Monroe, La. - WKU put up a spirited battle throughout but ultimately fell short in a 21-18 loss at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at Malone Stadium before a crowd of 16,229. Rodney Lovett's three-yard scoring rush with 5:09 remaining gave ULM a 21-18 lead and a late Warhawks defensive stand made the lead hold up.
Following Lovett's go-ahead scoring rush, WKU had a first-down and goal at the ULM five yard line with 2:52 remaining, but a pair of false start penalties thwarted the drive and Casey Tinius was wide right on a 32-yard field goal with 1:22 remaining. WKU got the ball one final time at its own 26 with 52 seconds remaining and no timeouts, but time ran out on the Hilltoppers after reaching the ULM 45.
Tinius connected on 4-6 field goals for WKU (43, 35, 39, 41), tying Chris Pino (vs. Jacksonville State 10/2/93) and Steve Donisi (vs. Eastern Kentucky 9/29/90) for the second most made field goals in a game in school history (5, Matt Lange vs. Eastern Kentucky, 9/20/03 is school record).
"Our guys came a long way and fought their tails off for the entire 60 minutes," said head coach David Elson. "They gave an outstanding effort today as they have all season, and I am really proud of them. We just came up short which is really unfortunate. We battled all the way, and you have to give credit to ULM for pulling this one out. We're getting better each week and made some more strides today. We got points off turnovers, but we weren't able to get it in the end zone and that was a factor."
Brandon Smith's one-yard scoring rush with 10:49 remaining had given WKU an 18-14 lead. Smith's rush was set up by Bobby Rainey's 49-yard rush to the ULM five yard line. Rainey paced the WKU rushing attack with a season-high 134 yards on 16 carries. Kawaun Jakes was 18-36 passing for 188 yards and rushed 14 times for 46 yards.
Frank Goodin's 48-yard scoring rush on the first play of the fourth quarter gave ULM its first lead of the second half at 14-12.
WKU had an early scoring opportunity as the game began after Chris Young recovered a fumbled ULM punt at the Warhawk 36-yard line. Brandon Smith helped WKU get one first down with a four yard rush on a quarterback draw on 4th-1 from the ULM 27, but the drive stalled and Tinius was wide left on a 46-yard field goal attempt.
The WKU defense battled throughout the game. With ULM at the WKU 15-yard line facing a 3rd-4 in the first quarter, freshman Korentheus Bailey's first career interception ended the drive. It was the Hilltoppers fifth interception of the season, but first in conference play.
Following a scoreless first quarter, ULM took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Trey Revell's nine yard scoring rush with 14:27 remaining in the second quarter. Revell's rush capped a 7-play, 80-yard scoring drive.
WKU cut the deficit to 7-3 with 12:11 remaining in the half on a 43-yard Casey Tinius field goal, matching his career long. Bobby Rainey's earlier 25-yard run, only the fifth rushing play of 20+ yards surrendered by the Warhawks this season, put WKU in scoring range. Trent Calhoun's interception and 29-yard return on the ensuing possession gave WKU a first down at the ULM 18, but the Hilltoppers were unable to muster a first down and a 35-yard field goal by Tinius cut the deficit to 7-6 with 10:07 left in the half.
Following a punt, Kawaun Jakes and Jake Gaebler connected on a 48-yard pass play to the ULM 32. Tinius' third field goal of the day (39 yards) gave WKU its first lead, 9-7, with 4:54 remaining in the half. Following another ULM punt, WKU marched 56 yards in 12 plays and Tinius' fourth field goal of the half, this time from 41 yards, gave WKU a 12-7 lead heading into intermission.
ULM's seven first half points was the fewest allowed by WKU in a half this season. WKU, which entered the day having forced 10 total turnovers on the season, had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the first half.
ULM took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove to the WKU 19, but failed to convert when Rammell Lewis blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt by Radi Jabour.
Gaebler had seven catches for 106 yards to increase his WKU career reception record to 161. Gaebler's 1,815 career receiving yards rank seventh in WKU history, 11 yards behind Porter Williams (1,826) for sixth place all-time and 51 yards shy of fifth place (Alan Mullins, 1,866).
ULM, who becomes bowl eligible with the win, now has an overall record of 6-4 (5-1 Sun Belt). The Warhawks had 13 penalties for 113 yards, while WKU had only five penalties for 30 yards. ULM also had three turnovers, while WKU did not turn the ball over for the first time this season.
WKU (0-10 overall, 0-6 in Sun Belt) has a bye next Saturday and next returns to play on November 28 at Florida Atlantic (3:00 p.m. central). The Hilltoppers conclude their season with a Thursday, December 3 home game with Arkansas State (6:00 p.m. central).
