When: Friday, Dec. 4; 8 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Drew Hare threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in Northern Illinois’ 51-17 win over Bowling Green last December in the Mid-American Conference title game.

What to watch for

This marks the third straight season that Bowling Green (9-3) and Northern Illinois (8-4) meet at Ford Field to determine the MAC champion; each has won once. It’s Northern Illinois’ sixth straight trip to the final, matching the run that Marshall had from 1997-2002.

Bowling Green ran away with the East Division title, winning by two games over Akron and Ohio (teams it beat by a combined 87 points) behind one of the most potent offenses in the country. The Falcons score 44.2 points per game, with senior quarterback Matt Johnson leading FBS with 4,465 passing yards to go with 41 TDs.

Johnson didn’t play in last year’s final, having missed all but the season opener with a broken hip. His return, paired with senior running back Travis Greene, has made Bowling Green’s offensive nearly unstoppable.

Northern Illinois backed into the title game after losing at home to Ohio in its regular-season finale. The Huskies were part of a four-way tie for first in the West Division with Central Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan, but a 2-1 record against that trio gave them the tiebreaker.

Freshman quarterback Ryan Graham has started the last three games since Hare suffered a season-ending injury. His numbers aren’t great, but MAC rushing leader Joel Bouagnon (1,213 yards, 18 TDs) and others have helped balance the attack.

Bowling Green has to avoid being distracted by rumors about its coach, Dino Babers, who was linked to the UCF opening that got filled Wednesday by Oregon assistant Scott Frost.

“I’ve not signed anything, and I’m not going anywhere,” Babers said Monday, per John Wagner of the Toledo Blade. 

But four days after the Falcons won the 2013 MAC title, they lost coach Dave Clawson to Wake Forest, so there’s precedent for the worry.

Babers will follow the first part of Clawson’s path, claiming Bowling Green’s 12th MAC title. What he does after is a subject for another day.

Prediction: Bowling Green 38, Northern Illinois 24

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; noon ET

Last meeting: Greg Ward Jr. threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-33 passing in Houston’s 31-10 home win over Temple in October 2014.

What to watch for

The inaugural American title game will also likely determine which non-power-conference team earns a bid to a College Football Playoff-affiliated bowl game, as it’s the only Group of Five league with teams ranked in the most recent standings. The addition of Navy to get to 12 schools and a strong top tier of teams—eight will go bowling—have the American close to regaining the reputation it had when it was the Big East.

Temple (10-2) won the East Division with a 7-1 record, its only league loss coming to second-place South Florida. The Owls also took Notre Dame to the wire at home in October and began the season with a win against Penn State, its first since 1941. Now they get a shot at their first conference title since 1967.

Senior Tyler Matakevich has 118 tackles this season and 473 for his career, 19 behind Steve Conjar for the school’s all-time record. The 6’1”, 232-pound linebacker epitomizes Temple’s team, which isn’t made of high-profile athletes, but has reached 10 wins for the first time in 36 years.

Houston (11-1) won the West Division after dominating Navy at home last week, a game that saw the Cougars’ diverse offense excel while their underrated defense shut down a strong option run game. Ward, a junior who has 16 passing TDs and 17 rushing scores, had 391 yards of total offense after missing most of the previous two games because of injury.

First-year coach Tom Herman has seamlessly transitioned Houston to the scheme that he used as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator last season. The Cougars have scored 40 rushing TDs, and their quarterbacks complete 67 percent of their passes with just six interceptions, a success which has made Herman a hot commodity on the job market.

He “agreed in principle” to a contract extension on Monday, according to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, and that loyalty will translate into Houston’s first conference title since its 2006 Conference USA crown.

Prediction: Houston 29, Temple 20

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; noon ET

Last meeting: Shock Linwood ran for 148 yards and a touchdown in Baylor’s 28-7 win at Texas in October 2014.

What to watch for

Texas (4-7, 3-5 Big 12) took a step back in Charlie Strong’s second season, the product of more responsibility being placed on the younger players the new coach brought to Austin. This has resulted in the program’s third losing season in the last 18 years.

