BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – On a short week, WKU closed out preparations for their roadtrip to Denton, Texas on Tuesday ahead of Thursday's nationally televised game at Conference USA foe North Texas.
Kick is set for 6:30 p.m. from Apogee Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with John Sadak, Randy Cross and Melanie Collins calling the action.
Over the weekend, the Mean Green (0-5, 0-3 C-USA) announced that offensive coordinator Mike Canales would take over the reins of the program on an interim basis after head coach Dan McCarney was let go. The Hilltoppers (5-1, 3-0 C-USA) are expecting to see a passionate and hungry group on the other side of the ball on Thursday.
"We need to be ready for this game; this will be a fired up group, and they'll want to have something to prove," said offensive coordinator Tyson Helton. "We have to be able to go on the road and get a win. Our guys are looking forward to having another opportunity to do that."
WKU is No. 2 nationally in halftime scoring margin, averaging nearly 21 points of cushion at the break including leads of 25 or more over their last three games. According to Helton, however, the Hilltop-pers still have areas where they can improve.
"I think (we need to improve) on the little things more than anything," Helton noted. "We've had a couple small penalties that you go, ‘That's a bonehead thing.' We have to clean that up and get smoother on the plays. For the most part, there aren't major things, but if you want to win a champi-onship, you have to hit on all cylinders."
On defense, the Hilltoppers are familiar with at least one possible starting quarterback in DaMarcus Smith, a one-time member of the program now at North Texas. With word out of Denton that Smith may get the start on Thursday, the Hilltoppers are preparing for multiple options.
"Well, we are preparing for what we've seen them do," said secondary coach Mike Cassity. "I think on a short week, it would be hard to have a wholesale change. Their quarterback, we've seen him on film and have been familiar with him through practice. We'll be ready for whichever quarterback they play."
The Hilltoppers and Mean Green have faced off six times in program history with North Texas holding a 4-2 advantage in the series which dates back to the Sun Belt Conference. WKU, however, has won six straight against C-USA opponents, the seventh-longest active streak in the country.
