Group of 5 Conference Champions – Bet These Teams Now

College football will be here on Saturday. It’s only a four-game slate for Week 0, but it lets us know that the season is upon us. While there are plenty of eyes on all of the Power 4 conference races, we shouldn’t forget about the Group of 5. These conferences may not produce a national champion, but they can provide bettors with plenty of wins.

As you take a final look at the futures market before Week 0 kicks off, here’s a look at our best bets in the Group of 5 conference championship races.

AAC – I’m Walking in Memphis

If you’re walking in Memphis on a fall Saturday, go check out the Tigers at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Liberty Bowl sounds better). Memphis is the favorite to win the American Athletic Conference championship and for good reasons.

The Tigers, +230 favorites, return one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Seth Henigan (3,883 yds., 32 TDs). Head coach Ryan Silverfield will have 11 total starters back, six of them on offense. The Memphis offense wound up sixth in the country in scoring last season, averaging 39.4 points per game. 

That offense should be one of the top units in the nation again and help the Tigers take control of the AAC. Roc Taylor and Demeer Blankumsee combined for over 2,000 receiving yards last year and Memphis added former South Carolina RB Mario Anderson. 

Tulane and South Florida will offer some competition, but the Tigers will be better on defense and capture the 2024-25 AAC title.

Best Bet: Memphis Tigers to Win the AAC at +230 (bet them now at one of these top sportsbooks)

Conference USA – The Other Gamecocks

It will only be the second season for Jacksonville State in Conference USA, but the Gamecocks and head coach Rich Rodriguez are primed to do some damage. Liberty, of course, is the favorite (-200) to win C-USA. The Flames are coming off a 13-1 season, 8-0 in the conference, and return player of the year QB Kaidon Salter. 

It’s almost hard to envision a scenario in which the Flames don’t win the C-USA. However, if you don’t like the value offered at -200, we offer you an alternative. That would be the other Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. 

Rodriguez has the Gamecocks playing great defense and relying on a running game that averaged 236.6 yards per game. That number was third in the country. Good things happen when you have success running the ball and playing sound defense. Rodriguez will have four starters back on each side of the ball plus an influx of transfers via the portal. Mark Oct. 30, the day before Halloween, on your calendar. Jacksonville State travels to Liberty. Weirder things have happened.

Best Bet: Jacksonville State to Win the C-USA at +500 (bet them now at one of these top sportsbooks)

MAC-tion – Bowling for Wins

The preseason favorite rarely wins the MAC. That is not encouraging for the Miami (OH) RedHawks. It’s good news for other MAC teams, particularly one named Bowling Green. Miami (OH) is a +240 favorite to win the MAC this season, but there hasn’t been a repeat champion in the conference since 2012. 

Miami finished 11-3 last year and returns a good amount of talent, including QB Brett Gabbert. Bowling Green returns the most experienced quarterback in the conference in Connor Bazelak. He spent three seasons in the SEC and one in the Big Ten before throwing for 1,935 yards and 12 touchdowns last season for the Falcons. He struggled with injuries for most of the season, but he did lead BG to a 5-1 finish.

The Falcons also have a capable backup in Camden Orth as well as an All-MAC TE in Harold Fannin, BG’s leading receiver last year. Four of the five offensive linemen from last year return and six starters are back on a defense that finished No. 12 in the country against the pass. Demetrius Hardamon, who missed the majority of the season due to an injury, is back at linebacker, and the entire defensive line returns for Bowling Green.

Bowling Green opens the season against Fordham and then games at Penn State and at Texas A&M should prepare the Falcons for the rigors of the MAC schedule. They’ve got the quarterback and the defense. At +600, the Falcons make for a great candidate to replace Miami as MAC champions in 2024-25.

Best Bet: Bowling Green to win the MAC at +700 (bet them now at one of these top sportsbooks)

Over the Mountain West

Boise State is everyone’s pick to win the Mountain West. The Broncos are a -140 favorite, but Oct. 26 is the date that the Mountain West winner could be decided. The best offense in the conference belongs to Fresno State. The Bulldogs are kind of an afterthought after going through some changes in the offseason.

Head coach Jeff Tedford announced in mid-July that he will be retiring due to some health issues. Tim Skipper will take over on an interim basis. The Bulldogs, who are given +550 odds to win the MWC at SportsBetting.ag, return the league’s best quarterback in Mikey Keene who threw for 2,976 yards and 24 touchdowns. He flashed what he is capable of in the New Mexico Bowl. Keene went 31-for-39 for 380 yards, three touchdowns, and had another score on the ground.

RB Malik Sherrod (966 yds., 9 TDs) is back along with two starting wide receivers (Jalen Moss and Mac Dalena) and four of the five members of the offensive line. Fresno State averaged 30.5 points per game in 2023 and the Bulldogs will only be better in 2024.

Change is nothing new for Fresno State. New Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer took over the Fresno State program in 2020 when Tedford stepped away. The Bulldogs went 12-6 under DeBoer. They also won the New Mexico Bowl last year, 37-10 over New Mexico State, with Skipper as the interim head coach.

The Bulldogs have a favorable conference schedule with games against New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State, and Hawaii—projected to be the Mountain West’s bottom four teams. They also don’t have to play Boise State. That should set the Bulldogs up nicely for a conference title run.

Best Bet: Fresno State to win the Mountain West at +550 (bet them now at one of these top sportsbooks)

The Dukes of the Sun Belt

Curt Cignetti guided James Madison through the transition from FCS to FBS. All the Dukes did in their first two seasons as an FBS member was go 8-3 and 11-2. JMU tied for first place in the Sun Belt East Division each season but couldn’t play in the conference championship due to NCAA rules.

Cignetti is now the head coach at Indiana and he took most of his defense with him. The Dukes also lost Sun Belt Player of the Year QB Jordan McCloud, who is now at Texas State. Still, there is value on James Madison to win the Sun Belt this season.

Bob Chesney arrives from Holy Cross with a winning track record that speaks for itself. The Dukes also get former Washington QB Dylan Morris. He started for the Huskies before Michael Penix Jr. took over. The Dukes also added former North Carolina running back George Pettaway and North Texas wide receiver Ayo Adeyi to the roster.

Holy Cross FCS All-American linebacker Jacob Dobbs accompanied Chesney to JMU. He was a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. That, plus James Madison’s schedule including games against the seven worst Sun Belt teams sets up the Dukes to surprise everyone and earn its first conference title.

Appalachian State is the Sun Belt favorite at +270 with Texas State right behind at +300. James Madison plays at App State on Nov. 23 and that could very well determine how the Sun Belt shakes out in 2024. 

Best Bet: James Madison to win the Sun Belt at +550 (bet them now at one of these top sportsbooks)