Western Kentucky was supposed to be one of the stars of the Conference USA season, but it started 1-4 overall, including a loss to New Mexico State, and then things turned around fast.
Sam Houston and Missouri State aren’t anything special, but the Hilltoppers got the wins they needed against those two to get back in the CUSA chase.
Meanwhile, Delaware stopped its three-game losing streak with a 61-38 win over Missouri State. At 1-2 in conference play, it’s totally do-or-die time for the Blue Hens, but it’s not far off.
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Western Kentucky starts a rough run of at Middle Tennessee, Jacksonville State, and at Liberty before finishing with Kennesaw State. It has to win this.
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Delaware starts a run of three road games in the next four, with Kennesaw State up next.
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The Hilltoppers beat Delaware 27-24 last year.
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Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Game Time: 7:00 PM ET
TV: CBS Sports Network
Location: Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, KY
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Nick Minicucci is back and rolling again. The star quarterback was injured in the Virginia game, missed the first two key battles of the Conference USA season, and then ripped up Missouri State for 225 yards and five scores last week.
It’s a different Delaware team with him under center – he can run, too. The ground attack rumbled for 232 yards against the Bears, and now it gets a Western Kentucky defense that’s having a hard time against the run and can’t generate any consistent pressure.
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It hasn’t always been pretty, and the offense isn’t nearly consistent enough. Now it’s time to turn the passing game loose.
Rodney Tisdale still leads the Hilltoppers in passing, but former Florida State quarterback Brock Glenn – most famous for being the one who stepped in late in the 2023 Seminoles season when star Jordan Travis went down and won the ACC title – has been good enough. He hasn’t been accurate, but he’s not making mistakes, and he should be able to rip up a Delaware secondary that got hit for 628 yards and five touchdowns over the last two weeks.
It’s just the third home game of the season for Western Kentucky, and it’ll take advantage of it with the offense busting out of its shell, at least a little bit. It won’t be by choice – the Delaware offense will make the Hilltopper attack work.
WKU will hold up on third downs against a Blue Hen offense that, even with Minicucci, struggles to consistently keep the chains moving against good defenses.
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Western Kentucky 30, Delaware 27
Latest Consensus Line: Western Kentucky -1.5, o/u: 56.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 1.5
Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
