BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - WKU Football hit the gridiron under pleasant fall conditions Wednesday afternoon at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium to continue its work toward Saturday's showdown at Conference USA rival Louisiana Tech.
The Hilltoppers are riding the momentum of their first league win, a wild 66-51 decision over Old Dominion, and look to carry that success down to Ruston, La. WKU's defense has experienced its ups and downs in 2014, but one constant has been the big play provided from the defensive side of the ball.
WKU is the only team in the nation with three defensive touchdowns of 80 yards or longer this season, its latest coming in the fourth quarter against Old Dominion when redshirt freshman Juwan Gardner intercepted a pass and ran 96 yards for a pivotal score. Gardner's return was the longest interception return by a freshman in the country this season.
Redshirt senior defensive back Ricardo Singh is responsible for one of the 80-yard scores as he brought his interception against UAB back for an 85-yard touchdown. Singh and the Hilltopper defense kept ODU off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter last Saturday and that positive momentum has rolled over to practice this week.
"We've had tremendous practice this week," said Singh. "We've gone live two days in a row and that's getting us tougher as the season goes on."
Redshirt junior linebacker Nick Holt has been the stalwart for the Hilltopper defense throughout the season, leading Conference USA and ranking 21st nationally with 9.9 tackles per game. Holt knows a significant challenge lies ahead when WKU visits league unbeaten LA Tech Saturday.
"Their o-line is probably one of the best we've seen all year," said Holt. "The quarterback does a lot of good things. He's athletic enough to move around and give us problems. He's accurate and he gets the ball out to a number of good receivers they have. Once again, we have our work cut out for us defensively."
Saturday's game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports Network and local clearances will be announced as soon as they are made available. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) at Joe Aillet Stadium.
The Hilltoppers will return to work Thursday for a final day of preparation for the Bulldogs .For the most up-to-date information on WKU Football, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUFootball or on Facebook by liking `WKU Football.'
