Wk 1 · 2026
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Nevada Wolf Pack — Sat, Sep 5
Sat, Sep 5 ·
Mackay Stadium, Reno, NV
· CBSSN FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
at
10:30pET
WKU -1.5 · total 51.5 DraftKings opened +2.5 · 1 toward NEV
Ratings differential NEV by 6.9
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Western KY form
W 34-13vs MOSTL 13-34at NMSUW 52-7vs MERCL 0-38at IUL 20-70at UGA
2026 season
Nevada form
W 30-13at UTEPL 33-36vs AFL 20-27at MTSUL 7-20vs MTSTW 49-14vs WKU
2026 season
Western KY this season
Straight up2-4 · 33% (6 games)
Against the spread3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Over / under3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Nevada this season
Straight up2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Against the spread3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 1
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, the series is level at 1–1 · Nevada won the last one
2 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
10.0 points toward Nevada
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-05 | Western KY 14 — 49 Nevada | at NEV | Nevada |
| 2025 | 2025-09-20 | Nevada 16 — 31 Western KY | at WKU | Western KY |
Western KY leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Rodney Tisdale Jr. QB #16 | 79/118, 852 YDS, 4 TD, 2 INT |
| Brock Glenn QB #11 | 53/98, 536 YDS, 4 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | Ajay Allen RB #3 | 72 CAR, 321 YDS, 4 TD |
| Brock Glenn QB #11 | 52 CAR, 268 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Le'Kamren Meadows RB #22 | 25 CAR, 133 YDS | |
| Receiving | Jonathan Stafford Jr. WR #80 | 36 REC, 332 YDS, 1 TD |
| Cameron Flowers WR #4 | 14 REC, 153 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Quincy Burroughs WR #12 | 9 REC, 138 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Lofton Howard TE #19 | 15 REC, 131 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Jaylen Lewis DB #7 | 53 |
| Justin Brown DB #6 | 33 | |
| Westen Ard LB #32 | 31 | |
| Sacks | Latrevion Thompson DE #13 | 1 |
| Mackavelli Malotumau DT #0 | 1 | |
| Zsacari Minnis DE #17 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Jaylen Wester LB #21 | 1 |
| Justin Brown DB #6 | 1 | |
| Tony Newsome Jr. DB #2 | 1 |
Nevada leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Carter Jones QB #6 | 42/70, 572 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| AJ Bianco QB #10 | 12/21, 116 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Dominic Kelley RB #0 | 54 CAR, 341 YDS, 3 TD |
| Herschel Turner RB #1 | 39 CAR, 234 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Carter Jones QB #6 | 25 CAR, 76 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Gary Givens III WR #7 | 7 REC, 164 YDS |
| Damien Morgan WR #11 | 19 REC, 126 YDS | |
| Donnie Cheers WR #5 | 6 REC, 121 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Herschel Turner RB #1 | 6 REC, 76 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | EJ Smith LB #2 | 55 |
| Dylan LaBarbera EDGE #32 | 39 | |
| Jeremy Naborne-Owens LB #1 | 29 | |
| Sacks | Myles Williams EDGE #92 | 1.5 |
| EJ Smith LB #2 | 1.5 | |
| Logologo Va'a DL #10 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Bryson Snelling DB #12 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.