Memphis Looks To Challenge Tulane In AAC Race
It Is Crowded At the Top In The 2024 American Athletic Conference NCAAF Odds
SMU is Out and Army Is In As The American Athletic Conference Shuffles Deck Again
It wouldn’t be a college football season if the American Athletic Conference wasn’t dealing with a change in membership thanks to conference realignment.
Southern Methodist, the 2023 AAC champion, left for the Atlantic Coast Conference with Army joining the conference as a football member. That will impact the 2024 American Athletic NCAAF Odds.
Tulane, which joined SMU by going 8-0 in conference play during the regular season, has played in the last two AAC title games and is looking to become the first program to make it to three consecutive American Athletic Conference championship games.
There is a new wrinkle for each of the Group of Five conferences for the 2024 college football season. The conference championship from the five highest rated conferences will earn a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
With the Pac-12 a thing of the past, at least one college football team from the Group of Five conferences will be a part of the CFP field.
- Memphis has the best odds at +220 of winning the American Athletic Conference followed by Tulane (+380), South Florida (+550), and UTSA (+650).
When considering the best options in the NCAAF free picks, some college foobtball games to consider in Week 1 would include Temple as a 40.5-point underdog against Oklahoma and Florida Atlantic at +11.5 versus Michigan State.
The Top Contenders
Memphis brings back star quarterback Seth Henigan and three of his top receivers so this could be a fun offense to watch in 2024.
Running back Marion Anderson transferred in from the East Carolina Pirates while the defense could get a boost from the arrivals of Old Dominion safety Tahj Ra-El, Tennessee linebacker Elijah Herring, Elon cornerback Jaidyn Denis, and Indiana cornerback Kobee Minor.
- It will be tempting to go with the +128 odds for Memphis to go over 9.5 wins in the regular season when looking at the 2024 American Athletic NCAAF Odds.
Tulane lost head coach Willie Fritz to Houston. How much will that impact the Green Wave as Tulane looks to be a top contender once again?
It won’t be easy replacing quarterback Michael Pratt. The transfer portal was not kind to the Green Wave with receiver Chris Brazzell landing at Tennessee, linebacker Corey Platt following Fritz to Houston, edge rusher Devean Deal now at TCU with safety DJ Douglas landing at Florida.
Tulane did add receivers Mario Williams from USC and Shazz Preston from Alabama while Oregon transfer Ty Thompson could be the new quarterback.
When it comes to the NCAAF predictions, Tulane has more questions than answers, but the projected win total line of 7.5 seems a bit low.
South Florida was one of the surprises of the college football universe in 2023, going from 1-11 to 7-6. Quarterback Bryum Brown can do it all. Many other top skill position NCAAF players are back.
Receiver Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen transferred in from Purdue with running back Ta’ron Keith coming in from
Western Kentucky so scoring points shouldn’t be a problem. It could be a little risky to take the Bulls at +104 to go over 7.5 wins, as South Florida won’t be sneaking up on anybody in 2024.
UTSA needs to replace prolific quarterback Frank Harris. The defense will miss edge rusher Trey Moore and cornerback Kam Alexander as they are now at Texas and Oregon.
The +118 odds for the Roadrunners to go over 8.5 wins in the NCAAF regular season are worth considering.
Other Teams In the Hunt
Parity is alive and well with Rice, East Carolina, Army, UAB, and Florida Atlantic all at 6.5 in the regular-season win projections.
Rice was 3-3 in one-score games. Will former Temple quarterback E.J. Warner, the son of Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, change that? Georgia offensive tackle Chad Lindberg is another transfer to watch for the Owls as they are at -158 to go over 6.5 wins. That is worth considering in the NCAAF best bets.
- Michigan State quarterback Katin Houser, Penn State running back London Montgomery, and Oregon tight end Casey Kelly could bolster the East Carolina offense and help the Pirates deliver at +118 to top 6.5 wins.
While FAU lost some talent among the outgoing transfers, perhaps former Marshall quarterback Cam Fancher will help the Owls go over 6.5 wins. The 2024 American Athletic NCAAF odds have FAU at -110 to do just that.
As if having to face one triple-option offense in conference play wasn’t challenging enough, now there are two with Army joining Navy.
- Army has enjoyed more success than Navy in recent years and it will be tempting to take Army at +148 to go over 6.5 wins.
UAB is at +122 to go over 6.5 wins and with transfers coming in from Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Minnesota, and Purdue, perhaps they will come through.
Some Work To Do
- North Texas is looking good to become bowl eligible with -134 odds to go over 5.5 wins even though plenty of transfers landed in the power conferences.
The rebuilding process for Navy continues as the Midshipmen might need to make a late surge to deliver at -114 to top 5.5 wins.
- Tulsa (-105 to go over 4.5 wins) and Temple (-112 to exceed 2.5 wins) used to be relevant in this conference. Now they are trying to stay out of last place.
Charlotte picked up Florida quarterback Max Brown, running backs CJ Stokes and Castevious Norton from Michigan and Iowa State, and Clemson offensive tackle Mitchell Mayes. Is that enough to go over 3.5 wins?
For college football betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
