WKU vs Middle Tennessee 11/6/21 College Football Picks and Predictions

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers square off Saturday in week 10 C-USA college football action from Houchen Industries – L.T. Smith Stadium.

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will be looking to build off of back-to-back wins after a 35-10 win over Southern Miss in their last game. Chase Cunningham has thrown for 1,318 yards, 16 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 62.5% passing while Chaton Mobley leads the Blue Raiders with 231 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Another four rushers have at least 100 rushing yards for the Blue Raiders this season while Jimmy Marshall leads Middle Tennessee’s receiving group with 404 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns on 31 catches. Jarrin Pierce also has 31 grabs for 367 yards while another two Middle Tennessee receivers have 200+ receiving yards this season. On defense, Reed Blankenship leads the Blue Raiders with 72 total tackles while Jordan Ferguson has a team-high 6.5 sacks and Gregory Grate Jr. and DQ Thomas each have a pair of interceptions this season.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will look to add to their three-game winning streak after a 45-13 rout of Charlotte last time out. Bailey Zappe has thrown for 3,407 yards, 33 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on 71.2% passing while Adam Cofield has 317 rushing yards and 4 scores and Noah Whittington has 250 rushing yards this season. Jerreth Sterns leads WKU’s receiving group with 93 grabs for 1,166 yards and 11 touchdowns while Mitchell Tinsley has 627 receiving yards and 5 TDs and Malachi Corley has 484 receiving yards with 4 scores. Daewood Davis has also contributed 371 receiving yards and Craig Burt Jr. has 215 receiving yards for the Hilltoppers this season. On defense, DeAngelo Malone and Antwon Kincade lead WKU with 58 total tackles while Juwuan Jones has a team-high 4 sacks this season.

Middle Tennessee is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog while the under is 5-2 in their last 7 games overall. Western Kentucky is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 9-19-1 ATS in their last 29 games as a favorite while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 home games.

I get the case that could be made both ways as the Blue Raiders haven’t been terrible and the Hilltoppers have a dynamic offense that can bury almost any opponent. With that said, I’m going to side with the over as WKU has scored 31 or more in every game this season and Middle Tennessee has put up at least 34 in four of their last five games. Expect a shootout in this one.