Free Week 9 Prediction: Hilltoppers vs Monarchs Odds
Week 9 College football betting sees the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers taking on the Old Dominion Monarchs Saturday October 31st at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium – Norfolk, Virginia. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions.
Week 9
WKU Hilltoppers (6-2) vs. Old Dominion Monarchs (3-4)
Date: Saturday, October 31st
Time: 12:00 PM
Venue: Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium – Norfolk, Virginia
NCAA Football Spread: WKU -24.0
NCAA Betting Total: 65.5
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Coming off a humbling loss last week, the Hilltoppers will head to Virginia to try to get back on track and keep their undefeated season in conference play going.
They’ll be up against an Old Dominion team eager to avenge last year’s loss to the Hilltoppers as well as pick up their first ATS win of the season.
Western Kentucky picked up just their second loss of the season last week at LSU and will be hoping to avoid their first two game losing streak since October 18th, 2014.
Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers have come out with guns blazing since their early season struggles rattling off 38 or more points in six of their last seven games.
Brandon Doughty will look to rebound from a sub-par performance by his standards. He threw for only 325 yards – which is much below his season average of 379 yards per game. He also threw an interception for the third straight game.
Doughty has thrown three or more touchdowns in six straight games and will look to keep that going against a Monarch defense that has been solid against the pass.
They have allowed just 222 passing yards per game and only 12 passing touchdowns.
It may not be much of a problem for Doughty though as he threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns against the Monarchs last season as he led the Hilltoppers to a 66-51 victory.
Doughty should have his way against the Monarchs again this time around because he has done that against just about everyone.
It’ll be up to the Hilltopper defense though to make sure they walk away with a win in this one.
Western Kentucky’s defense has been difficult to evaluate though. Most games they don’t need to play well – Doughty and the offense gives them leeway.
They gave up 28 points to unranked North Texas.
It didn’t matter because the Hilltoppers put up 55, but that is still not an impressive defensive performance.
Doughty should do enough damage to get the Hilltoppers a win but the defense will determine how close this one is.
Old Dominion
After a good performance two weeks ago against Charlotte, the Monarch passing game struggled on the road last week against FIU.
Their pass defense has been very good thus far but they will need to be on their A game this Saturday if they want to stand a chance against Western Kentucky.
They know what the Hilltoppers are capable of – they remember giving up 66 points to them last season.
Having failed to cover a spread in their first four games, they got close in both of the next two. They beat Charlotte by 3 as 4.5 point favorites after losing to Marshall by 20 as 16.5 point underdogs.
It is difficult to feel confident in a team who has not covered a spread through their first seven games but at home as a 24 point underdog might be their best chance to do it.
The deciding factor in this game will be keeping Western Kentucky from getting a hot start. If Hilltoppers get rolling, they are tough to slow down. If the Monarchs get a couple stops early on, the momentum will be on their side.
They will need more than momentum to win this one though. Their defense will have to be its best and their offense will have to find ways to exploit a porous Hilltopper defense.
Can the Monarchs break their streak of failing to cover a spread this season? This home bout could be a good opportunity.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- The Hilltoppers are 3-8 ATS as the away team since the start of the 2014 season.
- The Hilltoppers are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 game as an away favorite.
- The Monarchs are 0-7 ATS this season.
Free Week 9 NCAA Football Prediction
The Monarchs have yet to cover a spread this season. Typically, trends like that are difficult to ignore. But a home game as a 24 point underdog against a team who just took a beat down is a way to break it.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Old Dominion +24.0
The Hilltoppers will win this one but their poor defensive play on the road will help keep this one close.
Week 9 Free Score Prediction: Western Kentucky 49 – Old Dominion 31
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