This will be the toughest defense Western Kentucky has faced all season. The Bearkats have a strong secondary and are only allowing opponents to score 12 points at home this season. Western Kentucky’s Caden Veltkamp took advantage of some pretty weak defenses, but their defense is still allowing more yards on defense than they’re gaining on offense. The Bearkats should have success through the air as Western Kentucky is allowing over seven yards per pass on the road.

The question is Conference USA is if any side is up to challenging Liberty, which remains unbeaten but has looked a bit vulnerable. Several regional sources, however, suspect the Tops are a better bet to make a serious challenge than anyone else, including the Bearkats. At 5-1, SHSU has been a pleasant surprise in its second season in CUSA, with an old-fashioned ground-and-pound offense that runs the ball more than 60% of the time. Yet QB Hunter Watson (5 picks) has proven error-prone on his well-spaced passes, and we suspect an edge at QB for WKU and the vastly underrated Carter Veltkamp, who has passed for 11 TDs across the past four games as he fills in admirably for the injured TJ Finley. Play WKU

Sam Houston has had one of the best turn around season’s in all of college football. Last season they began the year 0-8. Yet, the competition for four of the Bearkats wins has been bottom level against Rice, Hawaii, New Mexico State, and UTEP. The one respectable win came via a tremendous comeback down 22-0 against Texas State. Look for the reality check game tonight, as Western Kentucky does not skip a beat with backup quarterback Caden Veltkamp.