WKU (0-0) at 4/7 Wisconsin (0-0)
Friday, August 31 | Camp Randall Stadium | 8 p.m. CT
Friday, August 31 | Camp Randall Stadium | 8 p.m. CT
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| HILLTOPPERS OPEN SEASON AT NATIONALLY-RANKED WISCONSIN WKU opens the season at No. 4/7 Wisconsin on Friday night in front of national ESPN audience. |
The Matchup
WKU travels to Wisconsin to open the season on the road for the first time since 2015 when WKU opened on the road at Vanderbilt. The Hilltoppers have not opened a season outside of Kentucky or Nashville, Tenn., since Willie Taggart's first season as head coach in 2010 at Nebraska (L, 10-49).
With Wisconsin's preseason Associated Press ranking of No. 4, the Badgers are the highest-rated opponent WKU has opened the season against since at least 1989. The Hilltoppers opened the 2007 campaign at No. 5 Florida, a team which featured quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Cam Newton.
WKU is seeking its first win in program history over a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Hilltoppers are 0-7 all-time against the conference's current alignment (Illinois, 0-2; Indiana, 0-3; Wisconsin, 0-1; Nebraska, 0-1).
The Hilltoppers are 59-33-6 all-time in season openers and have opened six consecutive seasons with a win, the longest such streak since winning seven from 1935-1941.
Scouting Wisconsin
Wisconsin returns five All-Americans from a 2017 squad that won a school-record 13 games and tallied its 4th consecutive bowl win by downing Miami in the Orange Bowl. The Badgers have won 22 straight home openers and are in search of their 40th consecutive win over a non-conference opponent at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin begins its 4th season under Paul Chryst, who is 34-7 (.829) as head coach at his alma mater. The back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year has led the Badgers to consecutive West Division crowns and New Year's Six bowl wins.
Sophomore RB Jonathan Taylor returns after a debut season in which he broke Adrian Peterson's FBS record for rushing yards by a freshman (1,977), earned All-America honors, was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
2018 Team Captains
WKU's season-long team captains were voted on at the end of fall camp, entirely by the players. In 2018, the Hilltoppers will have just two captains, both from the defense: senior DB DeAndre Farris and junior LB Ben Holt Holt's older brother, Nick, was a 2015 team captain at linebacker and both played for their father, Nick Holt, during his time as WKU's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2013-16.
Holts on The Hill
When Ben Holt was voted a team captain, he and his brother, Nick, joined a very unique and exclusive group as one of just two sets of brothers to both serve as WKU captains.
Elmer (1965) and Lee Murray (1962) also served as captains and for over 50 years were the only sets of brothers to both serve as captains until the Holt's in 2018. Lee enjoyed a Hall of Fame career on The Hill in various roles as an assistant coach under Jimmy Feix and administrator as well as color analyst on WKU's radio broadcasts in the early 2000s.
Youth Movement
WKU is in the midst of a youth movement and rebuilding a roster which lost multiple three- and four-year starters at a number of positions after the 2016 Conference USA Championship season.
Last season, 24 players earned their first career start as Hilltoppers on offense or defense, the fourth-most nationally, and 11 true freshman saw game action. WKU trailed only Ball State (33), Illinois (31), Baylor (27), and Coastal Carolina (25) for the most first-time starters. On the 2018 roster, 66 percent of the roster is comprised of underclassmen.
| CLASS | # ON ROSTER | O/D STARTS |
|---|---|---|
| Seniors | 10 | 65 |
| Juniors | 23 | 53 |
| Sophomores | 27 | 44 |
| Redshirt Freshmen | 11 | 0 |
| True Freshmen | 27 | 0 |
Rebuilding Up Front
WKU's 2018 projected starting five will also be one of only three offensive lines in the nation to have all five position starters earning their first career starts at their position this fall (UTSA, Fresno State).
LT Cole Spencer started five games at RT to close the 2017 campaign while Tyler Witt started the final six at RG. Both have now swapped to the left side while center Seth Joest and RG Jordan Meredith are earning their first career starts at any position at Wisconsin. RT Miles Pate has been primarily a guard during his time on The Hill but bumped outside this fall under the direction of new offensive line coach TJ Woods.
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