Campbell vs Western Carolina Prediction, Pick, College Football Preview for Saturday, September 7

Campbell (0-1) takes on Western Carolina (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. ET live on ESPN+.

While there's no line on this game as of press time, Western Carolina is projected as a seven-point favorite with a total projected at 62.5.

Let's look at my Campbell vs. Western Carolina prediction.

Campbell vs Western Carolina Prediction

• Pick: Western Carolina -13.5 or Better

My Campbell vs. Western Carolina bet is on the Catamounts to cover the spread. Find the best line on our live NCAAF odds page.

Odds haven't been released for Campbell vs. Western Carolina as of publish, but our college football expert is betting Western Carolina at -13.5 or better.

Campbell vs Western Carolina Preview

Campbell Fighting Camels Betting Preview: Big Offensive Loss

Campbell is coming off a season-opening loss at Liberty in a game that was close for a half. Liberty ran the ball 50 times against the Camels for 279 yards, and Kaiden Salter passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

The Flames also threw an interception at the 25-yard line and missed a field goal in the first half to keep it more interesting than necessary.

Campbell had one explosive rushing play against the Flames' defense, which was susceptible to the big play last season. Outside of that, the Camels ran for only 1.67 yards per carry.

The offensive loss of Campbell's all-time leading passer Hajj-Malik Williams is massive. His replacement is Chad Mascoe Jr., who was 10-of-17 for 180 yards against Liberty. One of those passes went 71 yards and set up a rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

Campbell showed some explosiveness in Week 1, but it was also playing a Liberty team that gave up a ton of explosive plays last year.

The Camels' defense is in rough shape coming back from last year; they gave up 417 yards per game and only had 11 sacks last season.

Western Carolina Catamounts Betting Preview: Great Showing Against NC State

Western Carolina comes into its home opener against Campbell after a wonderful showing at NC State last Thursday night.

The Catamounts were defeated 38-21 in a game that was much closer than the final indicated. WCU had the ball with a 21-17 lead to end the third quarter and twice were stopped on downs inside the NC State 20-yard line in the fourth frame.

The Catamounts ran the ball well (6.3 yards per carry) and were fairly efficient throwing it while lining up against an ACC secondary. The talent disparity took over in the fourth quarter as NC State did have 212 yards and three scores to close it out.

WCU should feel good about its performance, and I project that for the rest of the year it should have the best offense in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts have more experience on the offensive line than last year’s group and clearly have talent at the skill positions.

The defense played well last week through three quarters and has seven returning starters back from last year’s group. Three of their top four linebackers return, led by Antoine Williams.

Quez Royal transfers in from Campbell and will contribute right away in the secondary, along with Samaurie Dukes and CJ Williams, who's a legitimate NFL prospect.

Campbell vs Western Carolina Pick & Prediction

Western Carolina has a lot to be proud of after its Week 1 performance. It also has a bad taste in its mouth from the way last year ended, as it was poised to make the FCS playoffs before an inexcusable loss at VMI.

This team has had all offseason to fuel the tank and use that loss as motivation to leave no doubt in the FCS playoff committee’s mind.

I believe that journey starts Saturday with a decisive home win against Campbell, which is not considered a playoff team and was picked between 10th and 12th in the CAA this year.

I'm not confident in Campbell being able to keep pace with WCU on the road. The Catamounts have the best offense in the Southern Conference and have the top SoCon recruiting class to shore up their depth.

Campbell has offensive losses that are really hard to replace, and the defense will struggle in this matchup when it comes to covering the WCU skill guys. I look for Cole Gonzales to have a big offensive output and for WCU to consistently end drives in the end zone.

Lastly, last year, Campbell feasted on the bottom teams in FCS as its wins were against The Citadel, Monmouth, Hampton, Maine and NC A&T. When facing teams in the upper half of FCS (Richmond, Delaware, William & Mary), they lost all three by an average score of 14-44.

I'm going to be watching the FCS lines closely when they get released, but current projections have this one coming out at WCU -7.5.

I would play this up to WCU -13.5.

Pick: Western Carolina -13.5 or Better

• Western Carolina covered the spread in its Week 1 matchup vs. NC State, but the game didn't go over the total.