Game recap: UCF Knights hold off Tulane Green Wave 38-31

The American Athletic Conference's top two teams square off in a top-25 matchup Saturday afternoon with first place on the line.

No. 22 UCF (7-2, 4-1 AAC) visits No. 17 Tulane (8-1, 5-0) at 3:30 p.m. The winner gains the inside track on home-field advantage for the league's championship game, and the automatic Group of Five bid for a New Year's Six bowl game.

Tulane last hosted a showdown of nationally ranked teams in 1949, when they faced then-SEC rival LSU. The Green Wave are the lone unbeaten squad in AAC play, entering with a five-game winning streak.

AAC showdown coming:No. 25 UCF ends road woes with win at Memphis, sets up showdown with Tulane; 3 takeaways

NUMBERS DON'T LIE:5 key stats explaining UCF football's dominant defense this season

Watch the game:How to watch No. 22 UCF Knights vs. No. 17 Tulane Green Wave on TV, live stream

Mikey Keene tossed two fourth-quarter touchdown passes last weekend to guide UCF to a 35-28 road win over Memphis. Head coach Gus Malzahn has downplayed talk of a budding quarterback controversy but declined to name a starter during the week.

John Rhys Plumlee returned to practice in a limited capacity before the Memphis game and dressed in full uniform, but did not participate.

"We've got a plan," Malzahn told Mike Bianchi in a radio interview for FM 96.9 The Game. "We'll wait 'til we get there and everybody will find out. Like I've said before, we've got two guys that we know we can win with. We've got two like starters. You look around the college football world, and I think we're in as good of a spot as anybody is at the quarterback position."

Who did ESPN College GameDay pick for UCF Knights vs. Tulane Green Wave?

ESPN's College GameDay hosts took a shot at the UCF-Tulane game today, as they broadcast from the site of the TCU-Texas game in Austin.

Only Pat McAfee took UCF, saying at one point he'd called the team the Golden Knights, only to be rebuffed

Here's how the picks broke down among the hosts:

Desmond Howard: Tulane

Kirk Herbstreit: Tulane

Pat McAfee: UCF

Guest picker Jordan Speith: Tulane