Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss Odds & Predictions: Best Bets for Today’s New Orleans Bowl

College football’s bowl season rolls on with three games today, including the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the New Orleans Bowl. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Western Kentucky (8-4 SU, 9-3-0 ATS) and Southern Miss (7-5 SU, 5-6-1 ATS) are former Conference USA rivals. The Hilltoppers are 4-0 in head-to-head matchups with the Golden Eagles, who now compete in the Sun Belt Conference.

At the time of publication, the betting line had flipped from WKU -1.5 to Southern Miss -2.5 at DraftKings. At Circa in Las Vegas, which caters to sharp players, Southern Miss commanded over 90% of moneyline bets and dollars.

Best Bet WKU vs. Southern Miss: On the Moneyline

Blake Anderson was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach for Southern Miss after Charles Huff took the Memphis head coaching job. That could provide the Golden Eagles with an emotional boost, as Anderson’s promotion creates some continuity heading into next season.

Southern Miss QB Braylon Braxton likes to air it out, averaging 254.2 passing yards per game. He’s amassed 2,796 passing yards and 23 TDs along with seven interceptions. He’ll be playing his final college football game today against WKU.

Rodney Tisdale, Jr., took over as WKU’s quarterback in November. The freshman signal caller is coming off two consecutive losses to end the regular season.

Tisdale failed to throw a touchdown pass and was intercepted three times in those games against LSU and Jacksonville State, respectively. The loss to the latter prevented the Hilltoppers from playing in the Conference USA championship game.

Tisdale’s top target in the passing game is WR Matthew Henry, who leads the team with 762 receiving yards and six TD catches. RB La’Vell Wright leads WKU with 11 total TDs.

Defensively, Southern Miss and Notre Dame share the lead nationally for most interceptions at 21. While these two teams are fairly evenly matched, Southern Miss has the better defense and quarterback.

In noting the one-way reverse line movement toward Southern Miss from underdog to favorite, we’re backing the Golden Eagles on the moneyline.

Pick: Southern Miss (-124 at FanDuel)

Best Player Prop Bet for Southern Miss

RB Jeffery Pittman OVER 54.5 Rushing Yards (-114 at FanDuel)

Jeffery Pittman is RB1 for Southern Miss, which usually functions in a pass-first offense. But WKU’s rushing defense is one of the worst in the country. The Hilltoppers rank 104th nationally, allowing 183.4 rushing yards per game.

Pittman, who averages 64 rushing yards per game, should see an increased workload today against a sieve-like run defense.

Best Player Prop Bet for Western Kentucky

QB Rodney Tisdale, Jr. UNDER 249.5 Passing Yards (-114 at FanDuel)

Tisdale is facing a ball-hawking secondary that produced the most interceptions in the country, along with Notre Dame. He’s failed to exceed this number in the last two games and five of seven this season. His 9:6 TD-INT ratio doesn’t inspire much confidence, either.

Tisdale’s coming off a lackluster 180-yard passing game in the 37-34 loss to Jacksonville State. He failed to throw a TD and was picked off once in that game. Roll with the UNDER.