College Football Predictions & Best Bets For Conference Championship Week

The college football regular season has ended, but don’t worry. Bettors still have conference championship week, and I’m not going to leave you guys hanging.

Here’s my complete guide to how I’ll be betting (or sometimes not betting) the 2024 conference championship schedule. 

As always, the BetMGM online sportsbook has all the college football odds needed to enjoy this weekend and beyond. Bookmark this page and make sure you check back throughout the week, as I may add more bets to my card.

College Football Best Bets: Conference Championship Week

Conference USA Championship Prediction: Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State

Friday’s championship kickoff in Conference USA is an interesting one. Western Kentucky and Jacksonville State played last week in a Bowling Green game that WKU needed and JSU didn’t.

The result: WKU won 19-17 on a last-second field goal to punch its bid to the title game over Sam Houston. 

Now, the venue flips to Jacksonville, and JSU will presumably have more motivation in this contest. That, plus the home field advantage, accounts for the healthy spread for Jacksonville State that’s continuing to move in the Gamecocks’ direction. 

This isn’t a firm bet for me at this point, but I’m leaning toward taking the points with Western Kentucky. Like last week, I’m expecting a competitive game, which could make 4.5 points valuable. There’s a little too much market faith here in a series split. 

Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State Pick: Western Kentucky +4.5

Mountain West Championship Prediction: UNLV vs. Boise State

The entire world is going to be on Boise State here, thanks to the CFP chatter and Ashton Jeanty’s quest to break Barry Sanders’ single-season NCAA rushing record.

Despite that, Boise State opened at -5 and has moved up to -4 on early sharp action. That’s assumed reverse line movement, and it scratches my contrarian itch.

UNLV vs. Boise State Pick: UNLV +4

AAC Championship Prediction: Tulane vs. Army

Tulane is one of the early movers this week, sliding through the dead area from -4 to -6. I agree with the movement.

Despite last week’s result against Memphis, I do think the Green Wave are the better side here. I grabbed this at -4.5 on Monday, and I’d bet it down to -7.

Tulane vs. Army Pick: Tulane -4.5

Big 12 Championship Prediction: Iowa State vs. Arizona State

This is a difficult game to read because Arizona State and Iowa State have been tough reads all year. 

On the side, I think I lean toward Iowa State. Cam Skattebo is the player I trust the most, but it feels like Iowa State will just want this game more because of the history and the build toward this moment under Matt Campbell.

Complicating matters for ASU is the fact that leading receiver Jordyn Tyson will miss this game with a left arm/shoulder injury. ASU’s next leading pass-catcher is Skattebo; their best receiver behind Tyson is Xavier Guillory, who has less than 300 yards on the year. Tyson is a major loss.

All that said, ASU has consistently defied expectations this year, and I just don’t feel great betting them. If I’m betting anything here, I think it’s the under. 

Two offenses that operate through their ground game and a key missing receiver suggest a game with field goals and a running clock.

Iowa State vs. Arizona State Pick: Under 50.5

MAC Championship Prediction: Ohio vs. Miami (OH)

This is another game where I have no real feel for the side at all. I could potentially be interested in playing the under on a semi-low college total that’s sitting in the mid-40s. 

This will probably end up as a pass for me, but if I’m forcing it, I’d take the under. There are just way better opportunities this week, including outside of college football. 

Ohio vs. Miami (OH) Pick: Under 44.5

SEC Championship Prediction: Georgia vs. Texas

This is another game where I likely won’t end up with exposure, but I’m inclined to take the Georgia side. This will be a virtual home game in Atlanta, and last week’s 8OT game against Georgia Tech was likely a serious wake-up call for Kirby Smart’s outfit.

To me, Texas just hasn’t looked quite right since Quinn Ewers came back from his injury. They have talent all over the field, obviously, but they haven’t played their A-game in months. 

If Arch Manning was playing in this game, I actually think I would bet Texas. Instead, I’ll lean Georgia for this week and pick my spots carefully in the playoffs. 

Georgia vs. Texas Pick: Georgia +2.5

Sun Belt Championship Prediction: Marshall vs. Louisiana

The expectation is that Marshall head coach Charles Huff is about to accept a job at a different Sun Belt school – Southern Miss. (He really wants out of Huntington.)

The market is hitting Louisiana with the expectation that Marshall is probably not having its best week of championship prep right now. 

I’m inclined to agree with the market. Grab the Ragin’ Cajuns before the number hits -6 or worse. 

Marshall vs. Louisiana Pick: Louisiana -5.5

Big Ten Championship Prediction: Penn State vs. Oregon

This will be an easy bet for me since I already have some Penn State playoff futures in pocket. The bet I’ll have will be Oregon -3.5 to own the other side of the automatic Penn State playoff bid. 

With no prior position, I’d probably look at the under. Dillon Gabriel and Drew Allar both have spotty records against tough defenses, so I’m envisioning this as a game where the defenses will play ahead of the offenses.

Penn State vs. Oregon Pick: Oregon -3.5; Under 49.5

ACC Championship Prediction: Clemson vs. SMU

This will be the easiest bet of the week for me, as well as anyone who followed along with my 2024 college football futures betting manifesto from over the summer. I have SMU at +1200 to win the ACC and +1100 to make the playoff, so I will be firmly hedging with a Clemson +115 moneyline bet. 

I’d probably bet Clemson +2.5 even if I didn’t have the prior exposure. SMU has fattened up its record on the bottom of the ACC. On its best day, Clemson is clearly the better team here.

The problem is that Clemson peaked in mid-October and has been stuck in a lower gear since then. Even still, I’d probably feel more comfortable betting on Clemson’s potential than against it. 

Clemson vs. SMU Pick: Clemson +2.5