A 6-foot-2, 250-pound Bowling Green, Ky., resident, Holts posted career highs with 10 tackles, 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and a pair of passes defensed against nationally ranked Northern Iowa Saturday, while also forcing and recovering a fumble in the red zone to prevent the Panthers from putting points on the board in what was at the time a one-touchdown Hilltopper lead. In addition to ending another UNI drive with a third-down stop that led to a missed field goal, Holts recorded a sack of Eric Sanders late in the fourth quarter with the Panthers driving in Western territory and the scored tied at 10-10 — they would have to punt one play later.
Holts’ efforts helped WKU limit UNI to just 57 rushing yards (128 less than the Panthers were averaging coming into the game) and 292 yards of total offense (121 below their average entering the contest).
Western (6-3, 4-2 Gateway) will conclude the regular season with a pair of road games beginning Saturday at noon (CST) at nationally ranked Youngstown State.
