Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Conference USA Championship

Reed Wallach | 2 Hours Ago

Jacksonville State's Tre Stewart tries to evade the tackle of NM State's Da'Marcus Crosby during college football action at AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama October 9, 2024. (Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times) / Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In a unique set up to the Conference USA Championship Game, Western Kentucky will play Jacksonville State for the second straight week.

The Hilltoppers clinched their spot in the title game after rallying to win to beat Jacksonville State last week at home, which had already locked up a spot in the game prior to kickoff. In the loss, the Gamecocks will now face the same team twice. How will that impact this game? 

Here’s our betting preview for the first conference title game this weekend!

Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Western Kentucky: +4.5 (-106)
• Jacksonville State: -4.5 (-114)

Moneyline

• Western Kentucky: +146
• Jacksonville State: -176

Total: 57.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State How to Watch

• Date: Friday, December 6th
• Game Time: 7:00 PM EST
• Venue: AmFirst Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): CBS Sports Network
• Western Kentucky Record: 8-4
• Jacksonville State Record: 8-4

Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State Key Players to Watch

Western Kentucky

Caden Veltkamp: Veltkamp went through a late-season swoon prior to the regular season finale, but showed up just in time to give the team a shot for the CUSA title. Veltkamp completed nearly 60% of his passes for 301 yards with a touchdown pass in the win. 

Jacksonville State

Tyler Huff: Huff exited in the second half of the regular season finale loss to Western Kentucky with an ankle injury and his status is up in the air as of this writing for the championship tilt. Huff has excelled in Rich Rodriguez’s fast-pace offense, passing for over 2,000 yards while adding nearly 1,200 on the ground for 24 total touchdowns. 

Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State Prediction and Pick

The Gamecocks are considerable favorites, an indication that there isn’t serious concern that Huff will miss this game, but it’s definitely worth monitoring ahead of this matchup. 

If Huff is good to go for this one, I’m interested in the over in this matchup. This total closed north of 61 last week, and while the game featured a low-scoring affair of 19-17, I think that the circumstances and gamesmanship of a potential rematch last week set the tone for this one.

This is still a matchup that favors each offense, with Western Kentucky outside the top 100 in EPA/Rush on defense against the explosive run game of Jacksonville State that is led by Huff (if healthy) and 1,400-yard rusher Tre Stewart. 

However, Veltkamp should be able to continue to build on his 300-plus yards through the air against a shaky Jacksonville State pass defense that is right around the national average in EPA/Pass. 

While it was a low-scoring matchup last week, I’ll stick with the season-long metrics and go over the total in this one. 

PICK: OVER 57.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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