AAC Football Odds: Three Teams Vying for Two Spots in AAC Title Game

Before Departing for Big 12, One More Week to Remember for AAC Heavyweights

This is the last hurrah for Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston – who will join the Big 12 in 2023. There has been a little movement this week when looking at the AAC Conference football odds and that includes Cincinnati now a two-point favorite against Tulane.

Could their final seasons in the American Athletic Conference end up with the Bearcats and Knights meeting in the conference title game? If they will this weekend, that is exactly what will happen. Tulane has something to say about that.

Tulsa, Temple and South Florida will be wrapping up their 2022 seasons as they will not be bowl eligible regardless of what happens in Week 13.

Here’s a look at the games in the final week of the regular season even if Navy does still have its annual showdown with Army on December 10.

Game of the Week

The winner of this game will play in the American Athletic Conference championship game and when looking at the AAC Conference football odds, this is as good a place to start as any.

Defending champion Cincinnati was expected to be in this position. However, Tulane’s rise to the top of the AAC standings has been one of the most surprising stories in college football.

Cincinnati and Tulane, who are both 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play… they rank first and second in the conference in total defense, so this could be a physical affair.

Tulane is tied for second in the conference with 10 interceptions, one more than Cincinnati.

Quarterback Michael Pratt has gone from completing 57.6% of his passes to 65.4% to key Tulane’s impressive run.

Tyler Scott needs 112 receiving yards to hit the 1,000 mark for Cincinnati.

Cincinnati has won the last four games against Tulane but the Green Wave covered in two of those matchups.
Tulane is 4-0 on the road and Cincinnati 5-0 at home so one of those streaks will be coming to an end. The Green Wave has also covered in each of those four road games.

Other Games to Watch

East Carolina is reeling a bit after Houston came into Greenville and left with an emphatic 42-3 win. Still, the AAC Conference football odds have the Pirates as a double-digit favorite.

Running back Keaton Mitchell did go over the 1,000-yard mark in the loss for the Pirates (6-5, 3-4).

Temple (3-8, 1-6) went from losing a game full of offensive fireworks against Houston to being held to a field goal against Cincinnati.

Temple is led by Layton Jordan and Darian Varner who have combined for 16.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss.

East Carolina has covered in each of the last three meetings with Temple and that includes a pair of outright wins. Each of those games finished under the total. The total is set at 52 for this year’s matchup.

Both teams are 7-4 against the spread this season with Temple 5-1 in home affairs.

Two of the top passing offenses in the conference meet up. Memphis sophomore Seth Henigan has thrown for 3,000 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

SMU’s Tanner Mordecai had a game with nine touchdown passes earlier this season and he is second in the AAC with 29 TD throws despite missing a game. Rashee Rice is the conference leader with 1,208 receiving yards.
SMU (6-5, 4-3) is sixth and Memphis (6-5, 3-4) seventh in passing defense so this could be a high-scoring affair.

When looking at the college football betting trends, three of the last four games between SMU and Memphis have gone under the total. However, the last two games to finish over the total had 213 points scored. Another high-scoring affair is predicted with a total of 71.5.

Eight of the 11 Memphis games this season have finished over the total and that includes all four road games.

Despite last week’s upset loss to Navy, UCF (8-3, 5-2) has a chance to reach the AAC title game. Since the Knights own wins over both Cincinnati and Tulane, a win on Saturday would give UCF the title berth.

It has been a tough season for USF (1-10, 0-7) with the only win coming against FCS Howard.

South Florida is last in the conference in total defense for the second season in a row while UCF is second in the AAC in total offense.

A bright spot for USF has been sophomore running back Brian Battle who has 1,042 rushing yards.
John Rhys Plumlee and Mike Keene split time at quarterback last week for UCF.

UCF has won five games in a row against their Sunshine State rivals. The Bulls have covered in three of those matchups and that includes a 17-13 loss in 2021 as a 17-point underdog.

When is comes to including this game as part of the NCAAF picks and parlays, keep in mind that South Florida is 0-4 against the spread at home this season while UCF has covered in three of its four road games.

The total is set for 69 in this matchup and that could be a problem for South Florida against the high-scoring Knights.

Both Houston (7-4, 5-2) and Tulsa (4-7, 2-5) have ball security issues as both NCAAF teams have 18 giveaways this season.

Tulsa is coming off a game with 271 rushing yards in a win over South Florida.

Houston is led by Clayton Tune, the conference leader with 3,459 yards and 35 TD passes. Nathaniel Dell leads the AAC with 94 catches and 14 TD catches.

They are eighth and ninth in the conference in total defense.

Houston has won the last three meetings with Tulsa.

Tulsa has covered in just one of its first five road games while Houston is 0-5 against the spread at home this season.

The total for this game has ranged from 67-68.5.

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• MAC Week 12 Betting Odds: Ohio vs Ball State Highlights Week
• 2022 NCAAF Transfers: Southern Cal and LSU Among the Winners With Transfers
• ACC Week 11 Betting Roundup: North Carolina and Wake Forest Ready to Light it Up Again
• Big Ten Week 11 Betting Roundup: Illinois Aims to Keep West Division Lead
• Big 12 Week 11 Betting Roundup: Texas Favored to Hand TCU Its First Loss of 2022