Crescent City Bound: SMU to face Tulane in AAC Championship Game
SMU Football is New Orleans bound, heading to the Crescent City to play for the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Mustangs will face Tulane as the Green Wave look to win a second straight AAC Championship.
The 2023 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game will be televised on ABC for the ninth consecutive season, as announced by the conference. The 2023 American Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2, at 3 p.m. CT. ABC has televised The American Championship Game each year since the game’s inception in 2015.
SMU’s win over Navy officially put them in the game against the Green Wave, which won the AAC last season and beat USC in the Cotton Bowl. Tulane beat UTSA 29-16 on Friday to improve to 11-1 with its lone loss coming against Ole Miss earlier this season.
Quarterback Michael Pratt is back for the Green Wave and Willie Fritz’ group continued to be at the top of the AAC this year alongside SMU. The Mustangs didn’t face Tulane this year, but will return to the site of last year’s 59-24 loss to the Green Wave.
SMU might face Tulane with quarterback Preston Stone, who was enjoying a dominant performance against Navy before being carted off with a leg injury last week. If Stone can’t start, Kevin Jennings will get the ball for the Mustangs, who sit at 10-2 overall.
The American Athletic Conference champion has advanced to either the College Football Playoff or a New Year’s Six bowl seven times in the first nine seasons of the College Football Playoff era. With a win, Tulane is headed back to a New Year’s Six Bowl. If SMU knocks off the Green Wave, the Mustangs could land that invite.
