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<\/a><\/p>\nThe winner of Friday night\u2019s conference championship at Yulman Stadium is likely bound for the CFP. Getty Images<\/p>\n
There have been 11 American Conference Championship Games. The most notable one in history was 2021, when Cincinnati knocked off Houston in order to clinch a coveted spot in the 4-team College Football Playoff field. But the 2025 iteration is unique because this is the first time either team can crack the CFP bracket with a win. The current committee rankings align with an American playoff bid, as Tulane ranks No. 20 and North Texas follows at No. 24 \u2014 with the winner positioned to be one of the five-highest ranked conference champions, as long as No. 25 James Madison from the Sun Belt doesn\u2019t jump the winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a higher profile championship game than the American has had in the past, and certainly it\u2019s one of the highest profile this year in terms of all the championship games,\u201d Pernetti said.<\/p>\n
One reason the American earned national respect this year was its stellar non-conference showing. Only the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 produced better win percentages outside of their league. Due to non-conference success, the American\u2019s best teams generated quality overall records to conclude the regular season. It\u2019s one of four leagues with four 9-win teams, and the top four teams in the standings are a combined 39-8. Tulane enters at 10-2 and North Texas at 11-1, making this one of four conference championship games (of the nine total) to feature two double-digit win programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no doubt in my mind the winner Friday night will be in the College Football Playoff,\u201d Pernetti said. \u201cThe data speaks for itself. I have faith in the committee. I think they\u2019re looking at the right information. I think this game, for all respects, is for a spot in the CFP this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Battle of former head coaches<\/p>\n
Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall accepted a position at Florida on Sunday, Nov. 30. Getty Images<\/p>\n This conference championship game is unlike any before it. For the first time, two college football coaches will square off against each other, despite holding positions at other schools. Oklahoma State hired away North Texas head coach Eric Morris on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Then on Sunday, Nov. 30, Florida fulfilled its vacancy with Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Both coaches made the rare move \u2014 reminiscent of 2017 Scott Frost at UCF \u2014 to remain with their programs for the postseason and finish what they started.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also speaks to the fact that there can be cooperation between institutions when these changes take place,\u201d Pernetti said on both coaches continuing their seasons. \u201cI really admire what Jon and what Eric are doing because I know the two of them really well, and I knew this was table stakes for them, to finish out their seasons with their student-athletes and finish the job. You don\u2019t often see that. It also speaks to the administration because you have to have maturity about these situations. Things are going to change, and it\u2019s very easy to show people the door. What\u2019s harder is to finish the season.\u201d<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t been an easy week for either head coach. Eric Morris discussed balancing game-planning at North Texas with recruiting at Oklahoma State in wake of National Signing Day. He affirms his 100 percent commitment to the preparation aspect, even if it comes with a lack of sleep.<\/p>\n \u201cI usually sleep pretty good,\u201d Morris said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a little bit tougher to sleep with everything going through my head, but I haven\u2019t missed a beat in preparing this team. I still call the plays on offense, gameplan wise. I think consistency is key right now for our players and our coaches here to give them a great chance to go in here and win this football game. This is my priority number one. Then your mind starts focusing on the time you spent recruiting during the week and building a roster somewhere else, so I\u2019ve begun to do that, but that has not pulled back from any of the time that I\u2019ve spent normally on a game week of preparing this time and the play script that we\u2019re gonna run.\u201d<\/p>\n Jon Sumrall shared a similar sentiment regarding his sleep schedule. But Sumrall is a firm believer in practicing what he preaches. He spoke at length about the concept of commitment over the summer and planned to be present for this entire Tulane season, regardless of his 2026 destination. He attributed the timing of his move to Florida as a consequence of college football\u2019s misaligned calendar.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of our speaker series this summer in July, the speaker was me. And I shared with the guys that player movement, coach movement \u2014 we finish the job. The timing of when coaches have to make decisions of where they\u2019re going to coach in 2026 is really kind of choppy and doesn\u2019t really line up with how you finish 2025. I\u2019m not a big fan of the calendar, and you have to make decisions about next year earlier than you\u2019d like. I asked them, \u2018Are you good with me coaching this game?\u2019 and our players were like, \u2018Heck yeah, coach, we\u2019ve been there together the whole process.\u2019 I\u2019m committed to our team. Our team\u2019s committed to playing the game the right way. I\u2019m very grateful for Tulane. I really am. Them affording me the opportunity to finish this with our guys was very important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n The No. 1 offense in college football<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n