UTSA vs. Western Kentucky: Prediction, pick, C-USA Championship odds, odds, live stream, watch online

The conference championships will be decided between college football this weekend, and it all kicks off Friday night in San Antonio, Texas. The UTSA Roadrunners will host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at the Alamodome to decide the US Conference champion, and this congressional title fight is a battle of two teams that seem to be going in different directions at the moment.

UTSA has been a Cinderella all season, finishing the regular season with an 11-1 record and appearing in College football Playoff leaderboard. Unfortunately for the Roadrunners, they come into the weekend after their first loss of the season, 45-23 to North Texas last week. The Roadrunners’ defense is one of the best in the conference but they have dropped 76 points in their last two games. Offensive stars like quarterback Frank Harris, re-run Sincere McCormick and receiver Zakhari Franklin may need key dates on Friday to avoid a second straight loss.

Western Kentucky’s path was different. The Hilltoppers are 8-4, but anyone who watched this team in September would be shocked to learn they were playing for a congress title a few months later. They started the season 1-4 with consecutive losses to Army, Indiana, Michigan State and, yes, UTSA. That UTSA loss, however, was WKU’s final of the year, as it came at the weekend on a seven-game winning streak, crowning the East Division last week by beating Marshall 53-21 on the road.

Western Kentucky also has the most experience in the Conference USA Championship Game. This will be the team’s third appearance in the title game, and it has won both previous appearances.

UTSA vs. Western Kentucky: Need to know

Here’s an interesting rematch: These teams met earlier this season in a 52-46 UTSA win in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Roadrunners improved to 6-0 at the time, while WKU dropped to 1-4. Still, it was an incredible game and an indication of what was to come for the Hilltoppers. Not only did the teams add up 98 points that day, but 1,234 yards of fouls and four back-to-backs in a crazy, back-to-back situation.

Harris finished with a total of 400 yards and six touchdowns while Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe threw 523 yards. Unfortunately for Zappe, his interception in the red area in the final seconds of the match played a decisive role.

Zappe has had an incredible season: While it’s hard to imagine a full-back from Western Kentucky attracting much of Heisman’s consideration, Zappe has a case. His 414 passes per game leads the nation, and his 52 touchdown passes are 12 more than anyone else’s (Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Alabama’s Bryce Young have 40). Zappe also ranks seventh nationally in passing efficiency, and he is the driving force behind the Hilltoppers’ offense and the team’s seven-game winning streak.

That’s a huge boost for UTSA: Not long ago this program did not exist. UTSA is not an FCS school with a long history and decided to make the leap to the FBS level. It’s a show that’s been around for 11 seasons and spent a year at the FCS level before joining FBS and WAC. It was moved to Conference USA for the 2013 season and it has been steadily building ever since.

Larry Coker laid the excellent foundation for the original show, but it took a step back in the four seasons Frank Wilson was in charge, running 19-29 from 2016-19. Then Jeff Traylor took over for the 2020 season, leading the Roadrunners to a bowl game and now they’ve played for a conference title in Year 2. And this isn’t the last stop! The Roadrunners won’t be at Conference USA much longer, as they will soon be moving to the American Athletic Conference. All in just over a decade.

How to watch live UTSA vs. Western Kentucky

Day: Friday, December 3 | Time: 7pm ET
Location: Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
TV: CBS Sports Network | Live: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free of charge)

Prediction UTSA vs. Western Kentucky, pick

Featured game | UTSA Roadrunners vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

I have to be honest, this one hurts a bit. I’ve enjoyed watching this team of Roadrunners all year, and before the season even started, I bet my future on them to win Conference USA. But as this match approaches, I am not confident that they will win. Western Kentucky was the better team last month and nearly knocked the Roadrunners out earlier this season. Also, while UTSA won the game, if you look at the box scores, there’s a strong argument that the Hilltoppers were the better team that day; they just end up on the wrong side of the score. This game will be different because it’s at the Alamodome, but it’s hard to counter this Western Kentucky attack with the way the UTSA defense has performed. I also want to consider an ending play. Prediction: Western Kentucky (-1.5)

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