BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Football finished practice Wednesday evening as the Hilltoppers prepare for their Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 27 against Conference USA opponent FIU. Kick off at Houchens-Smith Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on beIN Sports.
In last season's matchup against FIU, the Hilltoppers were not able to sack the quarterback in a 41-17 loss in Miami. The defensive line putting pressure on the quarterback is going to play a pivotal role in this upcoming matchup.
Defensive linemen Juwuan Jones and DeAngelo Malone have combined for five sacks for a loss of 22 yards through seven games this season and look to add to that total against the Panthers.
"We're right on the verge of a breakthrough. We've been having awesome practices, even last week even though we lost we still had a great week of practice," Jones said. "We're going to keep working and hopefully it translates to Saturday."
Although WKU fell to Old Dominion last week, the defensive line was able to put pressure on the quarterback and recorded three sacks, with 2.5 coming from Jones and the other 0.5 by Malone.
As a freshman last season, Jones was originally playing linebacker but redshirted his freshman season to make the switch to defensive end.
"I feel like I've been progressing every week, getting better every week," he said. "This is truly my first year ever playing defensive end. The adjustments have been about being more physical, there are big boys in the trenches. [Defensive line] coach Jimmy Lindsey has been helping me get better."
FIU is coming off a 36-17 win last week against Rice where they were able to throw for 229 yards and score two touchdowns through the air. The Hilltoppers will face a tough challenge, as quarterback James Morgan has currently thrown 16 touchdowns, has only been sacked six times and is currently the highest-rated passer in C-USA.
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