AAC 2016 Betting Preview: Houston Even-Money Favorite on Conference Odds

The American Athletic Conference had its first conference championship game in 2015, with the Houston Cougars beating the Temple Owls 24-13 as 4.5-point chalk. With AAC Championship MVP Greg Ward Jr. back for his senior year, the Cougars are listed as even-money favorites to repeat as champs at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

Ward may be a long shot to win the Heisman Trophy this season for Houston, but big things are expected of the 5'11" native of Tyler, Texas. He threw for 2,828 yards and rushed for 1,108 more with 38 total touchdowns last year, so it should not be a surprise to see his name as a Heisman finalist in December.

Ward even helped the Cougars upset the Florida State Seminoles as 7.5-point underdogs in the 2015 Peach Bowl, something former Heisman finalist Jordan Lynch could not do for Northern Illinois.

The Ward-Lynch comparison will likely be made at least a few times throughout the season considering the eye-popping numbers the Houston signal-caller is expected to put up and the lack of competition in his conference.

The South Florida Bulls are the +350 (bet $100 to win $350) second choice on the college football betting lines to win the AAC Championship Game, and they finished 8-5 overall a year ago compared to 13-1 for the Cougars. Meanwhile, Temple (+750) is expected to take a step back after tying for the most wins in school history with a 10-4 mark in 2015.

The Cincinnati Bearcats (+550) are the wild card in the race for the AAC East title with the Bulls and Owls after going 4-4 in conference play and 7-6 overall. Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish recruit Gunner Kiel is set for his redshirt junior year at quarterback, and head coach Tommy Tuberville is hoping his fourth year at the helm brings even more success.

Tuberville led the Bearcats to a pair of 9-4 records in his first two seasons at the school before they regressed a bit last year. Kiel started his college career at Notre Dame before transferring to Cincinnati. He was considered the top quarterback prospect in the country back in 2011 coming out of Columbus, Indiana, per 247Sports.