The American Athletic Championship will take place on Saturday afternoon when the SMU Mustangs travel to New Orleans, Louisiana to face the 22^nd-ranked Tulane Green Wave at Benson Field at Yulman Stadium with the game scheduled to start at 4:00 PM ET and will air on ABC.

The SMU Mustangs finished the regular season with a record of 10-2 and a record of 8-0 in the American Athletic Conference which tied Tulane for 1^st place in the conference, however, Tulane finished with a better overall record so they won the tiebreaker. SMU’s success this season can be attributed to their offense as they enter this game averaging the 5^th most points per game in college football with an average of 41.83 points per game and they are averaging the 13^th most passing yards per game in college football with an average of 285 passing yards per game. 

Preston Stone has had a phenomenal season and has been one of the main reasons for the success the Mustangs have had this season as he enters this game having completed 206 of 344 attempts for 3,204 yards with 28 touchdowns and six touchdowns. The SMU Mustangs will look to win their first conference championship game when they play the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday afternoon.

Tulane is the highest-ranked non-Power 5 team in the College Football Playoff rankings which means if they win this game they will be playing in a New Year’s Six Bowl. The Green Wave finished the season with a record of 11-1 with their lone loss coming against the Ole Miss Rebels and have gone on a 10-game winning streak since that loss in week 2 of the college football season. 

The Tulane Green Wave have had a below-average scoring team this season as they enter this game averaging 27.92 points per game, however, their scoring defense has been phenomenal this season as they enter this game allowing an average of 18.33 points per game which ranks 18^th in the nation. The Green Wave will be looking to win their 2^nd American Athletic Conference Championship game in a row following last year’s 45-28 win over the UCF Knights when they host the SMU Mustangs.

BookMaker has the Tulane Green Wave listed as 3.5-point favorites at home against the SMU Mustangs in the American Athletic Championship game on Saturday afternoon. SMU has won eight of the last ten and two of the last three meetings. The teams are 5-5 ATS in the last ten while the Green Wave are 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The SMU Mustangs are 7-5 ATS overall, 2-4 ATS on the road, 0-2 ATS as an underdog, and 5-3 ATS in conference games this season while the Tulane Green Wave are 5-7 ATS overall, 2-5 ATS at home, 5-6 ATS as a favorite, and 3-5 ATS in conference games on the year.

Both teams have gone undefeated in conference play this season with identical records of 8-0, however, SMU has been the better team in the series winning eight of the last ten and two of the last three meetings. The Mustangs have also been the better team at covering the spread this season as they are 7-5 ATS overall and 5-3 ATS in conference games while the Green Wave are 5-7 ATS overall and 3-5 ATS in conference games which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the points with the SMU Mustangs when they travel to face the Tulane Green Wave in the American Athletic Championship game on Saturday afternoon.