Tulane vs. North Texas live updates: Green Wave, Mean Green clash for CFP spot in American Championship Game

Live updates, highlights and analysis as Tulane and North Texas meet in the 2025 American Championship Game

No. 20 Tulane hosts No. 24 North Texas in a battle for conference glory as two College Football Playoff contenders go to war Friday night in the American Conference Championship Game. To the winner goes league supremacy and in all likelihood a berth in the CFP as one of the 12-team bracket's final two seeds. And for one of the two coaches in this matchup, a chance to go out on top is at stake. Both leaders are set to depart for new jobs at the end of the season with Tulane's Jon Sumrall bound for Florida and North Texas' Eric Morris announced as the next Oklahoma State coach.

The victorious side will be in line for its debut playoff appearance. Tulane won the American in 2022, but the CFP had yet to expand, and the Green Wave thus secured a berth in a non-playoff-affiliated Cotton Bowl. If North Texas wins this title bout, it will be a first-time American champion and a league champion regardless of affiliation for the first time since 2004.

This has the potential to be the highest-scoring game of all the conference championship matchups. North Texas features the nation's most prolific offense, and Tulane is no stranger to points, either, having posted at least 24 points in every conference game. Mean Green quarterback Drew Mestemaker will be arguably the top player on the field as the most productive passer in college football.

Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides you with live updates, highlights and analysis as Tulane clashes with North Texas in the 2025 American Championship Game. 

[Dec 5, 2025 at 7:15 pm ET · Carter Bahns]

Although it came away victorious just once (2022), Tulane reached the conference championship game each of the last three years and on Friday will become the first program in American history to play in four consecutive title games. The Green Wave is also 29-3 in regular-season conference games dating back to 2022, good for the best winning percentage (.906) of any team in the FBS. It is a stretch of dominance for the Green Wave that spans multiple coaching staffs, which indicates an immense amount of program strength and suggests it will be able to reload once Jon Sumrall departs for Florida.

[Dec 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm ET · Carter Bahns]

Jon Sumrall and Eric Morris have had their hands full of late, balancing tasks at two different schools. Both were announced as incoming coaches at Power Four universities with Sumrall bound for Florida and Morris set to take over at Oklahoma State. But unlike some coaches on the 2025 carousel (looking at you, Lane Kiffin), their schools permitted them to remain with their respective teams through the end of the season. It is a unique wrinkle in this matchup that brings into question how focused the coaches will be on the task at hand and how motivated their players will be to suit up for coaches who are on their way out.

[Dec 5, 2025 at 6:30 pm ET · Carter Bahns]

Tulane is the more proven team against high-end competition. The Green Wave defeated a pair of Power Four opponents in Northwestern and Duke and did not lose to a team below .500. Meanwhile, let it not be forgotten that the last time (and only time) North Texas played a ranked team, it lost by 27 points to a conference foe in South Florida. While Drew Mestemaker and his supporting cast could post a number that Tulane simply cannot match, the Green Wave is more battle-tested, familiar with the big stage and boasts home-field advantage. This might be a "wrong team favored" situation with Eric Morris' unit laying a field goal on the road. Pick: Tulane ML (+110)

[Dec 5, 2025 at 6:00 pm ET · Carter Bahns]

The conference title is on the line, and so too is a potential College Football Playoff berth as No. 20 Tulane hosts No. 24 North Texas in the American Conference Championship Game. Both squads are led by departing coaches (Tulane's Jon Sumrall and North Texas' Eric Morris) who will continue to lead their respective programs through the end of the season, and neither wants this to be the final game for their headman before he exits for his new job.

Considering where the American stands in the context of other Group of Five leagues, the longstanding assumption is that the league winner will be the fifth-highest ranked conference champion in the nation. With that designation comes an automatic bid in the CFP, likely as the No. 12 seed. And depending on what happens in the ACC, the victor could be held in even higher regard. Neither the Green Wave nor the Mean Green have ever played in the CFP, so history is on the table regardless of the result.

The conference championship game is an on-campus affair in the American. Both teams went 7-1 in league play, but Tulane will host the title bout by virtue of being the highest-ranked American team in the Week 14 CFP Top 25. The Green Wave is unbeaten at home and posted the first 6-0 record in Yulman Stadium history.