G5 Football Daily

CUSA Title Game - Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State: How To Watch, Preview, Storylines

The Hilltoppers and Gamecocks are back at it for a second straight week, but with a lot more on the line

Kevin Barral

Jacksonville State's Tre Stewart tries to evade the tackle of FIU's JoJo Evans during college football action at AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama November 16, 2024. (Dave Hyatt / Hyatt Media LLC)
Jacksonville State's Tre Stewart tries to evade the tackle of FIU's JoJo Evans during college football action at AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama November 16, 2024. (Dave Hyatt / Hyatt Media LLC) / Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

After 14 weeks of action in Conference USA, it all comes down to Friday night's league title game between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

These are two teams who already faced off against each other in the final game of the regular season. Now, they go head-to-head, but with a lot more on the line.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-4, 6-2 Conference USA) @ Jacksonville State Gamecocks (8-4, 7-1 Conference USA)

Date: Friday, December 6

Time: 7:00 pm ET // 6:00 pm CT

Location: AmFirst Stadium - Jacksonville, AL

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: The Varsity Network

Betting Line: Jax State -4.5 on FanDuel

Storylines

Status of Tyler Huff

In the Gamecocks' regular season finale against the Hilltoppers, quarterback Tyler Huff suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for most of the game. In head coach Rich Rodriguez's press conference ahead of Friday's game, he said that the senior quarterback will be limited throughout practice and will be a game-time decision going into the game.

In 2024, Huff has completed 146 passes for 2,003 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. On the ground, Huff has rushed for 1,176 yards and 13 touchdowns on 192 carries this season. He was third in Conference USA in rushing yards through 12 games.

Big Moment For Caden Veltkamp

After current Chicago Bear Austin Reed did not participate in the Hilltoppers' bowl game at the end of last season, quarterback Caden Veltkamp stepped in and led a major comeback for the Hilltoppers, defeating Old Dominion by a final score of 38-35 in overtime.

Going into the 2024 season, Texas State transfer TJ Finley was the starting quarterback. However, a lower-body injury sidelined him, and the redshirt sophomore Veltkamp took over. He finished the regular season tied with the most passing touchdowns and second in passing yards in the league. He will now try to defeat Jacksonville State for a second straight week.

"I'm just really excited for him," said head coach Tyson Helton. "Caden is the type of guy who's had to earn everything he's gotten. Nothing's been handed to him. He came here and he was a backup and was a guy that was always trying to fight to get the reps and there was always somebody in front of him. He finally gets his turn in the bowl game and wins that game, bringing us back from a 28 to seven deficit for one of the biggest bowl wins in bowl history...TJ Finley was our original starter and unfortunately got hurt. Caden stepped in right away and didn't miss a beat. He's done well for us. He's a different style of player and we've had to adjust some things to his strengths, but he's a guy that's just going to continue to get better."

Veltkamp has led the Hilltoppers to having the top team passing offense in Conference USA, averaging 271.8 passing yards per game. Expect the Hilltoppers to lean on Veltkamp's abilities in this matchup.

Hilltoppers' Struggles Against The Run

In 2024, Western Kentucky was the worst rushing defense in Conference USA, surrendering 208.3 rushing yards per game. On the flip side, Jax State not only has the second-best rushing offense in the conference, but the third-best rushing offense in the country, behind Liberty and Army.

When these two teams met in week 14, the Gamecocks ran for 229 rushing yards, even with star running back Tre Stewart being held to under 100 rushing yards.

"He's so explosive," Helton said when asked about Stewart. "His skill level for us, he brings a lot of problems. You gotta rally and be able to tackle and it's gonna take multiple people to do that, not just one person brings him down. He's very much deserving of all the accolades that he's got."

Back-To-Back Games Against The Same Team

The Hilltoppers won last weekend's matchup off a last-second 50-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro. This time around, the game means a lot more.

WKU head coach Tyson Helton just sees this as the second half of the final game of the season.

"I kind of like it," said Helton. "It's just halftime of a continual game. The first half is at our place and the second half is at their place. It's just a continuation of a game. You're getting two weeks of preparation and like anything, they're an excellent staff and they'll make adjustments. We'll make adjustments, but I would say you're 50% of who you are and whether you want to address it or whatever you want to do, you do. Then the other 50% is off of what you saw from them in the previous game. You gotta guess how do they adjust."

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Kevin Barral
KEVIN BARRAL

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