Cure Bowl 2017: Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Two of college football's better stories collide Saturday at the 2017 Cure Bowl when the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Georgia State Panthers take the field to help kick off bowl season.
The 6-6 Hilltoppers are again bowl-bound, heading to one for their fourth straight season. They are big favorites in Orlando but only because the great story that is Georgia State will play in only its second bowl game since forming a team in 2010.
Saturday is also a chance for both teams to recoup some momentum as both programs didn't finish the season on high notes.
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It doesn't figure to be an overly high-scoring affair, but it's the type of storyline-filled bowl game where programs can build some serious momentum while moving up the ladder.
Here's everything to know about the encounter.
Cure Bowl 2017
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
Time (ET): 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando
Watch: CBS
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 52.5
Spread: WKU (-6.5)
Team Injury Reports
Western Kentucky
- Marcus Ward, DB, probable
- Cameron Echols-Luper, WR, out for season
- Jaylon George, DL, questionable
- Demetrius Cain, LB, out for season
- Quinton Baker, RB, out for season
- Carson Jordan, DL, out indefinitely
- Evan Sayner, DL, out for season
- Jalen Madden, DL, out for season
- De'Andre Simmons, DB out for season
Georgia State
- Penny Hart, WR, probable
- Pat Bartlett, OL, questionable
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Searching for the High Note
As great as yet another bowl appearance is for Western Kentucky, this isn't exactly what the program and its players had envisioned after a 5-2 start.
Rather than compete in Conference USA, the Hilltoppers imploded down the stretch, losing four of five and capped off by a 41-17 rout at the hands of FIU. The only win during the stretch? A triple-overtime escape of 6-6 Mid Tennessee, 41-38.
Given the realities of the season-ending downswing, the Hilltoppers know better than to underestimate a team newer to this sort of stage.
"Their offense, they have playmakers, they really do," Western Kentucky defensive coordinator Clayton White said, according to Chad Bishop of WBKO. "They have some guys where they make sure they get the ball in their hands. They get their touches. Those guys do a really good job—very creative in how they get their playmakers the ball."
Western Kentucky will have to rediscover itself offensively under the leadership of quarterback Mike White, who has completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 3,826 yards and 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
While he doesn't have much of a running game behind him, White spreads the ball out well for an offense featuring five players with at least three touchdown passes.
If the Hilltoppers are to end the season on a high note and keep the program's postseason momentum going, it will have to come via spreading the Panthers out and marching up and down the field.
Within Grasp
Looking at Western Kentucky's end-of-season stretch, the Panthers have to like their chances of getting a program-first bowl win.
Granted, the Panthers are still underdogs, but they've won three of their last four and the praise above from the opposition's staff isn't just coachspeak.
Conner Manning has looked solid under center with 13 touchdowns against seven interceptions, and Penny Hart has put up a strong season with 73 catches for 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns.
The sheer energy coming from Georgia State is tough to ignore.
"It'd be amazing," senior cornerback Chandon Sullivan said, according to Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Being in this program for four years, seeing the direction, getting a new stadium. Getting our first bowl win, it'd be everything we need to build this program."
The Hilltoppers and a defense boasting 10 interceptions will look to give the Panthers some problems, so the obvious matchup to watch is Hart against that defense.
Though both teams have had problems scoring lately, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise to see both offenses kick into gear with so much at stake.
Prediction
On paper, Western Kentucky is likely the better team.
But it's hard to ignore what a mismatch nightmare like Hart can do. The owner of 132 or more receiving yards in four games this year can break a game like this open, and the Panthers aren't going to have a hard time figuring out what the Hilltoppers want to do to keep pace—they rank dead last in the nation in rushing, averaging 66.1 yards per game.
In fact, a more energetic Georgia State team could have some fun here. Not only will Western Kentucky be putting on a predictable attack, its offense has coughed up 42 sacks.
Based on Western Kentucky's severe dip in performance over the second half of the season and the way a team such as Georgia State can capitalize on the obvious weaknesses, look for the Panthers to make some program history after pulling away early in the second half.
Prediction: Georgia State 30, Western Kentucky 24
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