Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky vs Old Dominion Odds, and Picks (Dec 18)

• Western Kentucky took down FIU in their regular season finale, climbing to 7-5.
• Old Dominion crept past Georgia State, 25-24, earning a spot in this bowl game.
• These two teams last met on October 16, 2021, in a game Western Kentucky won 43-20.

The college football season has reached the bowl games! Let’s preview the upcoming 2023 Toastery Bowl that will take place between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the Old Dominion Monarchs next week.

How to Watch

• ESPN

Preview

Western Kentucky finished another solid season in the C-USA conference, posting a 7-5 overall record. In this bowl game, they’ll face off against an old rival in Old Dominion, who has since moved to the Sun Belt conference. In order for the Hilltoppers to keep up with the improved Monarchs, they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders on offense. QB Austin Reed will need to be close to perfect to keep Western Kentucky in it.

Old Dominion surprised many with this bowl game appearance. After dropping to 4-6, they needed wins against bowl-eligible Georgia Southern and Georgia State. They got both victories by narrow margins in thrilling games. All seven teams in the Sun Belt East wound up bowl eligible because of this, and 11 of 14 overall. The Monarchs will aim to use their battle-tested schedule as a platform to defeat the Hilltoppers.

Prediction

Despite Old Dominion moving to a more competitive conference, I still like Western Kentucky’s chances of winning this game. They dominated the Monarchs in the past, winning 6 of 7 previous matchups against them. Old Dominion has a slight advantage on defense, but their offense doesn’t have the same explosive ability as the Hilltoppers. If Reed plays well, Western Kentucky should be able to outgun them and win it.

NCAAF Picks:

• Western Kentucky 31, Old Dominion 27 ()