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College Football

Championship Notes

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
11 minute read
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Week 14 of the 2018 college football season will be highlighted with 10 championship games on tap.

The action starts Friday with the MAC and Pac-12 title games before finishing on Saturday with eight more championships.

Check out the matchups, odds and betting notes on all 10 title games below.

Opening Odds per [...] 

(SU - Straight Up, ATS - Against the Spread)

MAC Championship
Northern Illinois (7-5 SU, 6-6 ATS) vs. Buffalo (10-2 SU, 9-3 ATS)
Date: Friday, Nov. 30 (ESPN2, 7:00 p.m.)
Venue: Ford Field
Location: Detroit, Michigan
MAC Betting History

Odds: Buffalo -4, Total 47 ½

Betting Notes and Trends

-- Saturday's matchup will be the 22nd MAC Championship.

-- Underdogs have gone 13-8 against the spread in the MAC title game. The 'under' is 11-10.

--  Northern Illinois has played in the MAC title game seven times, which includes a run of six straight trips between 2010 and 2015. The school owns a 5-2 all-time mark in the title game. 

-- This will be Buffalo's first trip to the MAC Championship since 2008 when it upset Ball State 42-24 as a 15-point underdog. 

-- The two schools didn't meet in this year's regular season but NIU has won the last 10 encounters against Buffalo, which includes a 14-13 road win in the 2017 campaign.

Preseason Future Odds to win the MAC
Northern Illinois 2/1
Buffalo 7/1

Pac 12 Championship
Utah (9-3 SU, 7-5 ATS) vs. Washington (9-3 SU, 3-9 ATS)
Date: Friday, Nov. 30 (FOX, 8:00 p.m.)
Venue: Levi's Stadium
Location: Santa Clara, California
Pac-12 Betting History

Odds: Washington -3, Total 43

Betting Notes and Trends

-- Prior to last year's win by USC over Stanford, the Pac-12 North had captured the first six championship games. 

-- Washington has only made one trip to the title game and it captured a wire-to-wire 41-10 win over Colorado in the 2016 edition. 

-- Utah, representing the Pac-12 South, will be making its first trip to the title game. 

-- Favorites have gone 6-1 SU but points have mattered in this contest with underdogs owning a 4-3 ATS mark. 

-- The 'over' has gone 4-3. 

-- These teams played in Week 3 of this year's regular season and Washington captured a 21-7 win at Utah as a four-point road favorite. 

-- Since the Utes entered the Pac-12 conference, the Huskies own a 5-1 record in the series but they're just 3-3 ATS. The 'over' has gone 4-2.

Preseason Future Odds to win the Pac-12
Washington 5/8
Utah 15/1

Sun Belt Championship
Louisiana-Lafayette (7-5 SU, 8-4 ATS) at Applachian State (9-2 SU, 7-2-2 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (ESPN, 12:00 p.m.)
Venue: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Location: Boone, North Carolina

Odds: Appalachian State -17 ½, Total 59 ½

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the inaugural Sun Belt Championship. 

-- Appalachian State has won five straight encounters (3-2 ATS) against Louisiana, which includes a 27-17 home this season on Oct. 20. 

-- The Mountaineers failed to cover as 25-point favorites in that game and the 'under' improved to 4-1 during this span.

Preseason Future Odds to win the Big 12
Appalachian State 5/2
Louisiana-Lafayette 30/1

Big 12 Championship
Texas (9-3 SU, 5-6-1 ATS) vs. Oklahoma (11-1 SU, 4-7-1 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (ABC, 12:30 p.m.)
Venue: AT&T Stadium
Location: Arlington, Texas
Big 12 Betting History

Odds: Oklahoma -4 ½, Total 79

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the second straight year that the Big 12 will have a title game since the conference took a break in 2010. 

-- Oklahoma (-7.5) cruised to a 41-17 win over TCU in last year's championship and the 'under' (64) easily connected. 

-- Including the win over Horned Frogs, the Sooners have made nine appearances in the title game and they've won eight of those contests. 

-- Texas has been in the title game five times and the school has gone 3-2 all-time with the last win coming in the 2009 installment. 

-- In this year's "Red River Shootout" on Oct. 6 from Dallas, the Longhorns (+7) held off the Sooners 48-45 in a wild game. 

-- Prior to that win, Oklahoma had won two straight but Texas has been great against the point-spread in this series, covering the last six meetings.

Preseason Future Odds to win the Big 12
Oklahoma 6/5
Texas 3/1

CUSA Championship
UAB (9-3 SU, 8-4 ATS) at Middle Tennessee (8-4 SU, 8-4 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (CBSSN, 1:30 p.m.)
Venue: Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
C-USA Betting History

Odds: Middle Tennessee -2 ½

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the 14th Conference USA Championship Game. This will be the first title game appearance for both UAB and Middle Tennessee. 

-- Favorites have gone 7-6 both straight up and against the spread while the 'under' has gone 7-5-1. 

-- The host has won six straight and is 10-3 overall in the title game. 

These teams met at the same venue on Nov. 24 and Middle Tennessee stifled UAB 27-3 as a three-point home underdog. The 'under' (51) cashed easily and the low side is on a 4-0 in the last four encounters between the pair.

Preseason Future Odds to win the CUSA
Middle Tennessee 6/1
UAB 8/1

American Athletic Championship
Memphis (8-4 SU, 8-4 ATS) at Central Florida (11-0 SU, 8-3 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (ABC, 3:30 p.m.)
Venue: Spectrum Stadium
Location: Orlando, Florida
AAC Betting History

Odds: Central Florida -7 (Even), Total 70 ½

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the fourth American Athletic Championship game and the second appearance for both schools. 

