Ricky Dimon
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The Liberty Flames will be trying to remain undefeated when they visit the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Tuesday night. Liberty is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in Conference USA. Western Kentucky can stay within striking distance in the conference with a win, as it currently stands at 2-1 (4-3 overall). Here is my Liberty vs Western Kentucky Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which will be televised starting at 7:30 pm ET on ESPNU.
Liberty -9.5 alternate spread (+152)
Quinton Cooley Over 95.5 rushing yards (-114)
Quinton Cooley to score 2+ touchdowns (+250)
Same Game Parlay odds: +609
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. That is the entire plan here, as Quinton Cooley having a big night at the office would obviously work well with a big win for Liberty. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Liberty -9.5 alternate spread over Western Kentucky (+152)
Liberty is on an absolute roll as it tries to continue its quest for an undefeated season. The Flames haven’t lost and they generally don’t even come close to losing. Only 2 of their winning margins have been in single digits. Head coach Jamey Chadwell’s club erased Jacksonville State by 18 points, FIU by 32, Buffalo by 28, New Mexico State by 16 and Bowling Green by 10. I don’t have any concerns about the Flames being on the road for Tuesday’s contest because they are 3-0 away from home during the 2023 campaign with victories by 18 points, 32 and 28.
Now the Flames face a Western Kentucky team that just lost to Jacksonville State last week. That result dropped the Hilltoppers to 2-3 SU in their last 5 overall. They will be hard-pressed to get back on track because this is a terrible matchup for the home team. WKU is fifth-to-last nationally in rushing defense and Liberty is #2 in rushing offense. Give me the Flames to win by double-digits.
Be sure to check out our full Liberty vs WKU predictions
Quinton Cooley Over 95.5 rushing yards (-114)
As mentioned above, this is an ideal matchup for Cooley and the Flames. They are pretty much unstoppable on the ground and Western Kentucky can’t prevent anyone from running the football. I expect Liberty to pound the rock with Cooley early and often (quarterback Kaidon Salter will surely do plenty of damage, himself), to the extent that the junior RB should exceed his 95.5 quota with room to spare. Cooley has already racked up 726 yards on a 6.0 ypc average to go along with 6 touchdowns. He has surpassed the 100-yard mark in 4 straight games and in 5 of the last six, including the last 2 with 163 yards and 134. There is no reason to think that WKU will suddenly be the opponent that holds Cooley in check.
Quinton Cooley to score 2+ touchdowns (+250)
In order for Liberty to dominate (and the first leg of this SGP calls for such a result), Cooley will have to fill up the box score. To go along with his yardage prop, I also like the Bailey, North Carolina product to score multiple touchdowns. All 6 of his TDs this season have come in the past 3 outings, including 5 in the last 2. He is simply on fire at the moment and now meets one of the worst rushing defenses in all of college football. Western Kentucky has given up 14 touchdowns on the ground in 2023 compared to a modest 9 through the air.
Read our NCAAF picks for all the big games this week
