Western Kentucky vs. Sam Houston prediction, pick, spread, football game odds, where to watch, TV, stream

College football is back and with it comes the return of Conference USA action. Two of the league’s top returning programs face off Saturday in an intriguing Week 0 class between Western Kentucky and Sam Houston. 

Western Kentucky is looking to make it back to the C-USA Championship Game for a second consecutive season after finishing the 2024 regular season with a 6-2 mark in league play. That record included a Week 8 win against Sam Houston. 

The Bearkats, meanwhile, are looking to build off of a breakout 10-3 campaign. It was a complete 180-degree turn for Sam Houston, which went 3-9 in 2023. That’s impressive progress for a program that is just three years removed from its transition from the FCS to the FBS level. 

The Bearkats won nine games in the regular season — more than Western Kentucky — and finished with an identical 6-2 record in conference play, though the Hilltoppers won the tiebreaker. Sam Houston capped it all with a 31-26 win against Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl, marking its first postseason win since transitioning to the FBS. 

Western Kentucky vs. Sam Houston: Need to know

Phil Longo era begins: Sam Houston lost longtime coach K.C. Keeler to Temple after a successful 9-3 2024 season in just the program’s second year at the FBS level. The Bearkats replaced Keeler with veteran offensive coordinator and former La Salle coach Phil Longo. Longo actually made a name for himself as Sam Houston’s offensive play-caller from 2014-16, where he put his own spin on the air raid attack. He parlayed his success with the Bearkats into an opportunity at Ole Miss and also served as the offensive coordinator at North Carolina (2019-22) and Wisconsin (2023-24).  

McIvor debuts for WKU: Western Kentucky has led…

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Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2025-08-22 14:23:00

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