Ryan Dearbone, Staff: Louisville 42- WKU 14

WKU is now officially in "Fight or Flight" mode. After last week's thumping to Maine, the Tops either will pick themselves up and push Louisville to the brink or they will lay down on the mat and take another beating. Unfortunately, for the Tops I don't think they will have enough to take down former head coach Bobby Petrino and the Cardinals. As WKU defensive coordinator Clayton White noted, Louisville's wide receivers are tall and long, something that WKU's defensive secondary is not. The defense will also have to contend with Petrino potentially playing two quarterbacks, Malik Cunningham and Jawon Pass, which gives the Cardinals flexibility to play around with different schemes.That will give the Tops fits all day. In addition the Tops offensive line will have to contend with a mismatch in size and experience yet again. WKU will be in over its head in this matchup.

The biggest questions for WKU will be if Eckels will see a lot of time under center during the game, if the Tops can finally establish a run game and if the defense buckles like it did last week.

Sean Williams, Publisher: Louisville 30 - WKU 17

Now that the Maine debacle is over and in the rear-view, the Tops travel up I-65 to renew an in-state rivalry with Louisville and face former head coach Bobby Petrino. The Cardinals may not have near the amount of firepower they had last year with Lamar Jackson and his beautifully, dynamic playmaking abilities on the field. However, they have more than enough to keep Western Kentucky winless on the season. The Hilltoppers' defense will keep them in the game, but can the offense find their identity? I'm not convinced yet.

Hannah Page, Staff: Louisville 37 - WKU 20

Louisville has been with some early concerns in 2018, and [thus far] do not look like the same team as years past. Both WKU and Louisville enter the matchup with varying degrees of concerns, offensively. In regards to the guys under center, WKU’s Drew Eckels will be either a game-time decision, limited, or not play at all. Meanwhile, Louisville decides between Jawon (Puma) Pass and Malik Cunningham.* Like WKU, Louisville has been underwhelming with their ground attack, although more productive than the Tops. The Cardinals receivers and o-line are much larger, while the Tops’ o-line struggled immensely against Maine to protect and create lanes. This game may be decided by the defense if neither are able to play up-tempo ball and keep their foot on the gas.

As of Thursday, September 13, Pass was named as Louisville’s starting QB versus WKU.