The American Conference Championship Game kicks off Friday night at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT from Yulman Stadium in New Orleans.
It’s a higher-stakes title game than the conference typically sees, given the current
rankings of the participants — the No. 20 Tulane Green Wave and No. 24 North Texas Mean Green. College Football Playoff stakes are on the line in this unique battle, featuring two departing head coaches that have stayed committed to the ride.
North Texas head coach Eric Morris, Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, and American commissioner Tim Pernetti discussed the CFP stakes, the head coaching changes, and other American Championship storylines for Friday night’s anticipated matchup.
CFP play-in game
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 — 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’t jump the winner.
“This is a higher profile championship game than the American has had in the past, and certainly it’s one of the highest profile this year in terms of all the championship games,” Pernetti said.
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’s best teams generated quality overall records to conclude the regular season. It’s 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.
“I have no doubt in my mind the winner Friday night will be in the College Football Playoff,” Pernetti said. “The data speaks for itself. I have faith in the committee. I think they’re looking at the right information. I think this game, for all respects, is for a spot in the CFP this year.”
Battle of former head coaches
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 — reminiscent of 2017 Scott Frost at UCF — to remain with their programs for the postseason and finish what they started.
“It also speaks to the fact that there can be cooperation between institutions when these changes take place,” Pernetti said on both coaches continuing their seasons. “I 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’t 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’s very easy to show people the door. What’s harder is to finish the season.”
It hasn’t 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.
“I usually sleep pretty good,” Morris said. “It’s been a little bit tougher to sleep with everything going through my head, but I haven’t 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’ve begun to do that, but that has not pulled back from any of the time that I’ve spent normally on a game week of preparing this time and the play script that we’re gonna run.”
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’s misaligned calendar.
“At 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 — we finish the job. The timing of when coaches have to make decisions of where they’re going to coach in 2026 is really kind of choppy and doesn’t really line up with how you finish 2025. I’m not a big fan of the calendar, and you have to make decisions about next year earlier than you’d like. I asked them, ‘Are you good with me coaching this game?’ and our players were like, ‘Heck yeah, coach, we’ve been there together the whole process.’ I’m committed to our team. Our team’s committed to playing the game the right way. I’m very grateful for Tulane. I really am. Them affording me the opportunity to finish this with our guys was very important to me.”
The No. 1 offense in college football
The No. 1 offense in the country belongs to North Texas. The Mean Green rank first in scoring at 46.8 points per game and average an FBS-best 512 yards. They’ve scored 50 points more often than not this year, reaching that threshold seven times in 12 tries, including five of the last six.
North Texas trots out some of the most dynamic skill position players in the country. Drew Mestemaker is the nation’s leading passer at 3,835 passing yards, completing roughly 71 percent of passes with 29 touchdowns and just four interceptions. True freshman running back Caleb Hawkins ranks atop the FBS in rushing touchdowns with 23, and he’s already over 1,000 yards after three 180+ performances in his last four starts. Then wide receiver Wyatt Young is third nationally in receiving, recently enjoying a 295-yard explosion — the best single-game performance by any college receiver in 2025.
Jon Sumrall recognizes the talent he’s going up against but also acknowledged North Texas’ vastly improved offensive line which makes it all work. Four of the five starters up front earned all-conference selections earlier in the week.
“The quarterback’s a good player. They’ve got good receivers,” Sumrall said. “The two biggest things I’ve noticed with the offense is that the o-line is significantly improved from last year. We played them last year and it looks like a completely different unit the way they’re playing the game. And then the running back is a special player. All the running backs are good, but Hawkins is a really dynamic player. He’s physical, runs with leverage, he’s got good speed. That’s a challenging out. It’s normal for them to score 50 points.”
Eric Morris is a product of the air raid tree, playing at Texas Tech in the Mike Leach era and coaching some of the nation’s ultimate gunslingers. He implemented an air raid system at North Texas but is okay deviating from his standard system due to the coverages he faces. As a result, he is running the ball more than ever and it’s working. North Texas is 20th in the FBS in rushing average at 5.15 yards per carry, led by Hawkins’ and the offensive line’s efforts.
“This offense is really built to take what the defense gives us,” Morris said. “If you want to stay in a 2-high shell, us being able to run the football at such an effective rate, it’s really become pick your poison. Drew’s really handled our RPO game really well, where we do have a conflict with the defender, we allow him to check that at the line of scrimmage because he is so smart. That’s been a huge advantage for us, and it’s allowed me as a play caller to call more runs than I ever have in my career. A lot of that credit is due to our offensive line. This is by far the best we’ve been up front. Drew and Wyatt Young and Caleb Hawkins put up some pretty gaudy stats. None of that happens unless we have a really good offensive line in front of them.”
Tulane’s great American dynasty
For the third time in the last four seasons, the stadium lights will shine on Yulman Stadium during the first week of December. Tulane qualified for its fourth-straight American Championship and earned host duties for the third time in that span, effectively earning status as the conference’s current prevailing dynasty.
Tulane is 42-12 since the dawn of the 2022 season and 29-3 in regular season conference games in the past four years — a record which ranks second nationally, only behind Georgia. Head coach Jon Sumrall acknowledged that Tulane is a player-driven program that’s bigger than any coach, and that statement holds true. During this 4-year run, the Green Wave operated under two different head coaches, three different quarterbacks, and three different leading rushers — sustaining success amidst substantial changes.
“It’s an honor and privilege to be playing in a conference championship game,” Sumrall said. “For our university to be doing it four years in a row is amazing. To get an opportunity to do it any year is special.”
Eric Morris recognizes his opponent is the standard of the conference, believing that this year’s Green Wave team is even better than the one that outpaced the Mean Green 45-37 at Yulman Stadium in October 2024. North Texas qualified for its first-ever American title game, and the Mean Green look to become the second Texas-based team to storm into New Orleans and earn the conference crown, just like SMU did two years ago.
“Tulane is a program that’s been really good the last five or six years. Willie (Fritz) really got it rolling there,” Morris said. “Nobody’s numb to the fact that we’re losing players and I think Jon did a phenomenal job in the transfer portal replacing talent that he lost a year ago. I’d argue that they’re even better right now than what they were a year ago.”
