On Friday evening, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the UTSA Roadrunners will square off in the Alamodome in the Ryan Conference USA Championship. The Hilltoppers are 8-4 (7-1), are riding a seven-game winning streak, and are coming off a 53-21 road win over the Marshall Thundering Herd. Senior quarterback Bailey Zappe went 25-of-48 for 328 yards for four touchdowns. The Roadrunners are 11-1 (7-1) thus far and are coming off a 45-23 road loss against the North Texas Mean Green. Freshman quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger finished 2-of-4 for 74 yards with a touchdown.
Western Kentucky at UTSA Betting Preview
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Preview: Sterns Staying Stern
Junior wide receiver Jerreth Sterns has been playing extremely well as he has 127 catches for 1,539 yards (12.1 yards per reception) with 12 receiving touchdowns and four rushing attempts for 15 yards (3.8 yards per carry). In his last game against the Marshall Thundering Herd, Sterns finished with four receptions for 28 yards (seven yards per catch).
This season, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have been a decent defensive program as they are giving up 27 points per game. In their previous game against the Marshall Thundering Herd, Western Kentucky allowed 21 points on 325 total yards of offense (199 passing, 126 rushings). The Thundering Herd were decent at moving the chains as they went 3-of-14 on third-down attempts and 2-of-4 on fourth down conversions. Western Kentucky also forced a pair of turnovers in this game (one fumble recovery, one interception).
UTSA Roadrunners Preview: Being Sincere
The UTSA Roadrunners have been running the ball extremely well with junior running back Sincere McCormick. He has 262 rushing attempts for 1,275 yards (4.9 yards per carry) with 12 rushing touchdowns and 19 catches for 149 yards (7.8 yards per reception). In his last game against the North Texas Mean Green, McCormick finished with 12 carries for 60 yards (five yards per attempt) and an eight-yard reception.
The defense of the UTSA Roadrunners have been playing pretty well as they are allowing 22.2 points per game this season. In his previous game against the North Texas Mean Green, UTSA gave up 45 points on 456 total yards of offense (116 passing, 340 rushings). The Roadrunners need to defend the rushing attack better as the Mean Green ran for 5.7 yards per carry. UTSA also could force turnovers as their defense got the ball twice (both fumble recoveries).
Who to Bet on Hilltoppers at Roadrunners
The top sportsbooks across the entire United States list this game as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers as a favorite by under a field goal. These teams are both very healthy as only tight end Joshua Simon is out for this game with a knee injury. Western Kentucky is scoring at an elite level as they are averaging 48 points in their previous five games, while UTSA is scoring an impressive 34.6 points in that same stretch of games. All in all, go with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to cover the spread in this game and win by at least a touchdown.
