Western Kentucky (2-1 straight up, 2-1 against the spread) starting quarterback TJ Finley is out for “several weeks” due to a leg injury suffered in Saturday’s 49-21 win as a seven-point road favorite.
WKU head coach Tyson Helton announced Monday that Caden Veltkamp will start Saturday’s home game vs. Toledo. As of Monday afternoon, the Rockets were 1.5 or two-point road ‘chalk’ with a total of 59.
Finley completed 3-of-5 passes for 47 yards before getting injured against the Blue Raiders. Veltkamp replaced him and played dynamite football, completing 27-of-30 passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. He also had a one-yard TD run.
In three games for the Hilltoppers, Finley has completed 48-of-75 throws (64.0%) for 490 yards and one TD compared to two interceptions.
Finley started his career at LSU in 2020. He connected on 80-of-140 passes (57.1%) for 941 yards with a 5/5 TD-INT ratio.
After Ed Orgeron was fired at LSU, Finley elected to transfer to Auburn. In nine games in 2021, he completed 70-of-128 passes (54.7%) for 827 yards with a 6/1 TD-INT ratio.
In 2022, Finley connected on 33-of-53 throws (62.3%) for 431 yards with a 1/4 TD-INT ratio.
After Auburn fired Bryan Harsin, Finley transferred to Texas St. and led the Bobcats to its first winning season since 2014. He completed 279-of-414 passes (67.4%) for 3,439 yards with a 24/8 TD-INT ratio. Finley also had five rushing TDs for Texas St.
Finley transferred to Western Ky. ahead of the 2024 campaign. He has 6,128 career passing yards, a 37/20 TD-INT ratio and eight career rushing TDs.
Veltkamp, a sophomore in his third season at WKU, has played in six career games. He’s connected on 76-of-97 passes (78.4%) for 821 career passing yards with a 10/1 TD-INT ratio.