The offense could never find a consistent baseline, scoring 40 or more points four times, but being held to single digits or getting shut out in three games. And when the offense would click, there was no help from the defense, as evidenced by the 48-45 Thanksgiving loss to Texas Tech. Freshman Chris Warren ran for 276 yards and four TDs in that one, but Texas allowed a season-high 665 yards.

Baylor (9-2, 6-2) can finish no better than a tie for second in the Big 12 after losing two of its last three games, including the rain-soaked double-overtime game to TCU last Friday that knocked it out of the playoff race. The Bears remain the No. 1 offensive team in the country, averaging 616 yards per game, but now on their third quarterback and also hobbled in the backfield, the explosiveness has been dampened.

Chris Johnson, who was moved to receiver to start this season but then had to come back to quarterback after injuries to Seth Russell and Jarrett Stidham, had only 62 yards on 7-of-24 passing last week. It was the first time since Art Briles’ first season at Baylor in 2008 that the team failed to throw for 100 yards.

With nothing tangible to play for, this game is more of a recruiting tool. Baylor has won four of the last five against Texas after losing 12 straight in the series, and the Bears will take out their frustrations on the Longhorns again this time.

Prediction: Baylor 53, Texas 19

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; noon ET

Last meeting: Leon Allen and Antonio Andrews combined for 268 yards and two touchdowns in Western Kentucky’s 42-17 home win over Southern Mississippi in September 2012.

What to watch for

Southern Mississippi (9-3) is making its first appearance in the C-USA title game since winning it all in 2011, and the journey to get back has been a long one.

Larry Fedora left after that 12-win effort to coach North Carolina, and the Golden Eagles ended up going winless the following year. They won once in 2013 and upped that tally to three last season before breaking through to take the West Division this year.

The Eagles won the division in dominant fashion by blowing out reigning West winner Louisiana Tech on the road, 58-24. It was their third straight game scoring 50 or more points.

Junior quarterback Nick Mullens is seventh in FBS at 330.3 passing yards per game with 35 TDs, and the running back duo of Jalen Richard and Ito Smith has combined for 2,048 yards and 20 scores.

Western Kentucky (10-2) ran the table in the East Division, clinching the title last week with a 49-28 home win over defending C-USA champ Marshall. It was the seventh time in 2015 that the Hilltoppers scored at least that many points, with their season average of 44.2 tied for fourth in the country.

Quarterback Brandon Doughty led the nation in passing yards and TDs in 2014, and the sixth-year senior is at it again. His 42 TDs are the most in FBS, with 348.7 yards per game and just six interceptions in 444 attempts.

Doughty saw mop-up duty in 2012 against Southern Miss, the last game he played that year before suffering a second season-ending knee injury. Since returning in 2013, he’s thrown for 11,871 yards and 105 TDs.

Western Kentucky is what Southern Miss wants to (and could) be next year. For now, it will have to settle for second-best.

Prediction: Western Kentucky 55, Southern Mississippi 34

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 2 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Matt Breida ran for 201 of Georgia Southern’s 613 rushing yards and scored four of the 10 touchdowns in a 69-31 win at Georgia State in October 2014.

What to watch for

Georgia State (5-6, 4-3 Sun Belt) managed a single victory in its first two seasons of FBS play, but thanks to a three-game win streak, it’s in position to grab a bowl bid. The Panthers benefited from a soft section of the conference slate to get to five wins, with senior quarterback Nick Arbuckle throwing for at least 300 yards in six straight games.

Georgia Southern (8-3, 6-1) went unbeaten in the Sun Belt last year, but wasn’t eligible for either the league crown or a bowl game because it was a first-year FBS team. This season the Eagles will be bowling, and with a win (and a loss by conference leader Arkansas State), they would claim a share of the Sun Belt title.

The Eagles should be able to lock up the national rushing title for a second straight season, as they’re sitting at No. 1 by a wide margin at 375.6 yards per game. Their 46 rushing scores are more than 72 other FBS teams have in total TDs.

The Georgia State story is a nice one, but it isn’t nearly strong enough against the run to make this a game.

Prediction: Georgia Southern 51, Georgia State 23

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 3 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Robert Lowe ran for 236 yards and four touchdowns in Texas State’s 45-27 home win over Arkansas State in November 2014.

