Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for Famous Toastery Bowl
By Reed Wallach
Old Dominion overachieved in 2023, making a surprise appearance in a bowl game this season, and will take a Western Kentucky in the Famous Toastery Bowl in hopes of ending the great year on an even higher note.
The Hilltoppers entered the season as the co-favorites to win Conference USA, but fell short of expectations this season and now are playing in an early bowl game, which may not lead to a ton of motivation on the WKU sideline.
That played out in the early betting market as Western Kentucky opened as a small favorite and that has flipped quickly as ODU is receiving a ton of interest in the betting market.
How should we bet this one now? I got you covered with this game below as well as all of our bowl coverage here. Let's get to it:
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Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion Odds, Spread and Total
Old Dominion vs. Western Kentucky Betting Trends
- Old Dominion is 7-5 against the spread (ATS) this season
- Old Dominion is 7-2 ATS as an underdog this season
- Western Kentucky is 5-7 ATS this season
- Old Dominion went UNDER in seven of 12 games this season
- Western Kentucky's head coach Tyson Helton is 2-1 ATS in bowl games
Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion How to Watch
- Date: Monday, December 18th
- Game Time: 2:30 PM EST
- Venue: Jerry Richardson Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): ESPN
- Western Kentucky Record: 7-5
- Old Dominion Record: 6-6
Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion Key Players to Watch
Western Kentucky
Austin Reed: Last year's leading passer in the country fell off this season, going from 4,744 passing yards to 3,340 passing yards on way less volume, dropping from 602 attempts to 470 this season. It's worth noting last season Reed was excellent in the bowl game against South Alabama after dabbling in the transfer portal, passing for 497 yards with four touchdowns.
Old Dominion
Grant Wilson: The ODU offense came on strong towards the end of the season, sparking the team's bowl run. Wilson doesn't push the bowl down the field, averaging less than five yards per dropback, but has avoided making mistakes, posting a 16-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio while rushing for nearly seven yards per carry.
Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion Prediction and Pick
These are two teams that are trending in opposite directions through the season. Western Kentucky's offense is not as potent as last season, struggling to get margin in a weak Conference USA this season, going 3-3 over its final six games and winning only one game by double digits, scoring 30 or more just once.
The team will face an Old Dominion team that played in a far stronger conference in the Sun Belt and held up nicely, playing tight against the likes of James Madison and Coastal Carolina while beating Sun Belt runner-up Appalachian State.
While I can break down the game and the schematic advantages, a lot of this goes into the transfer portal and lack of motivation on the WKU side. As of this writing, Western Kentucky has four offensive linemen in the portal that started this season and this is an Old Dominion team that was 34th in the country in tackles for loss this season. I believe the unit can give Reed fits in all afternoon.
On the other side, Western Kentucky's defense is quite poor and reliant on turnovers, outside the top 100 in success rate, but generated the second most turnovers this season. However, as mentioned above, Wilson only has eight turnover-worthy plays on the year, smart with the football. I think he puts together a comprehensive performance and the Monarchs grab a bowl win and cover.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Track Reed's bets here!