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PrintThe nation’s longest against-the-spread win streak belongs to Western Kentucky.
Since losing to Indiana State 44-16 as a 14.5-point favorite last September, the Hilltoppers have covered the spread 12 straight times and have won six of them outright as an underdog.
Western Kentucky defeated Kentucky 32-31 as 6.5-point underdogs last week, and it marked the 10th time during the ATS run that the Hilltoppers covered the spread by more than a touchdown. In fact, over the course of the streak, they are covering by an average of 10.79 points per game.
Undervalued much?
It sure seems that way, and head coach Willie Taggart is a big reason why. When Taggart took over the program in 2010, he inherited a team that went winless the year before. (The Hilltoppers were also in the process of making an unsuccessful transition to the FBS.) But he’s quickly built up the talent level and now seems to have the program on solid footing.
It should come as no surprise that Taggart is a former member of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff. Harbaugh, you might recall, led a similar tunraround at Stanford before leaving for the NFL in 2011.
Can Western Kentucky keep it going? We don’t see why not. Few people have caught on to the win streak, and for the most part, the Hilltoppers don’t strike us as an overvalued team. They opened as 2.5-point favorites against Southern Miss and are now 4.5-point favorites at most books.
This remains a “play on” team until further notice.