What to watch for

Texas State (3-8, 2-5 Sun Belt) went 7-5 last season, but didn’t get invited to a bowl game because of a lack of available berths for the conference. What’s keeping the Bobcats from playing in the postseason this year has been an abysmal defense, one that is fifth-worst in FBS at 520.6 yards allowed per game.

A midseason change at defensive coordinator didn’t change much, and Texas State’s offense doesn’t have the weapons to keep up.

Arkansas State (8-3, 7-0) has clinched at least a share of its fourth Sun Belt title in the last five seasons and will claim the overall crown regardless of how it fares here, thanks to tiebreakers over Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. The Red Wolves have won seven straight, taking the lumps they endured against the likes of USC, Missouri and Toledo during nonconference play and turning them into fuel.

While they have allowed 29 points during the win streak, their run game has risen to 19th in the country at 226.1 yards per game. Texas State allows 250.3 yards per game on the ground.

Prediction: Arkansas State 51, Texas State 16

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 3 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Pete Thomas threw for 350 yards and a touchdown in Louisiana-Monroe’s 30-17 win at New Mexico State in November 2014.

What to watch for

New Mexico State (3-8, 3-4 Sun Belt) saw its three-game win streak snapped last week by conference champion Arkansas State and will hope not to start another losing streak now like the 17-gamer it had between September 2014 and October of this year.

Though mired in a 13th consecutive losing season, NMSU has developed a star in sophomore Larry Rose III. The running back is fourth in FBS in rushing yards per game at 144.3 and has topped 100 yards in five straight games.

Louisiana-Monroe (1-11, 0-7) has lost 10 in a row and hasn’t beaten an FBS team since November 2014. The Warhawks fired coach Todd Berry in mid-November of this year and matched their most losses in school history after losing at Hawaii last week. That 28-26 setback marked only the second time this season they lost by under 10 points, and it was their highest scoring output since Oct. 3.

Rose has feasted on some of the Sun Belt’s weakest run defenses, and Monroe ranks eighth out of 11 teams against the rush.

Prediction: New Mexico State 34, Louisiana-Monroe 29

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 4 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Blake Sims threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns in Alabama’s 42-21 home win over Florida in September 2014.

What to watch for

Florida (10-2) has been the most unimpressive division champion in any power conference over the past month, its offense resembling a “dead fish” in the eyes of first-year coach Jim McElwain, as he told reporters (h/t Stephen Douglas of the Big Lead). And that was before losing 27-2 at home to rival Florida State last week, managing less than 300 yards for the third time in four games and coming perilously close to being shut out for the first time since 1988.

The Gators haven’t been the same with the ball since quarterback Will Grier was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs. He was key to their 6-0 start, and Treon Harris doesn’t bring the same fire and ability, despite being a better runner.

Florida’s defense ranks second in the SEC, but it’s not good enough to carry the team and has worn down over the course of the season. Against FSU, it gave up 150 rushing yards and two TDs to Dalvin Cook in the fourth quarter, so imagine what Derrick Henry could do against a unit that spends far too much time on the field.

Alabama (11-1) has been as impressive as any team in the nation over the past 10 weeks, winning nine straight after the home loss to Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide have locked down on defense, now ranking second in FBS in yards allowed, while they’ve turned the ball over just nine times in nine games (and zero times the last two weeks) since giving it up five times to Ole Miss.

And then there’s Henry, who appears to be running away with the Heisman Trophy race with each powerful carry he takes. Last week he set a school record with 46 rushes for 271 yards, and in the process passed Trent Richardson for the single-season rushing mark with 1,797 yards.

“We’ve had some really good running backs here, first- and second-round draft picks, guys playing well in the NFL,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said, per Aaron Suttles of the Tuscaloosa News. “But what Derrick has done for this team, because this team needs him to do what he does, I would say he’s made as significant an impact on his team as any player we’ve ever had.”

Florida plays the run well, but there’s only so much it can do without an offense to help out.

Prediction: Alabama 33, Florida 16

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 4:30 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Jake Waters threw for 400 yards and a touchdown in Kansas State’s 26-20 win at West Virginia in November 2014.

