One bet to make on every 2025 college football conference championship game - ESPN

After a long regular season, conference championship weekend is finally here. Spanning two days, nine conferences, 18 teams — and an eventual 12 College Football Playoff spots — the slate is full of chaos, upsets and betting opportunities. Pamela Maldonado breaks down every game, from C-USA to the ACC.

Jump ahead
Friday's games | Saturday's games
Betting lines for every game

Championship week starts early with Friday's board as the appetizer. No pageantry, no distractions, no look-ahead spots; just four games that force teams to live or die by their identities.

Each matchup has a pressure point that decides everything, with the edges coming from how these teams handle who they've been all season. Here's how I see each game playing out.

Kennesaw State Owls -2.5 at Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 58.5
Prediction: Jacksonville State team total OVER 28.5
The bet: Jacksonville State +2.5

The Gamecocks have stability, volume and a run game that doesn't fluctuate. I wrote Jacksonville State +360 to win C-USA ahead of Week 12 because its identity is reliable. The first meeting between these squads was a blueprint. Jacksonville State ran for 252 yards on 42 carries, and none of that came from randomness. It's who the Gamecocks are as an offense. Kennesaw State's tackling is still bottom-tier and its rush defense hasn't improved, which means Jacksonville State's most stable identity should show up again.

Strip out the turnover-driven points from the first game, the Gamecocks still operated with ease. This matchup will force Kennesaw State into stress repeatedly. The line opened Jacksonville State -1.5, so I'll back it because it has the style advantage.

Troy Trojans at James Madison Dukes -22.5, 47.5
Prediction: James Madison -23.5