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The Delaware Blue Hens take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Delaware opened as a favorite, but Western Kentucky now sits as a -1.5 underdog ahead of kickoff. Both sides come in at -110 on the moneyline, and the over/under sits at 57.5 total points.
Here's my Delaware vs. Western Kentucky predictionand college football pick for Tuesday, October 27.
Delaware vs. Western Kentucky Pick: Under 56.5 (Play to 55.5)
My Western Kentucky vs. Delaware best bet is on both teams to go under the total. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page .
Delaware vs Western Kentucky Spread: Delaware +2.5, Western Kentucky -2.5
Delaware vs Western Kentucky Over/Under: 55.5 Points
Delaware vs Western Kentucky Moneyline: Delaware ML +111, Western Kentucky ML -128
Nick Minicucci is back in the lineup, and Delaware is apparently back to being a serious Conference USA contender — at least offensively.
Against Missouri State, Minicucci recorded six total touchdowns with five coming through the air. That production reopened a struggling ground game, as Jo Silver went for 101 yards, his best mark since Minicucci went down to injury.
In total, Delaware scored 61 points, tied for its most in a game since 2000 (which is also tied with last year's 61-31 rout of UTEP).
The concern still lies on defense. I've taken a look at Delaware several times since it joined the FBS ranks last season, and my stance on the three-high safety shell remains the same: it's a problem.
Despite the lopsided nature of the victory, UD gave up a 59% Success Rate, seven explosive plays (12% of snaps), and — most importantly — 38 points, with 28 in the first half.
Against run-heavy teams, Delaware is susceptible off tackle where it substitutes wide APEX safeties for over-the-tackle linebackers.
Its secondary is also a weakness. Missouri State receiver Isaiah Myers exploded for 242 receiving yards.
Schematically, Delaware is weak against the run. Personnel-wise, it's weak against the pass. Ultimately, this defense just isn't very good.
At one point, Western Kentucky ranked at the bottom of the nation. Aided by a run of road games at Nevada, Georgia, and Indiana (plus a bad showing at New Mexico State), WKU had the worst net Points Per Drive in the country.
But since then, the Hilltoppers are 2-0 and an ascending team. They beat Missouri State at home, 34-13, and stifled Sam Houston, 16-3.
Now, the Toppers' defense ranks 56th in Success Rate allowed and 101st in Points Per Drive allowed (up 37 spots in two weeks!).
The run defense is still an issue — it ranks 132nd in yards per rush, 121st in EPA Per Rush allowed and gave up 155 yards on the ground, plus five rushes of 10-plus yards — but the secondary has successfully put a lid on opposing passing attacks.
The issue was and continues to be a misfire at offensive coordinator.
Bodie Reeder came over from Middle Tennessee, where he led MTSU to the 118th- and 98th-ranked Points-Per-Drive offenses in 2024 and 2025, respectively. He did lead MTSU to 541 yards against WKU a year ago, and that must have convinced head coach Tyson Helton.
But WKU's offense is dreadful for the first time in many years, as Helton has had an impressive run of ace coordinator hires. So far, the Tops rank 113th in touchdown rate (22.2% of drives) and 132nd in Points Per Drive.
Reeder benched quarterback Rodney Tisdale in favor of Brock Glenn , who was the man under center for both of the last two victories. However, it was far from a QB showcase either time.
WKU opened this game up as a +2.5 underdog at home, a line that's moved to now favoring the Toppers slightly. A total that opened at 57.5 was bet up quickly in the early week to 59.5 and, later in the week, back down to 56.5 points.
Action PRO logs six sharp moves to the under, but that number has moved through two important totals of 59 and 58.
The market is still catching up on these teams. Last week, WKU closed as a -1.5 favorite at Sam Houston and, the week before that, a +2.5 home 'dog to Missouri State.
Now, WKU is laying 1.5 points at home against Delaware, a much higher-quality opponent whose market rating jumped at least a field goal with the return of Minicucci.
We have an opportunity to bet against a Delaware offense that just throttled a terrible defense and scored 61 points on 482 yards of offense.
This year, trying to back road teams on these Weeknight CUSA games has been a disaster; since Week 5, road teams are 3-10-1 ATS on CUSA games played between Tuesday and Thursday (although they went 2-2 last week).
Instead, I'm going to continue fading Reeder as an OC and WKU's inability to score points even against forgiving defenses like Sam Houston.
Conversely, we're able to sell high on a historic Delaware showcase that required four fields of 45 or fewer yards in the second half and three takeaways.
WKU's secondary should hold up better against Minicucci and the Blue Hens.
It's not the best this number has been, but it's good above 55.
