Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Louisville Cardinals Prediction, 9/12/2020 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Louisville Cardinals

Date: Saturday, September 12, 2020

Location: Cardinal Stadium

TV: ACC Network

Odds/Point Spread: Western Kentucky (+11)

Total/Over-Under: 56

Cardinal Stadium is the venue where Micale Cunningham and the Louisville Cardinals will play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Saturday. The odds on this matchup have Louisville as 11-point favorites. The total has been set at 56.

In their last game last year, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers went up against the Western Michigan Broncos and were on the winning end of this game by a score of 23-20. Gaej Walker paced the team in rushing in this outing. His longest run of the day went for 39 yards but he never crossed the endzone by way of the rush. He rushed for 93 yards via 15 carries which means he ran for an average of 6.2 yards per run. Lucky Jackson led the team in receiving yardage with a tally of 148 yards on 17 catches. He averaged 8.7 yards per reception in this outing. Taking the lead at quarterback for the Hilltoppers was Ty Storey who went 35/51 with 358 yards via the pass and completed 2 TD's. He walked away with 2 picks in this game.

The Hilltoppers come into this matchup after finishing with a record of 9-4 last year. This team was one of the more average teams in terms of scoring in C-USA and I wouldn't expect things to change too much in this game. For total yardage, they ranked 6th in the conference and 70th in D-1 with 5,041 yards. In terms of scoring, they were one of the marginal teams in the country with an average of 25.4 points per game, putting them 90th in D-1. As a team, they had an average of 128.5 rushing yards per game which was 12th in the conference.

The Hilltoppers had one of the top tier defenses in the country last year, allowing 20.1 points per contest, putting them 1st in C-USA and 22nd in the nation. When it comes to passing yards, the Hilltoppers conceded 3,371 yards. Teams completed 53.2% of the throws they attempted against them and averaged 7.2 yards per try. When it comes to yards rushing, Western Kentucky gave up 135.8 yards per contest putting them 3rd in Conference USA and 33rd in college football. Opposing teams ran for an average of 3.7 yards per rush putting them 3rd in the conference and 31st in college football overall. Overall, they allowed 1,765 yards rushing through 13 contests.

In their last outing in 2019, the Louisville Cardinals faced the Mississippi State Bulldogs and earned the win by a score of 38-28. Running the show from under center for the Cardinals was Micale Cunningham who went 16/23 with 279 yards via the pass and added 2 TD's. He walked away from this game with no interceptions. Javian Hawkins paced the team on the ground in this contest. He had a long run of 24 yards and he tallied 1 TD in this game. He racked up a total of 105 yards via 23 carries which had him averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Tutu Atwell was the receiving yardage leader with a total of 147 yards on 9 catches. He notched an average of 16.3 yards per reception in this contest.

The Cardinals come into this matchup after finishing last year with a record of 8-5. Louisville made teams fear their ground game last season by averaging 213.8 yards per contest, which had them at 24th in D-1. As a team, they had a total of 2,779 yards rushing through 13 games, so they'll look to continue their dominance on the ground to grind out wins. The Cardinals averaged 448 yards per contest overall putting them 24th in the country and 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. When talking about the points that were being put on the board, the Cardinals sat at 2nd in the conference and 30th out of all the teams in the country with an average of 33.1 points per game.

The Cardinals allowed 33.4 points per contest ranking them 14th in the ACC and 108th in D-1. In regard to points allowed, they allowed 434 total points. In terms of rushing yards, they gave up 205.9 yards per contest ranking them 111th in Division 1 and 13th in the conference. In 2019, they allowed a total of 2,677 yards on the ground. Their pass defense was one of the middling groups in D-1. They gave up 234.2 passing yards per game. For passing yards allowed per game, the Cardinals were ranked 9th in the conference.

Who will win tonight's Hilltoppers/Cardinals college football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals -11

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