After about 3.5 months of college football, Championship Week has arrived.
Friday night's college football slate features four title games:
- Jacksonville State vs. Kennesaw State (Conference USA Championship)
- James Madison vs. Troy (Sun Belt Championship)
- Tulane vs. North Texas (American Conference Championship)
- Boise State vs. UNLV (Mountain West Championship)
Our college football writers broke down all 4 conference championship games on Friday's slate and came through with a pick for each.
So, whether you're looking for spread picks, over/under plays, team totals or player props, we have you covered.
Let's take a look at our college football picks and NCAAF best bets for the conference championship games on Friday, December 5.
College Football Picks for Friday's Conference Championship Games
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football betting staff is targeting from Friday's slate of conference championship games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
| 8 p.m. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Jacksonville State vs Kennesaw State Pick
By Joshua Nunn
Kennesaw State should be able to throw the ball against a Jacksonville State secondary that ranks 108th nationally in preventing explosive passes.
Quarterback Amari Odom has thrown the ball really well this year, completing 65% of his passes with 17 touchdowns. The Owls have also been very good at connecting on deep, explosive pass plays.
I expect Kennesaw to throw it around here against what grades out as the fourth-worst secondary in CUSA.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are going to counter with an exquisite rushing attack led by Cam Cook and quarterback Caden Creel.
Kennesaw ranks just 68th nationally in preventing explosive rushes. In their last meeting, JSU ran for 252 yards on 6.0 yards per carry.
An interesting dynamic has been the emergence of Jax State receiver Deondre Johnson. The 6-foot-8 target has three 100-yard games over the last five and has scored a touchdown in five straight. He's an elite red-zone target due to his size and should be a factor in this one.
Kennesaw accumulated 576 total yards in the last meeting, which saw 61 total points.
But the Owls certainly left some meat on the bone last time out. Three red-zone turnovers and a missed field goal caused significantly fewer points to be scored in that prior meeting.
I think both of these teams cash in this time around.
Pick: Over 60
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James Madison vs Troy Pick
Troy is facing a very tough battle for the Sun Belt, but its defense may be enough to keep this within a three-touchdown game.
While the Trojans struggle offensively, their defense ranks 40th in Success Rate allowed and tied for 38th in third-down Success Rate allowed.
Troy's defense could provide decent resistance to JMU's high-powered offense.
Pick: Troy +23.5
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Tulane vs North Texas Pick
By Road to CFB
On the shoulders of a redshirt freshman quarterback who couldn’t even get the start in high school, North Texas has turned into an absolute meat grinder.
It hasn’t played in a single one-score game since September and walked right over quality opponents like UTSA, Temple and Navy (albeit without starting quarterback Blake Horvath for some of the game).
In November, UNT has a +102 point margin.
While Drew Mestemaker and freshman running back Caleb Hawkins (23 rushing touchdowns, most in the FBS) garner headlines, it’s been the Mean Green defense that stepped up down the stretch of the season.
This is a top-20 unit in Passing Success Rate allowed, though it’s abysmal against the run.
On the other side, you have Tulane, which sits in the driver’s seat for the College Football Playoff. All it has to do is win on Friday.
Tulane has merely taken care of business, compared to UNT’s blowing off the doors of opponents. But an ugly 48-26 loss at UTSA (which doesn’t fully capture the beatdown that took place) mars this resume.
It also shows cracks in the armor of a team that gets by its lower-tier opponents but can lose severely to better ones (also see: 45-10 at Ole Miss).
The problem here is Tulane’s defense isn’t nearly as good as the preseason advertisements let on. Rather than a “Group of Five All-Star” roster, the Green Wave defense is merely an average one that gets pushed around up front.
That’s the key difference between last year’s Tulane and this year’s — an elite defense.
When two teams tell you who they are, listen to them. North Texas is a buzzsaw chock-full of power conference talent. We’ll look back and realize the signs were there from the start.
Pick: North Texas -2.5
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Tulane vs North Texas Best Bet
By Joshua Nunn
I don't think the North Texas' defensive rushing metrics reflect how talented this team is defensively. Defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity has done an outstanding job with this Mean Green defense in a major Year 1 turnaround.
While the defensive rushing metrics aren’t eye-popping, UNT played Army, Navy, Rice and South Florida — all of whom boast proficient rushing attacks.
The Mean Green also played a ton of opponents they blew out, and the second-team defense was getting a ton of snaps in the second half of the last six contests.
Tulane relies too heavily on quarterback Jake Retzlaff to create and run around behind the line of scrimmage, and I fully expect that to be neutralized in this matchup.
I don't think the Green Wave are talented enough on the outside to torch UNT through the air. I don't think we'll see many explosive passes for Tulane in this one.
North Texas has been excellent on third downs and in the red zone this year, and I expect the defense to bow up on money downs. Tulane has kicked 16 red-zone field goals this year, which isn't going to get it done in this game.
Pick: Tulane Team Total Under 32.5
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Boise State vs UNLV Pick
By Dan Back
Boise State running back Dylan Riley gets arguably the best matchup in college football for a running back, as UNLV has allowed 5.3 yards per carry and 176 yards per game this season.
In the last matchup between these two teams, Riley went for over 200 yards rushing.
Boise State has moved to a bit more of a timeshare backfield, but it leaned heavily on Riley in its clinching game against Utah State on Saturday, which saw him record 25 carries.
If he gets that many carries this week, this feels like a lock. Still, it might not take Riley more than 15 carries to get there against this awful rush defense.
Pick: Dylan Riley Over 76.5 Rushing Yards
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