5 college football bets to take to the bank in Conference Championship Week

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 24: Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) throws the ball during the college football game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the University of Miami Hurricanes on November 24, 2018 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3 of 5

MEMPHIS, TN – NOVEMBER 10: Darrell Henderson #8 of the Memphis Tigers celebrates with Brady White #3 and Trevon Tate #72 of the Memphis Tigers against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the 4th quarter on November 10, 2018 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Tulsa 47-21. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

3. AAC Championship, Memphis (+3) vs. UCF

When the Memphis Tigers and the UCF Knights met on Oct. 13 in the 2018 season, the Tigers had every opportunity to pick up the win. Memphis jumped out to a 30-17 win after the first half and appeared to be the team that would hand the Knights their first loss in the last two seasons. However, it wasn’t to be as UCF — with some questionable calls and a defensive collapse from the Tigers — scored 14 unanswered points in the second half to win.

Things have certainly changed for UCF since then, however. Sure, they’ve still yet to lose a game and are riding a 24-game winning streak into the AAC Championship Game where they’ll have a rematch with Memphis. However, they are also going into this game without quarterback McKenzie Milton after he suffered a horrific knee injury in the Knights’ regular season finale against South Florida.

While running back Greg McCrae has been the breakout star for UCF this season and, in truth, has often been the heart of the Knights offense, not having Milton is a huge blow for this offense. That’s especially true against an explosive Memphis team with Darrell Henderson and Brady White, who obviously had a half’s worth of success against UCF in the regular season.

Frankly, it’s hard to see why UCF is favored in this game given the Milton injury. Even with the winning streak and the quality of the team around him, it just seems as if that’s a misfire by the oddsmakers. I expect the Tigers to win outright on Saturday, which obviously would allow them to cover.

Home/College Football