For the second time in two weeks, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will battle the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, but this time it will be in the Conference USA Championship Game on Friday. Western Kentucky earned a spot in the title game when they beat Jacksonville State 19-17 on Saturday. It will be the fourth consecutive time that the championship game will be a rematch from the regular season. The Gamecocks (8-4, 7-1 CUSA), who have won eight of nine, are the first team to reach bowl games in each of their first two seasons at the FBS level since Marshall in 1997 and 1998. The Hilltoppers (8-4, 7-1 CUSA), who have won five of seven, will be taking part in their fourth CUSA Championship Game and first since 2021.

Kickoff from AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Ala., is set for 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. Jacksonville State is a 4-point favorite in the latest Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is set at 58. Jacksonville State is a -188 money-line favorite (risk $188 to win $100), while Western Kentucky is a +156 underdog (risk $100 to win $159).

Before making any Jacksonville State vs. Western Kentucky picks or predictions of your own, you NEED to see which side SportsLine college football expert Mike Tierney is on. 

A veteran sportswriter whose work appears periodically in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered the NFL for decades and reported from seven Super Bowls. Tierney is 45-25 in his last 70 college football picks, returning $1,717 to $100 players. In addition, he is an amazing 11-3 on his last 14 college football picks in games involving Western Kentucky, returning a whopping $774. Anyone who has followed him is WAY UP!

Now, Tierney has locked in another confident against-the-spread pick for Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State on Friday.

We can tell you he's leaning Under the point total, but he also knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK! You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

So who wins Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State on Friday, and what x-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State spread hits HARD, all from the expert who is an AMAZING 11-3 on picks involving Western Kentucky!