Stuff Rate and Quality Drives.
The Cadets also play keep-away better than any team in the country. The Black Knights possess the ball for nearly 36 minutes per game.
Memphis, another team known for stringing together long drives (third in TOP), ate up nearly 40 minutes of game clock in its win over Tulane.
The Green Wave were powerless to get off the field, allowing Memphis to convert 10-of-16 third downs. Army is also top-five in third-down conversion rate, and the Cadets have converted 21 times on fourth down this season at a 75% clip (fifth).
If I’m fortunate enough for Army to open the game with the ball, I love their chances of carrying a lead into the break. At plus-money on its home field, there’s too much value on this side to pass it up.
Big money has been flowing toward the hometown Cadets early in the week. Full-game moneyline plays on Army number just 29% of the total bets as of publication, but nearly three-quarters of the money is on the Black Knights.
I would play this first-half wager down to Army +110.
Pick: Army 1H Moneyline +154 (Play to +110)
