“The first thing is, our opponent was awfully good,” WKU head coach David Elson said. “I think we caught them with some pretty bad timing - coming off that Tulane game, they were ready to get after it and just ready to play right away. When they’re playing at their best, they’re pretty good, and we just got off to a slow start. We tried to run the ball, but we got off track, and they just have some guys that are awfully good.”
The Crimson Tide (3-0) scored on their first four drives of the game, getting a pair of touchdown runs from Mark Ingram in the first quarter. Ingram capped off an 11-play opening drive for Alabama with a seven-yard run, then scored again late in the period from five yards out. Those two runs were sandwiched around a Leigh Tiffin 22-yard field goal as
The Tide added a third rushing touchdown early in the second period as Terry Grant capped off a 78-yard drive with an eight-yard run to the endzone to make it a 24-0 game with 9:51 remaining in the half. In the opening 30 minutes of play, Alabama rushed for 183 yards, and picked up 318 yards of total offense, compared to just 84 total yards for WKU (1-2).
The Hilltoppers took advantage of the first
Momentum quickly shifted back to the side of the home team, however, as Glen Coffee broke a 51-yard run on
“We got it to 24-7 and we kickoff to them, and we feel like if we get a three-and-out there, we’ve got some momentum going,” Elson said. “But then they rip off that long run and go right in for a touchdown and it’s just one of those things where we need to make tackles and execute better.”
The Hilltoppers were able to keep
Wolke making his first start of the season at quarterback for the Hilltoppers finished the game 14 of 25 passing for 116 yards and a touchdown. Derrius Brooks led the WKU receivers with six catches for 40 yards. Wenquel Graves also caught four balls for 29 yards. The Toppers were limited to just 42 yards rushing on 22 carries.
Defensively, Watters recorded 10 tackles to go along with his interception, while Chris Bullard and Darvis McBride made seven stops each.
After three straight weeks on the road, the Hilltoppers will finally play their 2008 home opener next Saturday (Sept. 20) when instate rival Murray State visits for a 6 p.m. (CDT) kickoff in the debut of the newly renovated Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.
WKU
