Delaware travels to Western Kentucky on Tuesday, October 27, for a Conference USA matchup that carries the feel of an elimination game. Liberty and Jacksonville State are both 3-0 in league play, while the Blue Hens are 1-2 and the Hilltoppers 2-1. The loser is all but out of the race for the conference title game.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with CBS Sports Network carrying the broadcast. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies in the evening turning cloudy overnight, a low of 49 degrees and light, variable winds. The SportsLine analysis leans toward Western Kentucky against the spread and the Over on a total of 55.5.
Delaware's season has hinged on quarterback Nick Minicucci, a senior who was named the 2026 CUSA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. In 2025 he led the conference in passing yards (3,683) and total offense (3,918). The Blue Hens started 2-1 in nonconference play with him, the lone loss a competitive one to Vanderbilt. He then missed three games, all of which Delaware lost while scoring only 47 points combined.
Minicucci returned last Tuesday in emphatic fashion, guiding Delaware to a 61-38 home win over Missouri State. He tied a school record with five touchdown passes and also ran for a score, moving into third place on the program's career list with 48 touchdown passes, passing Bill Vergantino. Delaware scored on nine straight possessions and on 10 of 11 overall, not counting two drives that ended in kneel downs. It was also 8-for-8 in the red zone, with six touchdowns. The game was the highest-scoring in CUSA since October 2017.
Western Kentucky is coming off a bye after a 16-3 win at Sam Houston on October 14. The program has long been known for throwing the ball often, and it leads the FBS in pass attempts since 2019, coach Tyson Helton's first season. This year's team looks different. The Hilltoppers gained just 276 yards against Sam Houston and have rushed for more yards than they passed in back-to-back games for the first time since September 2013.
Florida State transfer Brock Glenn threw for 127 yards and a touchdown in that game and led the team with 22 carries for 54 yards. Sophomore Rodney Tisdale Jr., the early-season starter, has missed the past two games with an ankle injury.
Western Kentucky's defense should be bolstered by the return of linebacker Jaylen Wester and linemen Mackavelli Malotumau and Rylen Su'a-Filo. The three graduate seniors missed two games amid a dispute with the NCAA over eligibility, but won the latest round last week and are cleared to play for now. The unit has allowed 14.3 points per game over its last four outings, and just one touchdown in the past two combined.
Delaware's defense ranks at or near the bottom of CUSA in scoring (28.4 points per game), total yards (396.4) and pass defense (270.3 yards per game), even though it leads the league with 18 sacks. The Blue Hens have given up at least 30 points in four straight games, tied for the longest active streak in the FBS.
The road has been unkind to Delaware, which has lost seven straight away from home, the longest such streak in the conference, and is 1-8 on the road as an FBS program. Conference USA teams are a combined 7-29 on the road this season, the worst mark of any FBS league. Western Kentucky has won four straight at home and eight of nine, averaging 43.0 points per game there, and has taken 13 of its last 15 at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The model projects a 29-26 Hilltoppers win. Delaware leads the series 2-1, but Western Kentucky won last season's meeting 27-24 in Newark.
