Western Kentucky vs UTEP Prediction 10/10/24 College Football Picks

The UTEP Miners and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers meet on Thursday night in Week 7 college football action at LT Smith Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and identify the best bets for this game. Here’s a prediction between Western Kentucky and UTEP.

UTEP Summary

The UTEP Miners come into this game looking to secure their first win of the season after falling to 0-5 on the year following a 41-21 loss to Sam Houston. After this game, UTEP will travel home to face the FIU Panthers.

UTEP tries to get its first win

Skyler Locklear has thrown for 710 yards, 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on a 63.5% pass rate, while Cade McConnell has 444 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on a 57.8% pass rate. Jevon Jackson has a team-high 233 rushing yards while Kenny Odom has a team-high 359 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Kam Thomas also has a team-high 31 grabs for 315 yards, while Jaden Smith and Trey Goodman each have over 100 receiving yards on the year. On defense, Dorian Hopkins has a team-high 52 total tackles, including 20 solo tackles, while KD Johnson has 2.5 sacks as part of UTEP’s 12 sacks so far this season.

Western Kentucky Summary

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers come into this game looking to bounce back from their 21-20 loss to Boston College prior to their bye week last week and are 3-2 on the year. After this game, WKU will head to a matchup with Sam Houston.

Hilltoppers want to do damage in CUSA

Caden Veltkamp has thrown for 883 yards, 8 touchdowns and 4 INTs with a pass rate of 70.4%. Elijah Young leads WKU on the ground with 218 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, while Kisean Johnson has 29 receptions for 392 yards and 4 touchdowns. Easton Messer has 236 receiving yards, while River Helms, Dalvin Smith and the aforementioned Young each also have over 100 receiving yards on the year. On defense, Devonte’ Mathews has a team-best 24 total tackles and 2 interceptions, while Hosea Wheeler also has 24 tackles. The WKU defense as a whole has combined for 9 sacks and 4 INTs this season.

Western Kentucky vs UTEP Prediction

I’ll try UTEP here. I don’t necessarily want to bet on it, but WKU’s biggest win this season came against Middle Tennessee, the worst team in the country at stopping the pass. WKU has a vulnerable defense and the Miners actually have a decent passing offense. WKU is without question a pass-first offense, but the strength of the UTEP defense, even if there aren’t many strengths, is their pass defense as they are 52nd^nd nationally against the pass and have also held Colorado State and Liberty reasonably close this season. WKU’s offense always has the potential to fail, but I think there are just too many points at stake here. Give me UTEP.