Southern Miss at WKU: 11/14/20 College Football Picks and Prediction
Photo by Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
WKU Hilltoppers (2-6) vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles (2-5)
Game Info: Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 3:30 pm (Houchens-Smith Stadium)
Betting Odds: WKU Hilltoppers -8 -- Over/Under: 49 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles will travel to Houchens Industries-L. T. Smith Stadium to take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers this Saturday night in College Football action.
The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 2-5 (1-2 C-USA West) on the season after defeating the Northern Alabama Lions, 24-13, this past Saturday. Southern Mississippi struggled through the first three quarters in this one and trailed 13-7 going into the 4th quarter, however, the Golden Eagles offense was finally able to get going and scored 17 unanswered points in the 4th to secure the victory. Southern Mississippi outgained Northern Alabama by a 345-175 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 4-1 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Golden Eagles was RB Frank Gore Jr. who had 103 rushing yards on 13 carries.
On the season, Southern Mississippi is averaging 25.9 ppg on 376.9 total yards per game (226.0 passing yds/g; 150.9 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Southern Mississippi has been led by the RB trio of Frank Gore Jr. (85 att, 461 yards, TD), Kevin Perkins (40 att, 162 yards, 5 TD), and Darius Maberry (33 att, 161 yards, 2 TD). QB Jack Abraham has completed 62.1% of his passes for 1,224 yards, 7 TD, & 4 INT. The top receiving threats for the Golden Eagles have been Jason Brownlee (29 rec, 474 yards, 4 TD), Tim Jones (17 rec, 332 yards, 2 TD), and Demarcus Jones (26 rec, 231 yards, TD).
Defensively, Southern Mississippi is allowing their opponents to average 37.0 ppg on 440.4 total yards per game (256.0 passing yds/g; 184.4 rushing yds/g).
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers lost their 2nd straight game and dropped to 2-6 (1-3 C-USA East) on the season after being defeated by the FAU Owls, 10-6, this past Saturday. In a defensive battle that saw no points until the 3rd quarter, Western Kentucky could not hold on late after a 11-yard TD run by the Owls Javion Posey with 2:27 left in the game gave FAU the lead for good. Western Kentucky was outgained by FAU by a 273-257 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Hilltoppers was RB Gaej Walker who had 78 rushing yards on 17 carries.
On the season, Western Kentucky is averaging 15.3 ppg on 272.8 total yards per game (158.8 passing yds/g; 114.0 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Western Kentucky has been led by QB Tyrrell Pigrome who has completed 56.6% of his passes for 901 yards & 8 TD’s. Pigrome is also the 2nd leading rusher for the Hilltoppers as he has 245 rushing yards on 64 carries. In the backfield with Pigrome has been the RB duo of Gaej Walker (88 att, 352 yards, TD) and Jakairi Moses (36 att, 201 yards). The top receiving threats for the Hilltoppers have been Mitchell Tinsley (30 rec, 274 yards, 3 TD), Xavier Lane (27 rec, 267 yards, TD), and Joshua Simon (20 rec, 194 yards, 3 TD).
Defensively, Western Kentucky is allowing their opponents to average 27.3 ppg on 362.8 total yards per game (179.8 passing yds/g; 183.0 rushing yds/g).
The Golden Eagles are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their previous game, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 conference games. The Hilltoppers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS win, however, are just 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Both Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky have struggled this season and although the Hilltoppers are the better team, it is hard to trust Western Kentucky to win by over a TD when the offense is averaging just 15.3 ppg on the season. Southern Mississippi has a decent offense that should be able to put up some points and as I expect this one to stay within one possession, I think the play here is to take the Golden Eagles and the points. Good Luck!
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Brett’s Pick Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles +8
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