What to watch for

West Virginia (7-4, 4-4 Big 12) has won four straight after starting off league play against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU. The Mountaineers lost all four of those games, three of which were on the road, but since getting into the softer part of the conference schedule they’ve been able to build momentum and be in position for their most wins since joining the Big 12 in 2012.

The lean toward a run-based attack has keyed West Virginia’s late push as much as the competition. Quarterback Skyler Howard has struggled with his accuracy all season, completing 56.1 percent of his passes with 12 interceptions, but as a runner he’s a great complement to Wendell Smallwood and Rushel Shell. That trio has combined for 2,437 rushing yards and 22 TDs.

Kansas State (5-6, 2-6) finds itself in the unique position of being able to accept a bowl bid regardless of what it does in this game. Because there won’t be enough schools with six wins to fill the 80 bowl slots, the NCAA will allow 5-7 teams with the best Academic Progress Rate scores to play in the postseason.

At least two such teams will be needed this year, and K-State’s APR score (976) is tied with Missouri for second-best. Mizzou has already said it won’t accept a bowl invite, so win or lose, the Wildcats should be playing a 13th game.

They’d much prefer to go in at .500, which would mean winning a third straight game after starting 0-6 in Big 12 play. Coach Bill Snyder’s young team could be really good next year, thanks to the experiences of 2015, and will continue its recent rise by getting to 6-6.

Prediction: Kansas State 27, West Virginia 23

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 5 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Elijah McGuire and Alonzo Harris combined for five rushing touchdowns in Louisiana-Lafayette’s 42-23 win at Troy in November 2014.

What to watch for

Troy (3-8, 2-5 Sun Belt) is going to miss out on a bowl for a fifth straight season, the first under coach Neal Brown. His Trojans scored 144 points during a three-game stretch that included two wins, but in their other eight games they’ve averaged 18.4 points.

Louisiana-Lafayette (4-7, 3-4) had gone 9-4 in each of the previous four seasons, but little has gone right in 2015. Mark Hudspeth’s program has lost three in a row, and the seven points the Ragin’ Cajuns managed last week against Appalachian State are their fewest since September 2010.

To make matters worse, Luke Johnson of the Advocate reported in October that the NCAA is accusing former assistant coach David Johnson of exam fraud, providing recruits payments and not complying with investigators when he was with the school from 2011-14. 

Despite everything that’s happened this season, the Cajuns will finish on a positive note.

Prediction: Louisiana-Lafayette 31, Troy 20

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 7:30 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Brandon Bridge threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in South Alabama’s 47-21 win at Appalachian State in October 2014.

What to watch for

Appalachian State (9-2, 6-1 Sun Belt) has losses to unbeaten Clemson (41-10) and conference champ Arkansas State (40-27) but has dominated against everyone else this season. Only one of the Mountaineers’ victories was by fewer than 18 points, thanks to a balanced offense that features 1,000-yard rusher Marcus Cox and quarterback Taylor Lamb.

Lamb has thrown 27 TD passes in 234 attempts, taking advantage of defenses selling out to stop a run game that ranks sixth in the FBS at 265.9 yards per game.

South Alabama (5-6, 3-4) can get to a bowl for a second straight year with a win, but a loss will knock the Jaguars out of contention, because their Academic Progress Rate score wasn’t high enough to make the list of potential 5-7 bowl qualifiers.

Infused with several members of the UAB program that went dark in 2015, South Alabama managed to win at Mountain West title game participant San Diego State in September, but its other wins have come against teams with four or fewer victories. It has lost two in a row, including 55-17 at Georgia Southern last week, and is heading in the wrong direction.

Prediction: Appalachian State 37, South Alabama 20

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 7:30 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Quinn Kaehler threw for 326 yards and a touchdown in San Diego State’s 30-14 home win over Air Force in November 2014.

What to watch for

Air Force (8-4) is playing for its first conference championship since winning the Western Athletic Conference in 1998, winning the deep Mountain Division with a 6-2 mark. The next four teams went 5-3, but a key late-season win at Boise State propelled the Falcons to the title.

