Jan. 11, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University football team will play host to six games next season, including early battles with perennial postseason participants and Gateway Football Conference contenders Western Illinois and Youngstown State, as part of its 2002 schedule released Friday.
The Hilltoppers will face three postseason qualifiers on the road, including a season-opening contest at I-A Kansas State Aug. 31 - five of the Hilltoppers' first six opponents finished .500 or better last season. All game times are expected to be announced in the spring.
"It's another tough schedule this year," said Hilltopper head coach Jack Harbaugh, who recently concluded his 13th season at WKU. "Last season I thought we had the toughest schedule in school history, and it seems that we've managed to duplicate that feat in back-to-back years.
"The Gateway Conference is, in our opinion, the toughest I-AA league in the country. With non-conference games at Kansas State and McNeese State, especially with that game on the road this season, the 2002 schedule may be even more difficult."
After opening against the Wildcats - the second meeting between the two schools, with K-State claiming a 38-13 victory on Sept. 11, 1993 - Western returns to Bowling Green for a season-long three-game homestand. The Hilltoppers will open at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field against Kentucky State (Sept. 7) for the second straight season before beginning Gateway action with games against Western Illinois (Sept. 14) and Youngstown State (Sept. 21), who have each reached the NCAA I-AA playoffs three times in the last five years. WIU defeated the Toppers, 17-13, in the first Gateway Conference game in Hilltopper history on Aug. 31 last season, while WKU defeated the then-fifth-ranked Penguins on the road, 24-14.
It's the second time in three years that Western will play three consecutive September home games.
The month ends with a trip to McNeese State (Sept. 28), who won five straight games to win the Southland Football League crown and qualify for the I-AA playoffs after a 21-0 loss to the Hilltoppers last October. The Toppers' first conference road game comes Oct. 5, when Western faces defending Gateway Conference champion and I-AA semifinalist Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls - it's the only time all season that WKU will play in back-to-back games away from home.
Western takes on first-year program Florida International Oct. 12 at Smith Stadium before beginning a stretch of four straight league games to conclude the regular season at Southwest Missouri State the following weekend. Indiana State will be the Hilltoppers' Homecoming opponent on Oct. 26, while WKU plays host to Illinois State in its home finale Nov. 2.
The Toppers conclude the regular season at Southern Illinois Nov. 16, with an open date the weekend prior to the contest in Carbondale, Ill.
The 2002 NCAA I-AA playoffs are set to begin Saturday, Nov. 30.
Western leads the all-time series with nine of its 2002 opponents - Kansas State (1-0) and Northern Iowa (3-2) both hold an advantage over the Hilltoppers.
WKU finished the 2001 season 8-4, 5-2 and tied for second in its first year in the Gateway Conference, reaching the NCAA I-AA playoffs for the third time in the last five seasons. The Hilltoppers have won 45 of their last 62 games (72.3 percent), and have posted six consecutive winning seasons, the third-longest streak in 83 years of football on the Hill.
- WKU -
