The Conference USA Championship Game will be held this Friday between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the UTSA Roadrunners.
WKU clinched the East Division last week with a dominant 53-21 win over Marshall in Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The experiment to bring in offensive coordinator (Zach Kittley) and quarterback (Bailey Zappe), among a slew of other transfers from Houston Baptist, has been wildly successful. Zappe leads the nation in passing yards with 4,968 â a good 500 yards more than the next closest signal-caller. His 52 touchdowns are first in the country, 12 more than second-best Kenny Pickett.
UTSA found itself ranked 15th in the country heading into last week on the back of a perfect 11-0 record. The Roadrunners had a mighty fall back to earth, suffering a shocking 45-23 loss to North Texas. UTSA’s likelihood of a strong bowl game was diminished with that futile effort, but they still have a conference championship game left to play.
These two teams met back on October 9 when UTSA secured a narrow 52-46 win in a shootout. The Hilltoppers won the yardage battle 670 to 564 while gaining three more first downs but couldn’t pull off the win. UTSA just allowed 45 points to a struggling North Texas team, so WKU will fancy their chances to move the ball and score points yet again.
We see no reason why there shouldn’t be a slew of points in this matchup yet again. WKU is averaging a ridiculous 7.0 yards per play and is 8-4 to the over.
The Hilltoppers could manage a different outcome than the first meeting if the ball bounces a few different ways this time. They’re the recommended side and have been undervalued all year, sitting at 9-3 ATS.
Picks: Western Kentucky -2.5 and Over 72.5