| GAME 8: WKU (3-4, 1-3) at LA Tech (5-3, 4-0) | ||
| Game Notes | ||
| WKU Notes | LA Tech Notes | C-USA Notes |
| Purchase Tickets | ||
| Buy Tickets | 318-257-3631 | |
| Going to the Game? | ||
| Ruston Information | Directions to the Stadium | Seating Chart |
| Watch/Listen | ||
| TV: Fox Sports Net. | Radio: IMG Network | Listen Live |
| Follow Live! | ||
| @WKUSports | @WKUFootball | @WKUSportPics |
The Matchup:
WKU at LA Tech
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014, 2 p.m. CT
Joe Aillet Stadium (27,717), Ruston, La.
TV: Fox Sports Network
Brendan Burke (Play-by-Play)
Ben Leber (Analyst)
Christian Steckel (Sideline)
- Saturday's game will be nationally televised on a variety of channels in the Fox Sports Network. Check your local listings for the best availalbe channel in your viewing area.
Radio: IMG Sports Network | WKU Gameday App (Google | iPhone | TuneIn)
Tickets: Call 318-257-3631 | Buy Online
What to Watch For: WKU Game Notes | LA Tech Game Notes
- WKU is in its 96th season of football and first under head coach Jeff Brohm, who became the school's 19th head coach on Jan. 10, 2014.
- WKU enters its first season as members of Conference USA after a five-year run as full FBS members in the Sun Belt Conference. The Hilltoppers are also in year six of their membership in the FBS.
- For the second time this season, WKU broke its single-game school record for Total Offense and Passing Yards in the 3OT loss at Middle Tennessee. WKU racked up 718 yards of offense and QB Brandon Doughty threw for 593, a school and Conference USA record. The league record was previously held by Louisville's Chris Redman who set the mark of 592 in 1998. WKU also set a school record for Total Plays with 102 - the first time in program history eclipsing 100 plays.
- Prior to 2014, WKU has lost at least four of its first eight games in two of the last three seasons, before recovering to the finish the season with at least seven wins.
- WKU has tallied 319 points over its first seven games, a school record to this point in the season. They are also the only team in school history to score 30+ points in seven-straight to open a season.
- QB Brandon Doughty became WKU's single-season record holder in touchdown passes and passing yards with his five TD, 371-yard performance against ODU. Doughty set the yardage mark in 2013 as well.
- WKU scored 66 points in their first game on Feix Field since the passing of legendary head coach Jimmy Feix. Feix wore No. 66 as a player when he became WKU's first All-American.
- Juwan Gardner's school-record 96 yard interception return against Old Dominon is the longest interception return by a freshman in the nation this season - and longest in WKU history by one yard, breaking a record set on Nov. 11, 1969.
- Gardner's interception gives WKU three defensive scores of 80 yards or longer - the only school in the country to hold such a standard.
- WKU scored touchdowns in four different ways against Old Dominion (passing, rushing, kick return, interception return). The last time the Hilltoppers scored touchdowns in four different ways was Oct. 23, 2010 at Louisiana-Lafayette when they had a fumble return TD and interception return TD along with rushing and passing scores.
- Since 1951, WKU has had 30 seasons in which its leading receiver did not reach 400 yards receiving for the year. WKU has three receivers with 400 yards receiving through seven games in 2014.
About the Game:
- WKU and LA Tech meet for the first time since the 1973 NCAA Division II National Championship game, the Camellia Bowl in Sacramento, Calif., where LT came away with a 34-0 victory. The Hilltoppers were led by sixth-year head coach Jimmy Feix at the time.
- Since 2009, the Hilltoppers are 3-3 in the state of Louisiana with a pair of victories over ULM (2013, 2011) and Louisiana-Lafayette (2010).
Numbers to Watch
- 20 - Brandon Doughty has connected on 90 passes of 20+ yards in his 19 games since the start of the 2013 season. Doughty completed 46 in 2013 and has already completed 44 in 2014
- 23 - If quarterback Brandon Doughty completes 23 passes, he will set the school's single-season completions mark. Doughty already owns WKU's No. 3 mark.
- 150 - WKU is averaging 150 yards after the catch on the season. Seven FBS teams average less than 150 total passing yards per game in 2014.
In Good Company:
The Hilltoppers have been chock full of fireworks this season in all three phases. WKU is one of just a select few teams across the country on some noteworthy achievements.
- WKU is the only school in the country with three 80+ yard defensive touchdowns this season.
- Baylor, Marshall, WKU and Washington State are the only teams in the nation with multiple games eclipsing the 700 yard mark in total offense this season.
- 1 of 12 teams in the nation averaging 80 or more plays per game.
- 1 of 3 teams to score more than 60 points in a league game in 2014, along with TCU and Georgia Southern.
- WKU, Texas A&M and Washington State are the only schools with six or more players with 20+ receptions or four or more players with 30+ receptions.
- WKU is the only school in the country to score 34 or more points in its past nine games. Only four teams have put up 34 or more points in every game in 2014, and WKU is one of two from the Group of Five to do it, #1 Missisippi State (8), #9 Georgia (7) and #23 Marshall (8).
66 for 66:
Playing in their first game on Feix Field since the passing of its namesake, WKU scored 66 points in a 66-51 win over Old Dominion on Oct. 25, 2014. 66 is also the number worn by Feix during his playing days at WKU.
- Feix also scored 66 points in a game during his inaugural season as a head coach at WKU just as WKU head coach Jeff Brohm is in his first year leading the Hilltoppers.
Keeping Continuity:
Of the 20 schools to make a change at their head coaching position during this past offseason, only WKU was able to maintain continuity through the old and new staff. Coach Brohm is the only head coach this season who was on staff with his team at least the season before. Of those 14 teams that made coaching changes, only Brohm and four others have previous experience coaching within that program.
Youth + Experience
The Hilltoppers feature one of the youngest teams in the country - and Conference USA's youngest - as they have 67 freshmen and sophomores making up their 105 fall camp roster. That mark is No. 25 nationally and the highest in C-USA.
However, head coach Jeff Brohm has countered this with the league's most experienced collegiate coaching staff, tallying 238 years of combined experience. The next closest - Middle Tennessee with 187.
| Conference USA Coaching Staff Experience | ||
| Team | Head Coach | Comb. Years of Experience |
| WKU | Jeff Brohm | 238 |
| Middle Tennessee | Rick Stockstill | 187 |
| North Texas | Dan McCarney | 180 |
