North Alabama vs Western Kentucky Prediction 8/30/2025 Today’s College Football Picks

The North Alabama Lions and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers meet Saturday in college football action from Houchens Industries-LT Smith Stadium. Here’s a North Alabama vs Western Kentucky prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best North Alabama vs Western Kentucky pick. We will examine:

The North Alabama Lions recent form and player performance

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the North Alabama Lions

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Recent betting trends in games played between North Alabama vs Western Kentucky

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the North Alabama vs Western Kentucky game

North Alabama Lions Betting Preview

Last season the Lions didn’t fare very well, and ultimately got lost in the shuffle. North Alabama managed to go just 3-9 overall with a 3-5 run in United Athletic Conference games. That effort would give the team a seventh-place finish in the standings, ahead of only West Georgia and Utah Tech. After losing five straight to start the season, North Alabama hit a three-game win streak in late September/early October before finishing with four straight defeats to close the year.

Looking ahead to 2025, North Alabama will retain their coaching staff. Head coach Brent Dearmon is back for his third year in the job. Also returning for their third years are offensive coordinator Kevin Wewers and defensive coordinator Brock Caraboa. The Lions lost six players to the transfer portal in the offseason, including LB Shaun Myers and OL Mickel Clay. DT Lance Bassett and DB Brian Dilworth arrive from Kansas however, and former Colorado QB Destin Wade has entered the fold among the incoming transfer class as well.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Betting Preview

Over on the Western Kentucky side, they had a pretty nice run going during the regular season last year but ended things with a couple of losses. The Hilltoppers went 8-6 overall with a good 6-2 stretch in Conference USA matchups. WKU earned a spot in the conference championship game versus Jacksonville State, but ended up falling in blowout fashion there. In the Boca Raton Bowl Western Kentucky took another loss, this time 27-17 versus James Madison.

Western Kentucky has one game in the books already, taking on Sam Houston last Saturday in home action. In that matchup the Hilltoppers put up points in every quarter, eventually powering out a 41-24 win in the end. QB Maverick McIvor logged 401 yards and three scores on 33-of-51 passing, and Marvis Parrish had 12 totes for 52 yards rushing. Matthew Henry added seven receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown to lead the receivers.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Player Prop Facts

• Demarko Williams led Western Kentucky for interceptions (2) last season.

North Alabama Lions Player Prop Facts

• Justin Pegues was one of only 36 players in the FBS to have a kick return touchdown last season.

Matchup/League Facts

• Western Kentucky ranked 118th among FBS teams for rushing yards per game last season (108.9).
• Western Kentucky ranked 117th among FBS teams for time of possession per game last season (27:26).

North Alabama vs Western Kentucky Prediction

I’ll likely lean toward Western Kentucky, even though the line’s pretty thick. The Hilltoppers looked pretty solid on both sides of the ball in their opener versus Sam Houston, outside of a couple lost fumbles. Western Kentucky notched 506 yards of offense (401 passing), 5.9 yards per play, 26 first downs and a nice 11-of-19 success rate on third-down tries. On defense WKU gave up 382 yards (209 passing) and 6.3 yards per play but also held the Bearkats to just 14 first downs and 2-of-14 on third-down tries. It was a disciplined effort as well; Western Kentucky committed just two penalties overall during the game. There’s not a whole lot to complain about.

As for North Alabama, no one’s expecting too much from the team in their final year at Braly Stadium. That means the Lions could go under the proverbial radar for a nice run (relatively speaking). They’ve got both lead running backs from last year and a pretty good core group of players. Trouble is, the schedule looks pretty tough. There are no guarantees for UNA; they’ll have to be a scrappy, over-performing team in 2025.