Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/06/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, December 6, 2024

Venue:  AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville, AL

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  WKU +4, JSU -4; Over/Under:  58 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  WKU +4, JSU -4; Over/Under:  58 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  WKU +4, JSU -4; Over/Under:  57.5 points

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers:  8-4 (6-2) (3rd place, Conference USA)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  8-4 (7-1) (1st place, Conference USA)

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Western Kentucky Hilltoppers:  won their last game at home against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 19-17.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  lost their last game on the road against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 19-17.

Western Kentucky is entering this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have a 6-2 record in their conference games too. They are 5-1 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Jacksonville State 19-17. Caden Veltkamp was the starting QB and he completed 28/47 passes for 301 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Elijah Young led the team in rushing yards with 91. Easton Messer led the receivers with 84 receiving yards on 5 receptions. Devonte' Mathews led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Devon Lynch led the defense in sacks with 1. Demarko Williams came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Jacksonville State is entering this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have a 7-1 record in their conference games too. They are 5-1 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Western Kentucky 19-17. Tyler Huff was the starting QB and he completed 3/11 passes for 17 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception before getting replaced by Logan Smothers who completed 4/6 passes for 62 yards. Tyler Huff led the team in rushing yards with 97. Mike Pettway led the receivers with 47 receiving yards on 1 reception. Laletia Hale led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Laletia Hale led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Jacksonville State listed as a 4 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Jacksonville State has looked really good in their games this season with their 8-4 record overall and their 7-1 conference record which has them right at the top of the C-USA. They are coming off a 2 point loss to end their regular season and that loss was against Western Kentucky, but the game was also on the road where Jacksonville State hasn't been as good this season. They only lost that game by 2 points and it was a game that JSU didn't need to win since they had already clinched the Conference Championship game. Meanwhile, Western Kentucky has also looked good in their games this season with their 8-4 record overall and their 6-2 conference record which has them right near the top of the conference. They have looked a lot better in their home games this season with their 5-1 home record, but they still struggled to beat Jacksonville State in that regular season finale when WKU still needed to win the game and needed Sam Houston to lose just to get here. Everything fell in place for WKU, but that game wasn't encouraging for them and they haven't looked as good in road games this season with their 3-3 road record. Jacksonville State is now getting another shot to beat WKU, but this time they are the team at home in a game that matters to them. The best way to place a bet here is on Jacksonville State to cover the spread in this game. 

Western Kentucky Jacksonville State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, December 6, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is JSU 27 WKU 21.

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Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: 3-6 1H ATS vs. good offensive  teams - scoring 31 or more points/game. 1-5 1H ATS versus good offensive teams - averaging 425 yards/game or more. 8-4 UNDER when playing against a team with a winning record. 6-3 UNDER vs. good passing teams averaging 8 or more passing yards/att. 7-3 UNDER vs. good offensive  teams - scoring 31 or more points/game.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: 9-3 ATS in home lined games. 11-5 ATS against conference opponents. 5-1 ATS vs. good passing teams averaging 250 or more passing yards/game. 8-4 UNDER in home lined games. 7-0 UNDER when playing against a team with a winning record. 4-1 UNDER vs. good passing teams averaging 8 or more passing yards/att.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers:  R. Helms (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Finley (QB) Questionable - Leg.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  B. Robey (OL) Out - Knee. B. Spector (WR) Out - Elbow. D. Wright (WR) Out - Undisclosed.

“You control the controllables. You don’t worry about things you can’t control. You play the game to win. So we’re not focused on that piece; we’re focused on beating Jacksonville State. Obviously Jacksonville State’s made the championship and I think you’ve got to have a championship mentality about you no matter what. They’re undefeated so our guys will be excited to have that opportunity to play that football team at home.” - Tyson Helton before his team’s win against Jax-State which sent them to the Conference USA Championship.

“We coached awful, didn’t play well. You’ve got to give them credit, but disappointed how we played; very disappointed, and in all phases, very disappointed how we coached in all three phases. Anyways, give them credit. They won the game.” - Rich Rodriguez after his team’s loss against WKU in their regular season finale.

WR Smith, Dalvin

WR Johnson, Kisean

WR Messer, Easton 

TE Helms, River 

QB Veltkamp, Caden

RB Young, Elijah 

WR Wells, P.J.

WR McCants, Jordan 

WR Pettway, Michael 

TE Brown, Sean 

QB Huff, Tyler

RB Stewart, Tre

Passing: C. Veltkamp (2665)

Rushing: E. Young (738)

Receiving: K. Johnson (830)

Touchdowns: C. Veltkamp (7)

Passing: T. Huff (2003)

Rushing: T. Stewart (1400)

Receiving: C. Vaughn (529)

Touchdowns: T. Stewart (21)

Coaches:

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: Tyson Helton (6th season)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: Rich Rodriguez (3rd season)