Tulane is playing in the American Conference Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The Green Wave won the title in 2022, then lost to SMU in 2023 and to Army last season.
This is North Texas’ first time in the championship. It is the Mean Green’s third season in the American Conference.
The winner of the game will likely have a strong case to be the G5 representative in the College Football Playoff, as Tulane is 20th and UNT is 24th in this week’s rankings.
There is the additional situation of both coaches having accepted head coaching jobs at Power Four schools, but each will guide their team not only in this game but if they earn a playoff spot as well.
North Texas head coach Eric Morris has been named the new coach at Oklahoma State. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has accepted the head coaching position at Florida.
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How to Watch North Texas-Tulane
The North Texas-Tulane game will be on Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised by ABC.
North Texas-Tulane Betting Odds
As of this writing, North Texas is a 2.5-point college football betting favorite against Tulane, via BetMGM. The Over/Under is 66.5.
North Texas-Tulane Records
North Texas (11-1, 7-1 American Conference)
Tulane (10-2, 7-1)
North Texas-Tulane Coaches
North Texas: Eric Morris (46-33 overall, 22-15 at North Texas)
Tulane: Jon Sumrall (42-11 overall, 19-7 at Tulane)
North Texas-Tulane Last Meeting
Oct. 26, 2024, Tulane won 45-37 at North Texas to extend its series lead to 3-0.
North Texas-Tulane Preview
For North Texas
Coming off a 6-7 season, North Texas took a major leap in Morris’ third year guiding the Mean Green. The lone loss was a 63-36 home defeat to South Florida on Oct. 10.
Since then, the Mean Green have won six in a row and have scored 50 or more points in five of those games.
North Texas leads the country in scoring offense, averaging 46.8 points per game. The Mean Green are sixth in the American in scoring defense, allowing 24.2 points.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker is third nationally in passing efficiency (178.23). He has completed 70.9% of his passes for an FBS-leading 3,835 yards. Mestemaker has thrown 29 touchdown passes (placing third nationally) and just four interceptions. Three of the interceptions came in the loss to South Florida, and he hasn’t thrown a pick in his last four games.
Mestemaker has taken things up a notch over the second half of the season. Over the last six games, he has completed 75% of his passes for 2,252 yards, 16 touchdowns, and one interception.
Freshman Caleb Hawkins has rushed for 1,216 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has also caught 28 passes for 334 yards and three scores.
UNT’s leading receiver is Wyatt Young with 62 receptions for 1,203 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is eighth nationally in yards per reception (19.4).
Linebacker Ethan Wesloski leads the Mean Green in both tackles (97) and tackles for loss (nine).
For Tulane
Tulane’s worst game was a 45-10 loss at Ole Miss on Sept. 20. The other loss came on Oct. 30 in a 48-26 defeat at UTSA.
Since then, Tulane has won four in a row.
The Green Wave aren’t anywhere near as explosive as North Texas, but not many teams are. Tulane averages 28.7 points, which is eighth in the American Conference, and allows 22.8 points per contest, which is fourth.
BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff has completed 62.5% of his passes for 2,716 yards, 14 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He is a major threat on the ground, having gained a team-high 561 yards and 14 touchdowns rushing, which is a single-season school record for quarterbacks.
The receiving group is balanced, with five players having 21 or more receptions. Leading the way is Shazz Preston with 36 receptions for 582 yards and four touchdowns.
Linebacker Chris Rodgers leads the defense with 68 tackles while contributing 6.5 tackles for loss.
North Texas-Tulane Prediction
I predict Tulane will cover the spread.
Tulane is 6-0 at home and North Texas is 5-0 on the road, so something will have to give.
One of the biggest factors could be the weather forecast, where in New Orleans, there is 90% chance of rain on Friday. That could affect the prolific passing game of North Texas, although the Mean Green have also been torching teams with the running game.
While there are 60 new players in the Tulane program according to Sumrall, the Green Wave still have a coaching staff and players who have been through this kind of championship environment. That could count for something.
Both teams have accomplished kickers. North Texas’ Kali Nguma has converted 12 of 13 field goal attempts with a long of 46 yards. Patrick Durkin of Tulane is 22-of-24 with a long of 52 yards. He is 4 of 5 from 50-plus yards while Nguma hasn’t tried a field goal as far as 50 yards.
It might be a slight edge for Tulane, but in this game, that could be enough.
