WKU Game Notes
Nebraska Game Notes
Sun Belt Conference Weekly Notes
FSN Pay-Per-View Information
Monday Press Conference Transcript
Press Conference Audio - Coach Taggart
Press Conference Audio - Jack Doyle; Jared Clendenin
The first game week of the 2010 football season has finally arrived. After three weeks of fall camp, head coach Willie Taggart and the Western Kentucky University football team turn their attention to Saturday's season opener at Nebraska. The Toppers will face the eighth-ranked Cornhuskers for the first time in their 92-season history. Saturday's game will be televised on Fox Sports Net Pay-Per-View. Check WKUSports.com throughout the week for information on how to order the game in your area.
Opening Up - WKU is 54-31-5 (62.8%) all time on opening day - no score is available for the first game of 1916. This will be the fifth straight season, and the eighth occasion in the last 10 years, that the Hilltoppers will open on the road, where they last debuted with a victory after earning a 34-10 win at Tennessee-Martin to start the 1999 campaign.
Taggart Set For First Season - Former Hilltopper All-American Willie Taggart will take to the sidelines for the first time as WKU head coach in 2010. Taggart will become the 18th head coach in the 91-year history of Hilltopper football, but just the fifth since 1968. He is also the second former WKU All-America quarterback to eventually become head coach. Jimmy Feix guided WKU to a 106-56-6 record (.649) in 16 seasons from 1968-83. At 34, Taggart is also the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Returning the Favor - WKU's four nonconference games in 2010 all come against teams from BCS automatic qualifier conferences. However, just one of those games - the season opener at Nebraska - is a "guarantee game". Each of the other three are part of home-and-home series. The game at Kentucky on Sept. 11 is the beginning of a new four-year deal, with WKU's home game being played at L.P. Field in Nashville in 2011 and 2013. The home opener against Indiana is a return game as the Toppers opened the 2008 campaign in Bloomington, and WKU will travel to Tampa, Fla. to take on South Florida on Sept. 25 after the Bulls visited Bowling Green last season.
Top 10 Test - Speaking of Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are ranked eighth in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll and ninth in the preseason USA Today Coaches' Poll. That means the season opener for the Hilltoppers will also mark the second time they have taken on a Football Bowl Subdivision team ranked in the top 10. WKU opened the 2007 campaign at #3, and defending national champion, Florida. The Toppers did not play a ranked opponent in 2009, but had three on the 2008 slate - #11 Alabama, #20 Virginia Tech and #25 Ball State. Only two other WKU opponents earned votes in the two preseason polls. USF earned four votes in the coaches poll, and Middle Tennessee grabbed two votes in the AP poll.
95 and Counting - Despite the Hilltoppers' recent struggles, an impressive streak has remained intact and will enter its ninth season in 2010. WKU has not been held scoreless in a game since a 14-0 home loss to Western Illinois on Sept. 14, 2002 - a streak of 95 games. That is also the longest streak without being shut out of any team in the Sun Belt Conference. The previous record for consecutive games scoring was 88, set between the 1975 and 1973 seasons. After being blanked by the Leathernecks, the Hilltoppers dropped just one more game in that '02 campaign as they went on to capture the I-AA National Championship.
Game #900 Approaches in 2010 - When the Hilltoppers take the field at home against Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 16, it will mark the 900th game in the history of WKU football. Entering the year, the Toppers hold a 511-349-31 all-time record (scores are not available for three games played during the 1916 campaign).
Big 12 Battles - Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between WKU and Nebraska, and will mark just the fourth game ever for the Hilltoppers against a team from the current Big 12. WKU is 0-3 all-time against Kansas State, with the most recent meeting being a 27-13 Wildcat win on Sept. 4, 2004 in Manhattan.
Jakes Gets Start Under Center - Head coach Willie Taggart announced on Aug. 23 that sophomore Kawaun Jakes would be WKU's starting quarterback to begin the 2010 season. No stranger to leading the WKU offense, Jakes started eight of the final nine games in 2009 as a redshirt freshman, completing over 60 percent of his passes for 1,516 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 355 yards and five scores. After Justin Haddix started every game of his career from 2003-06, Jakes will be the fourth different QB to start the season opener in each of the last four years. David Wolke started the 2007 opener at Florida, while K.J. Black started the first game of 2008 at Indiana and Brandon Smith got the start last season at Tennessee.
