Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Sam Houston Bearkats

Western Kentucky opened last season by torching Sam Houston 41-24 — now the Bearkats get a shot at payback in front of a freshly renovated home crowd.

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Best BetWestern Kentucky

Western Kentucky went 9-4, capped it with a bowl title, and beat this exact Sam Houston roster by 17 points last October. Sam Houston is deep in a rebuild off a 2-10 season with a first-year staff that's still finding its footing. The gap in proven production is the whole story here, and it's why WKU is the play to win outright.

Western Kentucky

• +9-4 with a New Orleans Bowl title in 2025
• +blew out this same Sam Houston team 41-24 last October
• +12 Hilltoppers tabbed preseason All-CUSA
• −road trip into a freshly renovated, loud Bowers Stadium
• −Sam Houston significantly upgraded its defensive front via the portal

Sam Houston

• +added four portal defensive linemen this offseason
• +QB Landyn Locke returns with real game experience now
• +back home at a newly renovated Bowers Stadium
• −went 2-10 (1-7 CUSA) in Phil Longo's debut season
• −was the nation's worst third-down offense a year ago (22.5%)
• −lost 41-24 to this same WKU team last October

Wednesday, October 14 is Sam Houston's chance to show its rebuild has legs. QB Landyn Locke now has a full offseason and a real head-coaching change behind him after playing in just 5 games as a true freshman in 2025, and if he's taken a leap, this is the kind of midweek game where it'd start to show. Western Kentucky, meanwhile, walks in as the established program in the building — a 9-4 season and a bowl trophy tend to buy that reputation.

Sam Houston's loudest offseason moves came up front on defense, where the staff hit the portal hard for players who could actually get off blocks — Jayden Fry arrived from Boston College, Zion Taylor from Houston, and the interior got bigger with Justin Terrell (NC State) and Dimitry Nicolas (Maryland). It's a real attempt to fix a group that couldn't get off the field a year ago. Whether it's enough against a WKU offense with a full year of continuity is the actual question here, and the market treats it as a real mismatch.

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WKU Western Kentucky

SHSU Sam Houston

The numbers from last season explain why. WKU went 9-4 and won the New Orleans Bowl under Tyson Helton, who's now taken the Hilltoppers to a bowl in every one of his 7 seasons. Sam Houston finished 2-10 in Phil Longo's first year in Huntsville, and the offense was flat-out broken — worst team in the country on third down at a 22.5% conversion rate. That kind of hole doesn't close in one offseason.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Oct 8?vs Missouri State—

Oct 1?@ New Mexico State—

Sep 26?vs Mercyhurst—

Sep 19?@ Indiana—

Sep 12?@ Georgia—

Sep 5?@ Nevada—

Sam Houston Bearkats

Oct 8?@ Liberty—

Sep 25?@ Texas Tech—

Sep 19?vs Nicholls—

Sep 12?vs Tulsa—

Sep 5?@ Troy—

Credit where it's due, though: this exact fixture produced fireworks last time. WKU's 41-24 win to open 2025 was a 65-point track meet, not a defensive slog, and neither roster looks built to suddenly play keep-away. Add in that Sam Houston is finally back in a renovated Bowers Stadium after a season away in Houston during construction, and there's at least a chance the building gives the Bearkats some juice even if the talent gap says otherwise.

The tape says this should be lopsided. But rebuilding teams have a way of clawing back a level in year two, and if Locke and that retooled defensive front have actually taken a step, this is exactly the kind of spot where a confident Hilltoppers team could get a scare.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

(0)

Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report

Sam Houston Bearkats

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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report