WKU Game Notes
Troy Game Notes
Sun Belt Conference Weekly Notes
The Hilltoppers return home to host Troy in the 2009 Homecoming Game Saturday at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. WKU is looking for its first-ever win against Troy, and has been close in the last two seasons. The Trojans escaped Bowling Green with a 21-17 win in 2007, and picked up a slim 17-7 win last season in Troy.
- WKU is looking for its first-ever win over Troy this Saturday, currently sitting at 0-6-1 in the all-time series. However, the Hilltoppers have played close with the Trojans in meetings each of the last two seasons. The Trojans provided the opposition on Homecoming in 2007, and escaped with a 21-17 victory. After trailing 14-0 in Troy last season, the Hilltoppers outscored the Trojans 7-3 in the second half as Troy picked up the 10-point victory.
- WKU is 5-5-1 all-time in games played on Nov. 7. That includes a 1-0-1 record in Homecoming games played on this date. The Hilltoppers defeated Miami (Fla.) 20-0 in the 1931 Homecoming contest and tied 6-6 with Tennessee Tech in 1942.
- Two Hilltopper receivers hauled in their first career touchdowns last week at North Texas. Tight end Jack Doyle - who had been WKU's top receiver most of the season - hauled in his first score on a three-yard pass. Marcus Vasquez also found paydirt for the first time on the Hill with a 13-yard TD reception.
- The 117 combined points scored by WKU and North Texas last week were the most in a game involving a Hilltopper team. The previous total was 104 on Sept. 24, 1994 when Central Florida defeated WKU 59-45. The only other game with 100 or more combined points was a 52-50 triple-overtime win against Murray State on Sept. 6, 1997.
Happy Homecomings - This will be WKU's 80th Homecoming contest, as the Hilltoppers have posted a 51-25-3 (66.5%) record in such games since defeating Louisville 7-6 on Nov. 5, 1927. The Toppers have won six of their last 10 Homecoming games, averaging 27.3 points per outing during that stretch.
Late Celebration - For the third straight year, WKU's Homecoming game will be played in November. While it has been a recent occurrence, it has not been a common trend as just five of the last 20 Homecoming games have been in November.
Gaebler On The Verge - Thanks to a season-high nine catches at North Texas, senior wide receiver Jake Gaebler now sits at 148 career receptions - just one away from tying the school record, and two from breaking Curtis Hamilton's mark of 149 set during his time on the Hill between 2004-07. After missing nearly three full games due to an injury, Gaebler has made up ground the past two games, combining for 15 catches and 158 receiving yards against Middle Tennessee and North Texas. His team-high 58 receiving yards against UNT also moved him into seventh on the career receiving yards list with 1,652.
Booker Hits 100 - For the first time this season, and second time in his career, senior running back Marell Booker rushed for over 100 yards as he went for a career-high 104 on eight carries last Saturday against North Texas. It was the third 100-yard rushing performance of the season by a Hilltopper. Brandon Smith ran for 105 yards against South Florida, and Bobby Rainey went for 115 on 19 carries against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Big Plays In The Running Game - Booker also set the tone for the two longest plays from scrimmage by the Hilltoppers this season when he broke a career-long 61-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Fellow senior running back Tyrell Hayden followed that up on the very next drive with a 50-yard scoring run to give the Toppers their first lead of the game. Hayden finished the game with a season-high 84 rushing yards, leaving him just two yards shy of 2,000 for his career.
Return Game Shines As Well - The duo of Derrius Brooks and Bobby Rainey combined to average 27.3 yards per kickoff return on 10 attempts last week at Troy. Brooks set the tone right away as he took the first kickoff 81 yards down to the six yard line to set up WKU's first touchdown. In all, Brooks picked up 140 yards on four returns (35 yards per return), and Rainey got 133 yards on six returns (22.2 yards average).
Peterson Leads Way Again - For the second straight game, freshman defensive back Kareem Peterson led the Hilltoppers in tackles. And for the second straight outing, he did so with 11 stops. He also posted his first career sack with a 12-yard tackle for loss.
