 WKU (2-1) |  Vanderbilt (1-2) |
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The Matchup:
WKU vs. Vanderbilt
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, 3:30 p.m. CT
Houchens-Smith Stadium (22,113), Bowling Green, Ky.
Vanderbilt Game Day Information
TV: CBS Sports Network
John Sadak (Play-by-Play)
Randy Cross (Analyst)
Taylor Cross (Sideline)
Radio: IMG Sports Network | WKU Gameday App (Google | iPhone | TuneIn)
Tickets: Call 1-800-5-Big-Red | Buy Online
- Prices: Single Game Adult begin at $25.
Parking/Tailgating: Parking Map | Tailgating Map
- WKU offers more than 3,000 FREE paved parking spaces throughout campus.
- Due to expected large crowds, gates will open TWO HOURS prior to kick off at 1:30 p.m.
Game Day To-Do List:
- Wear your RED to Houchens-Smith Stadium for the RED OUT!
- 'TopperTown' returns! A kids play area a kids play area featuring inflatables, balloon artistry, face painting and games for kids of all ages. TopperTown opens three hours prior to kickoff and is free for the entire family, and it is located in front of Parking Structure 2 (PS2) on the campus side, directly across Avenue of Champions from the Downing Student Union.
- GigaPixel Panorama | Fans are encouraged to be in their seat by kick off as an ultra-high resolution, 360° fan photo will be taken early in the game. Fans should dress in the best Hilltopper Red show up at or before game time to ensure they're in the photo.
- Zaxby's Tailgate Experience | The Zaxby's Tailgate Experience arrives on South Lawn for game day for a unique tailgating adventure. WKU has been chosen as one of only twelve schools to serve as the premium tour stop destination for Zaxby's, and this setup will include an interactive virtual reality experience, in addition to a fun body painting experience!
- Topper Walk begins at 1:15 p.m., as fans cheer on the Hilltoppers as they arrive at the stadium. Topper Walk starts on Avenue of Champions in front of PS1 across from the Downing Student Union.
What to Watch For:
- WKU is in its 97th season of football and third under head coach Jeff Brohm, who became the school's 19th head coach on Jan. 10, 2014.
- WKU is one of the newest members of the FBS, entering just its eighth year as full members at this level.
- Since 2010, the Hilltoppers have had remarkable consistency at the quarterback position with just two opening day starters over those six seasons - Kawaun Jakes (2010-12) and Brandon Doughty (2013-15). Enter Mike White in 2016, who won the starting job this fall.
- Defensively, the Hilltoppers returned just four starters but a wealth of game experience. Of the 32 players on the defense who saw at least three games of action last year, 21 return for 2016.
- Wide receivers Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris - both on the Biletnikoff Watch List - are living up to their preseason hype so far. They are one of only two duos in the nation to each have 2,000 or more career receiving yards.
- WKU has reached bowl eligibility in five consecutive seasons and in five of seven years as an FBS school. It is the longest streak of bowl eligibility in Conference USA.
- WKU's current streak of 13 consecutive victories over C-USA opponents is the second-longest in league history (one shy of the record) and the longest active streak in the country. San Diego State has won 11-straight MWC games.
- In 2015, WKU became just the seventh team in C-USA's 20-year history to finish undefeated in conference play and the first team to go undefeated and win the conference championship.
- With a win at Miami last week, head coach Jeff Brohm's career record of 22-8 is tied for the second-best record through 30 games of any head coach on The Hill since World War II. Brohm and David Elson both started 22-8 (.733) while legendary coach Jimmy Feix began 21-6-3 (.750).
About the Game:
- Saturday's game marks the first time WKU has hosted a member of the Southeastern Conference in Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers have served as the home team twice against Kentucky, but those games were played in Nashville.
- Legendary Vanderbilt head coach Dan McGugin - namesake of Vanderbilt's athletic administration building - would ride the train from Nashville to Bowling Green three days a week to coach the very first football squad at Southern Normal School, now WKU, in 1905.
- WKU has won 11 consecutive home games, the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. The Hilltoppers are 12-1 all-time at home under Jeff Brohm.
- All-time, WKU is 3-16 against the SEC, but since 2012, the Hilltoppers are 3-4 against the league with every game coming away from home. Those four losses were at No. 1 Alabama (2012 and 2016), at Tennessee (2013), and at No. 5 LSU (2015).
- 100 - True freshman Quinton Baker's 100-yard day at Miami was the 1st for a true freshman since Leon Allen ran for 132 in 2012 vs. Southern Miss.
- 61 - With 61 receiving yards, WR Nicholas Norris would move to fourth place in career receiving yards.
- 39.8 - KR Kylen Towner is third nationally with a 39.8 yard per kick return average under new special teams coach Tony Levine - 7.6 yards ahead of the WKU season record.
2016 Team Captains:
WKU's season-long team captains are voted on by the team at the first team meeting of the fall. On offense, OL Forrest Lamp, WR Taywan Taylor and RB Anthony Wales On defense, LB Drew Davis, LB T.J. McCollum and DB Marcus Ward. Lamp is a returning two-time captain.
Hilltoppers at Home:
Under Jeff Brohm, the Hilltoppers have been nearly unstoppable inside the confines of Houchens-Smith Stadium, where they have tallied an 12-1 record since the Brohm Era began.
WKU averages 48.2 points at home under Brohm (626 points over 13 games) and carries a 11-game home winning streak into the week, the longest since winning 13 between 1987 and 1989. WKU has won 11 or more games in a row at home just four times in program history and more than 11 just twice. (11) 2014-16; 1972-74 | (13) 1987-89 | (14) 1931-33
Tough Out of Conference
After going 0-12 against non-conference foes in their first three years as an FBS team (2009-11), WKU has turned it around and has been on a hot streak against teams from outside their conference.
Since 2012, the Hilltoppers are 15-7 against non-conference opponents with their only losses coming at No. 1 Alabama (2016), at Indiana and No. 5 LSU (2015), at Illinois (2014), at Tennessee (2013), at No. 1 Alabama (2012) and vs. Central Michigan in the 2012 Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl. WKU is 11-1 over that same span against teams from outside the Power 5 conferences.
Dynamic Duo
As WKU's two most experienced wide receivers, Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris have carried the pass catching load so far this season for WKU, accounting for 37 of the 64 completions (57.8%) combined.
- Taylor and Norris were both members of the 2013 signing class and both played as true freshman
- Their combined career receiving totals (4,975) are more than any other wide receiving duo in the country, ahead of Washingon State's Gabe Marks and River Cracraft (4,915)
- Taylor and Norris both rank in the Top 12 in receiving yards through Week 3 - making WKU the only two with a pair inside the Top 12. You would have to go all the way to the Top 50 to find another duo (LA Tech's Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson)
