Western Kentucky vs. James Madison Prediction, Pick Against the Spread, Latest Odds

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and James Madison Dukes will clash on Wednesday night in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Western Kentucky comes into this contest with a record of 8-5 and have enjoyed plenty of success over the past few years, including four-straight winning seasons.

The strong run has made them one of the most respected teams in the Conference USA and earned the team a trip to the conference's title game. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, however, they lost that contest 52-12 against Jacksonville State.

Despite this, head coach Tyson Helton has done an outstanding job with this program since taking over, having won three consecutive bowl games.

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Western Kentucky vs. James Madison Odds

Western Kentucky vs. James Madison Date, Time, and Where To Watch

• Date: December 18, 2024
• Time: 5:30 pm ET
• Where To Watch: ESPN

Western Kentucky vs. James Madison Prediction

Sophomore QB Caden Veltkamp leads the Hilltoppers offense with 2,806 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Veltkamp has entered the transfer portal, but is expected to play tonight.

RB and Knoxville native Elijah Young has rushed for 846 yards and three touchdown, while Senior WR Kisean Johnson has racked up 855 yards and seven touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, James Madison enters the Boca Raton Bowl with a solid regular season record of 8-4, but dropped their final two games of the season. That includes a double overtime thriller loss 35-33 against Marshall to end the 2024 campaign.

After a strong run in 2023, former head coach Curt Cignetti left the program to take over at Indiana. His successor, Bob Chesney, has enjoyed a strong inaugural season.

Coming in as the favorites, it will be the program's first Division I bowl win in its history should JMU take care of business. That seems doubtful, however, as the team's offensive leader, QB Alonza Barnet II, will miss this game. He compiled 2,598 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and four interceptions on the year. In his place, junior Billy Atkins will get the start.

The Dukes will hope Atkins can get the most out of Sophomore RB George Pettaway, who has scampered for 880 yards and five touchdowns, and WR Yamir Knight, who lead JMU in receiving on the season with 567 yards and four touchdowns.

Western Kentucky vs. James Madison Pick

Pick: James Madison -7 (-110) (Get oddschecker+ right now for just $9.99 per month. Don't miss out on this December deal! )

The line has continued to move in the favor of the Dukes, which isn't too surprising.

Despite JMU lacking Barnet, Western Kentucky will be missing quite a few starters themselves, leading to the line having jumped from 4.5 to 7.

Hungry to earn that first bowl win, JMU is more well-rounded on both sides of the football field and will dominate the pace of this game.