-- The pair met in the title game last season and Central Florida captured a 62-55 win over Memphis in double-overtime. 

-- Including that result, favorites have gone 2-1 both SU and ATS. The 'under' is 2-1. 

-- Central Florida has owned Memphis, winning 12 straight in this series and that includes a 31-30 win this season. The Knights failed to cover as five-point road favorites. 

Preseason Future Odds to win the AAC
Central Florida 5/4
Memphis 3/1

SEC Championship
Georgia (11-1 SU, 7-5 ATS) vs. Alabama (12-0 SU, 8-4 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (CBS, 4:00 p.m.)
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
SEC Betting History

Odds: Alabama -10 ½, Total 61

Betting Notes and Trends

-- Saturday’s matchup will be the 27th SEC Championship Game. Since its inception in 1992, favorites hold a slight 13-12-1 against the spread record in the first 26 matchups. 

-- The 'under' connected in last year's SEC finale between Georgia and Auburn, which snapped an 'over' run of eight straight games. The 'over' has gone 16-10 in the title game.

-- Another streak that was snapped by the Bulldogs last year was an eight-game winning streak by the SEC West. 

-- The Bulldogs did win by double digits and eight of the last nine SEC title games have been decided by 10-plus points. 

-- This will be the seventh SEC apperance for Georgia, who has gone 3-3 and never repeated as champion. 

-- Alabama and Florida are tied for the most SEC Championship wins. The Crimson Tide have played in 11 title games, going 7-4 overall. The school has won its last five SEC apperances. 

-- Georgia and Alabama met in the 2012 SEC Championship and the Crimson Tide (-7.5) won 32-28 but failed to cover the spread. 

-- The pair met in last year's national championship game and the Tide captured a 26-23 win over the Bulldogs. Including that win, 'Bama has won four straight in this series.

Preseason Future Odds to win the SEC
Alabama 5/8
Georgia 5/2

Mountain West Championship
Fresno State (10-2 SU, 8-4 ATS) at Boise State (10-2 SU, 7-4-1 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (ESPN, 7:45 p.m.)
Venue: Albertsons Stadium
Location: Boise, Idaho
MWC Betting History

Odds: Boise State -1 ½, Total 50

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the sixth MWC Championship game and played at the venue of the higher seed.

-- The home team has gone 4-1 in the first five title games. 

-- The point-spread has mattered in this game with the favorites going 5-0 SU but the underdogs have gone 4-1 ATS. The 'under' is 4-1. 

-- This year's matchup will be a rematch as Boise State defeated Fresno State 17-14 in last year's title game but failed to cover (-9.5) as a favorite. 

-- Fresno State has made three appearances in the title game and has gone 1-2 while Boise State is 2-0 with both of its victories coming against the Bulldogs. 

-- The Broncos have won 15 of the last 18 in this series and that includes last year's title game victory plus a 24-17 win over Fresno this season on Nov. 9 as a short underdog (+2.5). 

-- Boise State owns a 13-5 ATS mark during this span, but the Bulldogs have covered four of the last five matchups. The 'under' is on a 4-0 run in this series and is 10-8 since 2001.

Preseason Future Odds to win the MWC
Boise State 4/7
Fresno State 5/1

ACC Championship
Pittsburgh (7-5 SU, 7-5 ATS) vs. Clemson (12-0 SU, 6-6 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (ABC, 8:00 p.m.)
Venue: Bank of America Stadium
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
ACC Betting History

Odds: Clemson -23 ½, Total 54 ½

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the 14th installment of the ACC Championship. Favorites have gone 9-4 SU and 7-6 ATS. Total bettors have watched the 'over' go 7-6.

-- Clemson has played in the title game five times and has gone 4-1, which includes a current run of three straight heading into this game. 

-- Last year's 35-point win (38-3) over Miami, Fl. was the largest margin of their four wins as the two previous victories came by just seven and eight points.

-- The Atlantic Division has won six straight ACC title games and is 8-5 overall against the Coastal Division. 

-- Pittsburgh will be making its first appearance in the championship game. 

-- Clemson has only lost four football games in the last four seasons and one of the setbacks came to Pittsburgh as the Panthers stunned the Tigers 43-42 in the 2016 regular season as 21-point road favorites. 

Preseason Future Odds to win the ACC
Clemson 1/2
Pittsburgh 80/1

Big 10 Championship
Ohio State (11-1 SU, 5-7 ATS) vs. Northwestern (8-4 SU, 6-6 ATS)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 1 (FOX, 8:00 p.m.)
Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Big Ten Betting History

Odds: Ohio State -13, Total 60

Betting Notes and Trends

-- This will be the eighth Big Ten Championship game.

-- Underdogs have gone 4-3 SU and 5-1-1 ATS in the first seven Big Ten title games while the 'over' is 5-2. 

-- Ohio State has made three trips to the Big Ten championship and it has gone 2-1, which includes a 27-21 win over Wisconsin in last year's title game. 

-- The Big Ten has not had a repeat winner in the title game since the Badgers completed the feat in the 2011 and 2012 title games. 

-- Northwestern will be making its first appearance in the conference championship game. 

-- The Buckeyes have won six straight (5-1 ATS) in this series, with the last meeting coming in 2016 and that was a close call. The Buckeyes (-26) barely stopped the Wildcats 24-20 as double-digit home favorites.

-- Northwestern's last win over Ohio State came in the 2004 season as it earned a 33-27 upset as a home underdog (+11.5). 

Preseason Future Odds to win the Big 10
Ohio State 6/5
Northwestern 50/1

Preseason Future Odds provided by the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas (9/1/18)

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