An option attack that produces 323.5 yards per game, third-most in the FBS, has been supplemented of late by quarterback Karson Roberts’ passing. He had 873 of his 1,411 passing yards and eight of his nine TDs over the last four games, including a combined 550 against Utah State and Boise State that was the fourth-most over two games in school history.

San Diego State (9-3) is playing for its first outright conference title since claiming the 1986 WAC crown. The Aztecs are on an eight-game winning streak since a rigorous pre-conference slate that featured losses at California and Penn State. They’ve won every MWC game by at least 14 points.

It’s been a blend of defense and ball-control offense for SDSU. Donnel Pumphrey, a junior, has paced a run game averaging 283.4 rushing yards during the winning streak, and the Aztecs are ninth nationally in scoring defense at 16.6 points allowed.

Quarterback Maxwell Smith, a graduate transfer from Kentucky, tore his ACL in last week’s win over Nevada. Freshman Christian Chapman takes over, but SDSU hasn’t attempted more than 19 passes in a game during the winning streak; that shouldn’t change.

Prediction: San Diego State 24, Air Force 17

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 7:45 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Remound Wright scored three rushing touchdowns in Stanford’s 41-31 win at USC in September.

What to watch for

USC (8-4) has weathered a second storm of coaching turmoil in the last three years, but unlike in 2013, the performance of its interim coach was enough to land him the permanent job. Clay Helton is 5-2 since replacing Steve Sarkisian, beating rival UCLA on Saturday to win the South Division title.

The Trojans players are enjoying the move more than those outside the program, but Helton’s connection with his roster—and a push toward a potential strength with several great running backs—outweighed what critics might think.

“Helton is a fine choice because he brings stability and sanity to a program, and players, who need it. He is a high-character, low-key model of temperance,” Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times wrote. “Helton clearly won over the locker room and has the respect of the freshmen and their elders.”

Since Helton took over, USC has run the ball at least 40 times in four of seven games. In the five 2015 games under Sarkisian, it never had more than 39 carries, with a season-low 28 runs in the home loss to Stanford (10-2).

That win in Los Angeles was the first sign the Cardinal could be contenders this season. Prior to the USC win, they managed only six points in a loss at Northwestern and nearly went the first half without scoring against winless UCF. But they’ve now hit the 30-point barrier in 11 straight games (including against UCF with a big second half).

Christian McCaffrey, Stanford’s do-everything sophomore, became one of just three players in FBS history to top 3,000 all-purpose yards in a season last week. He’s second in the Pac-12 in rushing with 1,640 yards, and his 37 receptions are the most on the team.

Kevin Hogan, the winningest quarterback in Stanford history, is having the best season of his career. He’s completing 68.3 percent of his passes and is fourth in the nation in average yards per attempt (9.2). He threw for 279 yards and two TDs against USC in September, and last week against Notre Dame he calmly engineered the game-winning field-goal drive despite only having 25 seconds with which to work.

USC’s Cody Kessler is no slouch either with a 68.4 completion percentage, 27 TDs and just six interceptions, but he’s become less involved in the offense with the run emphasis. He’ll have one of his best games in what should be a back-and-forth contest, but Stanford will get the win, stay alive for a playoff bid and hope for chaos in the ACC and SEC title games.

Prediction: Stanford 33, USC 26

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 8 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Connor Cook threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns in Michigan State’s 26-14 win at Iowa in October 2013.

What to watch for

Michigan State (11-1) emerged from the deep East Division thanks to its last-second wins at Michigan and Ohio State, games it never led with time on the clock. Those victories have trumped the craziness that was the Spartans’ officiating-impacted loss at Nebraska and put them in a near-certain win-and-they’re-in situation with this game.

Though the Ohio State win came without Cook, who was nursing a shoulder injury, his return is key. He had three TD passes and only seven incompletions in the season finale against Penn State, raising his completion percentage to a still-shaky 57.6. However, Cook has only been intercepted four times in 337 attempts, so he’s missing in safe places.

The Spartans might have the best resume of any playoff contender, thanks to their victories in the conference as well as beating Oregon back in September. That was when Oregon wasn’t at its best, but the Ducks ended on a six-game winning streak, so the victory has plenty of value.

