Over the last few weeks, Tulane and Army were both in great position to contend for a College Football Playoff berth. And since then, those hopes have essentially vanished.
Army started this season 9-0 overall and had an AAC Championship berth guaranteed with a couple weeks left in the regular season. The Black Knights were 19th in the CFP Selection Committee’s rankings going into their matchup with Notre Dame.
But the Fighting Irish won 49-14. And while Army did bounce back and beat UTSA to go 8-0 in AAC play, the Black Knights are ranked No. 24 now and have little shot of making the CFP.
Tulane, meanwhile, was ranked 17th with one game left on the Green Wave’s regular season schedule. After starting the season 1-2 with losses against Kansas State and Oklahoma – which were decided by a collective 22 points – Tulane put together an eight-game winning streak to climb up in the CFP rankings.
Then the Green Wave lost 34-24 against Memphis. However, Tulane still has a chance to end the regular season on a high note, as the Green Wave will face off against the Black Knights in the AAC Championship.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
Tulane vs. Army Betting Odds
Tulane is a -4.5 college football betting odds favorite against Army, with the Over/Under being 45.5.
The moneyline for Tulane is -210, while it’s +170 for Army.
Tulane vs. Army On TV
The matchup between Tulane and Army will be televised on ABC.
The game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 6. The contest is taking place at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.
Tulane vs. Army Prediction
I predict Army will win and cover the spread at +4.5. I also project the game will go Under 45.5 total points.
In my mind, this will be a defensive battle. Both of these programs have been fantastic on that side of the ball this year.
Tulane is in the top 15 in the FBS in terms of scoring defense with 18.42 points per game allowed and total defense with 304 yards per game allowed. But Army has been even better in both categories, ranking in the top 10 with 15.09 points and 295.5 yards per game given up.
The difference will be which offense will be able to make enough plays down the stretch to earn the win. And I think the Black Knights will at home.
Army is first in the country with 312.5 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Bryson Daily, the AAC Offensive Player of the Year, is second in the nation with 25 rushing touchdowns and is ninth with 1,354 yards on the ground.
Tulane has been solid against the run this season. However, I didn’t like what I saw from the Green Wave against Memphis a week ago. Tulane gave up 236 rushing yards against Memphis and couldn’t stop the Tigers even when they needed to run to close out the game.
And if the Green Wave don’t drastically improve this week on the road, I don’t know if they’ll be able to slow down the best rushing attack in the country.
