WKU Game Notes
USF Game Notes
Sun Belt Conference Weekly Notes
Monday Press Conference Transcript
Press Conference Audio - Coach Taggart
Press Conference Audio - Jack Doyle; Quanterus Smith
The Western Kentucky University football team will play its final nonconference game of the 2010 season Saturday (Sept. 25) as they travel to Tampa to take on South Florida at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff with the Bulls is slated for 6 p.m. (CDT). The game will be televised on ESPN Regional, and will be available live in Bowling Green on WKYU-PBS.
- WKU was the first visiting team ever to win a game at Raymond James Stadium when it defeated South Florida 31-24 on Oct. 17, 1998. Heading into that game, both USF and the Tampa Bay Bucs were 2-0 in the stadium - which made it's debut on Sept. 20, 1998.
- The starting quarterback in that 1998 win for WKU was current head coach Willie Taggart. The then-senior from nearby Bradenton, Fla., rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Bulls. That included a 28-yard scoring run with 9:40 left in the game which proved to be the winning touchdown.
- This will be the first of two straight trips to the Sunshine State for WKU Football. Following an off week, the Hilltoppers will return to Florida to take on Florida International in their Sun Belt Conference opener in Miami. The Toppers are looking for their first win in the Sunshine State since a 35-14 victory at FIU on Nov. 20, 2004.
- The Hilltoppers are 4-1-1 all time in games played on Sept. 25. That includes having won four straight games on this date entering Saturday's contest at USF.
Another Rainey Saturday - For the third straight game, junior running back Bobby Rainey recorded over 100 rushing yards, finishing with 105 yards on 21 carries. He also scored a pair of touchdowns for the second straight game. Now the fifth-leading rusher in the nation, Rainey is averaging a Sun Belt Conference best 148.0 rushing yards per game. In fact, he is the only rusher in the league to average over 100 yards through the first three weeks. Rainey is the first Hilltopper since Don Smith in 1990 to open a season with three straight 100-yard rushing efforts. No Hilltopper has started a season with four straight 100-yard games since Dickie Moore did so in 1967 when he began the season with 159 yards against St. Joseph's (Ind.), then followed that up against Austin Peay (162), East Tennessee (142) and Tennessee Tech (133).
Near-Record Home Crowd Sees Opener - A total of 20,772 fans were in attendance at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium on Sept. 18 for the home opener against Indiana. That ranked as the second-largest crowd in stadium history. The record was set against Murray State on Sept. 20, 2008 when 22,297 fans saw the first game in the renovated stadium. WKU has now recorded a home crowd of over 20,000 in three straight seasons - 20,568 fans saw last year's home game with USF.
Going Long - The Hilltoppers put together a 91-yard scoring drive on its first offensive possession last Saturday against Indiana. That stood as the longest scoring drive for the Hilltoppers since Nov. 8, 2008 when they drove 94 yards for a score at Troy.
"Majors" Defender - After recording a team-high 101 tackles in 2009, senior linebacker Thomas Majors has picked up where he left off so far this season. Through three games, the Nashville, Tenn., native has registered a team-best 23 total tackles (7.7 per game), which ranks 10th in the Sun Belt. His 4.5 tackles for loss is also best in the league. He only had three stops behind the line all of last season.
Brakefield Honored By CFPA - WKU redshirt freshman kicker Hendrix Brakefield was named an honorable mention kickoff specialist of the week by the College Football Performance Awards on Sunday. Brakefield averaged 70.0 yards on three kickoffs against Indiana, with a pair of those kicks going for touchbacks. In addition to his kickoff duties, Brakefield averaged 41.2 yards on six punts - including a career-long 60-yard kick. That was the longest punt by a Hilltopper since Tanner Siewert recorded a 63-yard punt against Missouri State on Oct. 15, 2005.
Red Zone Equals Points - Through three games, the Hilltoppers have given themselves five red zone opportunities, and have scored four touchdowns and kicked one field goal during those chances. That includes a pair of touchdowns from inside the 20-yard line against Indiana. Last season, WKU scored on 86 percent of its red zone trips, scoring touchdowns 62 percent of the time.
Thrown In The Fire - A total of 65 players have seen action for the Hilltoppers in at least one game so far in 2010. Of those, 21 are either true or redshirt freshmen. With 10 true freshman seeing action for WKU, it means only 11 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision have played more first-year freshman through the first three weeks of the season.
Coaches Rally To Cure MD - During Saturday's game, WKU head coach Willie Taggart will join other coaches across the nation in support of the Coach to Cure MD program. The rapidly growing annual effort has raised more than half a million dollars to battle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. American Football Coaches Association members will wear a Coach to Cure MD logo patch on the sidelines. Football fans can donate to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research by either going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill).
