The Popeyes Bahamas Bowl is at stake when the Central Michigan Chippewas clash with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky (7-5) has gotten the win in four of its last five and Central Michigan (7-5) three of its last four. The game starts at 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday and will be available on ESPN.
Western Kentucky got a close victory over Marshall 67-66 in its last game. Tyler Higbee had a huge game in the win, hauling in six balls for 99 yards and three TDs. Leon Allen also had a great game with 237 yards and a TD on 33 attempts. Central Michigan lost to Western Michigan 32-20 in its last game. Deon Butler had a big game for the Chippewas, recording seven catches for 83 yards and one TD. Titus Davis finished with 88 yards on five receptions.
Western Kentucky is a slim one-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 65 points. Heading into Week 18 of the college football season, the Hilltoppers are 7-5 Straight Up (SU) and 6-6 Against The Spread (ATS). In their five most recent matchups, the Hilltoppers went 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. Over the last five games, the Western Kentucky passing attack was near-unstoppable, averaging 301.8 yards passing per game in that time span. During their last five games, the Hilltoppers have also done an improved job of keeping their opponents from throwing the ball, only giving up an average of 222.4 passing yards. An important aspect of the game will be if the Hilltoppers can capitalize off of Central Michigan’s propensity to give away the football. They currently rank 112th in the nation with 2.2 turnovers per game. Keep an eye on Western Kentucky to turn it up a notch during the second quarter, when they average 13.2 points per game. On the special teams side, Western Kentucky has some playmakers. They average 39.8 return yards per game, 15th in Division I.
In the other locker room, the Chippewas have a record of 5-7 ATS and 7-5 SU. In the previous five games, Central Michigan has a record of 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. Offensively, they should be able to find paydirt quite often against the Hilltoppers, who are one of the worst home scoring defenses in the country at 30.3 points per game. Despite the home-field advantage, the Hilltoppers have not found a lot of success stopping their opponents’ running games. The Chippewas have probably taken notice of that and will look to abuse a run defense that ranks 110th in Division I with 209.7 rushing yards allowed per game at home. Moving on to the Central Michigan defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of as well. The Central Michigan defense has given opposing running backs fits this season. Opponents average just 119.8 rushing yards per game against this menacing unit. The Chippewas could take advantage of Western Kentucky’s reputation as a slow starter on defense. They are 109th in Division I in first-quarter points allowed with 8.9. Losing yards on penalties isn’t a common occurrence for Central Michigan. They only average 33.7 penalty yards per away game, ninth-best in the country this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – WKU, ATS Winner – WKU, O/U – Over
Notes
Central Michigan is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Central Michigan’s last 19 games.
Central Michigan is 5-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Western Kentucky is 5-3 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Central Michigan is only 3-5 SU this season when turning the ball over more than its opponent.
The Central Michigan defense has forced an average of 2.2 turnovers per game this season, but Western Kentucky is 3-1 SU when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
According to overall FBS team rankings, Central Michigan is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 69th-ranked rushing attack will face the 116th-ranked run defense of Western Kentucky, while its 18th-ranked run defense will look to contain the 68th-ranked rushing game of the Hilltoppers.