Iowa (12-0) only has three wins against FBS teams with a winning record, and none since blowing out Northwestern in mid-October. Since then, the Hawkeyes have coasted against teams with a combined 21-39 record, only winning by an average of 11.4 points, one of the many reasons they’re still getting funny looks despite a perfect record.

This is the chance for Iowa to show it’s for real, since all indications are that the Big Ten champion will get a playoff spot.

“To think that you’d know how this was going to turn out, you never do,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz told ESPN.com’s Mitch Sherman. “That’s what makes this exciting.”

Iowa ranks 63rd in total offense, almost right in the middle, but 21st in defense. The results have rarely been sexy, but the Hawkeyes get the job done.

Michigan State did that a lot this season against lesser opponents but saved its best for the big games. It’s been so long since Iowa played a strong foe that it might not be able to switch into that gear again.

Prediction: Michigan State 27, Iowa 17

When: Saturday, Dec. 5; 8 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Deshaun Watson threw for 435 yards and six touchdowns in Clemson’s 50-35 home win over North Carolina in September 2014.

What to watch for

North Carolina (11-1) began this season losing at Bank of America Stadium to a South Carolina team that would go 3-9, see its coach quit midway through and fall to an FCS team. Three months later, the Tar Heels are back on the same field playing for their first ACC title since 1980. Funny how things turn out.

Their 11-game winning streak is the third-longest in the country, but partially because two of those wins early on were against FCS schools Delaware and North Carolina A&T, the Heels find themselves behind three two-loss teams in the playoff standings. That includes Florida State, which lost twice in the ACC, making it seem improbable that the Tar Heels could jump high enough in the rankings to get a playoff bid with an upset of Clemson.

First, though, UNC has to win. For that to happen, its much-improved defense will have to return to the form in which it held seven of its first eight opponents under 20 points. It also needs Marquise Williams, the school’s career total offense leader, to play the game of his life.

Clemson (12-0) just needs to win to be in the semifinals, most likely as the No. 1 seed playing in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve. The Tigers became the ACC’s best hope for a national title when they knocked off Notre Dame and then league standard-bearer FSU, and they’ve held the top spot in every edition of the playoff rankings.

Watson has become the superstar we hoped he’d be when Clemson first put him on the field in 2014, but injuries robbed him of several games in his freshman year. He’s remained healthy all of this season, and after being somewhat handcuffed early on, Watson has erupted with 398 yards per game of total offense over the last seven.

He and sophomore running back Wayne Gallman (1,145 yards) are playing so well that it’s taken all of the attention away from Clemson’s defense. It was expected to have a big drop-off from last year’s top-ranked unit. Instead, it ranks seventh in the FBS at 288.5 yards allowed per game.

A UNC win would create more playoff chaos than any other result from this weekend. Though it’s possible, it won’t happen.

Prediction: Clemson 34, North Carolina 21

When: Saturday, Dec. 12; 3 p.m. ET

Last meeting: Keenan Reynolds threw a touchdown pass and ran for another in Navy’s 17-10 win over Army last December.

What to watch for

Navy (9-2) could have made the playoff committee members wait a little longer to finalize their bowl assignments had it won the American Athletic Conference’s West Division and played in this weekend’s league title game. The Midshipmen couldn’t make that happen, losing 52-31 at Houston for their first conference loss after decades of independent football.

Without a shot at a big bowl, Navy will play on its home field in the Military Bowl later this month but will be less rested than most bowl teams because of the annual clash with Army.

The game will be one of the last two opportunities for Reynolds to add to his FBS-record 83 career rushing TDs, and with one more score he’ll also pass former Wisconsin star Montee Ball for the all-time total TD mark.

Army (2-9) is finishing up a fifth straight losing season, hoping to avoid reaching 10 losses for the second time in four years. The Black Knights have wins over a 1-11 Eastern Michigan team and FCS Bucknell, while seven of their losses have been by 10 or fewer points.

Navy has absolutely dominated this game, winning 13 in a row, and nothing indicates that this will change. The final score usually takes a back seat to the pageantry of these service academies and their fans, and all we hope for in the last regular-season game of 2015 is an entertaining afternoon.

Prediction: Navy 31, Army 17

Statistics provided by CFBStats.com.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.