Phil Steele Honors Seven Toppers - Seven different Hilltoppers were named to Phil Steele's preseason all-Sun Belt team released earlier in the summer. Offensively, junior Bobby Rainey was a second-team selection as both a running back and kickoff returner, while sophomore tight end Jack Doyle and junior offensive lineman Wes Jeffries earned third-team honors. Senior linebacker Thomas Majors was the only Topper to earn first-team honors, while fellow linebacker Chris Bullard and defensive lineman Kenny Martin were fourth-team picks. Junior kicker Casey Tinius was also selected as a third-team placekicker.
Rainey Named to Paul Hornung Watch List - Junior running back Bobby Rainey was one of 48 players named to the watch list for the inaugural Paul Hornung Award, which will be given annually to the most versatile player in major college football. Rainey set a school record in 2009 with 1,050 kickoff return yards to go along with 939 yards rushing. He also averaged a league-best 175.1 all-purpose yards per game - the eighth best average in the nation. Rainey will get a chance to take the field against seven other members of the watch list this season - Niles Paul (Nebraska), Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke (Kentucky), Tandon Doss (Indiana), T.Y. Hilton (Florida International), Dwight Dasher (Middle Tennessee) and Jerrel Jernigan (Troy).
Tinius Brings Streak Into Season - Junior kicker Casey Tinius has been perfect in one aspect of his game since becoming the starting placekicker in 2009 - he has not missed a PAT. Tinius was a perfect 25-for-25 in 2009, joining FIU's Dustin Rivest as the only two kickers in the Sun Belt not to miss a PAT last season. While Tinius' current streak is impressive, it is far from the school record. Chris James connected on 119 straight extra-point tries during his All-America career from 2004-07.
View From The Other Side - Two players that were listed on the post-spring depth chart have switched positions - and sides of the ball - heading into fall camp. Junior Derrius Brooks, who spent two seasons as a wide receiver, will enter camp as the tentative stater at one of the cornerback positions. In fact, Brooks will replace Avery Hibbitt in the defensive backfield, as Hibbitt will moved to a running back position. He set a Bowling Green High School record with 3,652 career rushing yards during his prep career with the Purples.
Kentucky Mr. Football Joins Toppers - The 2009 Mr. Football from Kentucky has joined the WKU roster. Fort Campbell's Antonio Andrews joins the Hilltoppers as a running back after helping lead Fort Campbell High to a 2A state championship last season as a quarterback. Andrews originally signed to play at Air Force. A threat in the running game, Andrews rushed for 1,597 yards and 29 touchdowns last season as a senior. He becomes the first Mr. Football from Kentucky to play at WKU.
Big Crowds Nothing New - While an expected crowd on Saturday near or exceeding 81,000 will go down as one of the top 10 largest crowds ever to see a WKU team play, the amount of people should be nothing new for seasoned Hilltopper players. Since 2003, WKU has played in front of six crowds exceeding 80,000 - all coming at SEC schools. In fact, three of the top 10 crowds to see a Topper team came in 2008 - at Alabama (2nd - 92,138), at Kentucky (7th - 70,730) and at Virginia Tech (8th - 66,233). The 98,761 fans that saw the 2009 season opener at Tennessee is the largest crowd a Hilltopper team has ever played in front of.
A Strong Tradition On And Off The Field - While this is WKU's second year as a full Football Bowl Subdivision member, the football program has 91 seasons of success. WKU's 511-349-31 all-time record equates to a .591 winning percentage, ranking 26th among all 120 Division I FBS schools and making the Hilltoppers the winningest program in the Sun Belt Conference. WKU's 948 APR in football is also higher than all other Sun Belt Conference programs.
Championship Effort - WKU's only team National Championship was in football (2002 I-AA). WKU also has 12 conference championships, 10 playoff appearances, and has had 64 players earn All-American honors in its 91-season history.
The Hilltoppers In OT - Since the 1996 season, the Hilltoppers have played an overtime contest six times, compiling a 5-1 mark in those games. The first two overtime games in the program's history both came against Murray State in 1996 and 1997. Each went multiple overtimes, with WKU winning 44-41 in two extra frames in '96, then following it up a year later with a 52-50 win in three OTs. The last time a Topper team played an overtime contest was also the only loss- a 23-20 setback to Northern Iowa on Nov. 5, 2005.
