WKU (3-2, 1-1 C-USA) vs. Charlotte (0-6, 0-2Â C-USA)
Saturday, Oct. 14Â | Houchens-Smith Stadium | 3:30Â p.m. CT
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Saturday, Oct. 14Â | Houchens-Smith Stadium | 3:30Â p.m. CT
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The Matchup
WKU takes on Charlotte for the first time in program history, the only first-time opponent on WKU's schedule this season. It will be Homecoming on The Hill - where WKU is 53-29-3 all-time. WKU is looking to win four straight homecoming games for the first time since 1980-83.
Since 2013, the Hilltoppers have faced first-time opponents 11 times (Army, 2013; Georgia State, 2013; Illinois, 2014; Miami-Ohio, 2015; Morgan State, 2013; Old Dominion, 2014; Rice, 2015; South Alabama, 2013; Texas State, 2013; UTEP, 2014; UTSA, 2014). The Hilltoppers are 9-2 in that span with their only losses coming at South Alabama and at Illinois.
Since joining C-USA in 2014, WKU is 13-2 against league opponents at home, including two C-USA Championship games.
Scouting Charlotte
Entering Saturday's game, the 49ers of Charlotte have yet to find a victory but have been close in many games, showing a toughness under fifth-year head coach and program architect Brad Lambert. The 49ers program had their first season of play in 2013 and moved up to the FBS just two seasons ago in 2015.
Paced by a dynamic run-pass threat in quarterback Hasaan Klugh, the 49ers are nearly 50-50 in run-pass ratio with 142 runs to 166 passes. They average 12.8 points per game while allowing 31 points per game defensively. However, they have been close to get their first victory of the year in their previous two games - falling to FIU 30-29, a game in which the 49ers actually led 29-7 at one point, and holding a high-powered Marshall offense to a 14-3 decision.
Linebacker Karrington King is Charlotte's all-time tackles and has tallied 55 (24 solo) to this point in the season while defensive back Ben DeLuca leads the team in pass breakups with four.
2017 Team Captains
WKU's season-long team captains were voted on at the end of fall camp, entirely by the players. Under Sanford, the team has one offensive captain, one defensive captain, one "trenches" captain (from either offensive or defensive line) and a rotating special teams captain.
Offenive Captain: QB Mike White
Defensive Captain: LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe
Trenches Captain: DL Derik Overstreet
4-2-5 Defense Proving Stout
WKU's move to a 4-2-5 defense has paid off so far in 2017. Removing a pick-six allowed by the offense at Illinois, the Hilltopper defense has allowed just 88 points through five games, the fewest through five since 2004 (64 points). The 1,734 total yards allowed are also the fewest through five since 2013 (1,694).
Season Helmet Stickers
WKU will wear a pair of helmet stickers this season, honoring two former Hilltoppers who passed away during the offseason: former assistant coach Butch Gilbert and former tight end Mitchell Henry.
Gilbert regularly passed out butterscotch candies to players and coaches during his visits to practice, which WKU commemorates with a wrapped candy as a helmet sticker. To commemorate Henry, WKU has an "MH" sticker on the helmet.
Who's Next?
With the graduation of Forrest Lamp, Darrell Williams, Max Halpin, Taywan Taylor, Anthony Wales, and Nicholas Norris, the opportunity to make a name for yourself is wide open for the 2017 Hilltoppers. All six had NFL opportunities following their senior campaign and three (Lamp, Taylor, and Williams) made rosters. Between the three offensive lineman (Lamp, Williams, and Halpin), they combined for 140 games played and 129 starts - nearly all of them together. Wales tallied 1,621 rushing yards and led the nation in scoring and touchdowns, while Taylor and Norris combined for over 7,000 receiving yards for their careers as they went 1-2 in the record books in every major receiving category both season and career.
All totaled, those six played in 289 combined games with a staggering 209 combined starts.
The Sanford Era Begins
WKU is in the first season of the Mike Sanford era which began at home with a 31-17 victory over Eastern Kentucky. The nation's second-youngest head coach, Sanford's youth is deceptive. When he was hired on December 14, Sanford was, in fact, more experienced at that point in his coaching career than either of WKU's previous two "first-timers" in Jeff Brohm and Willie Taggart. He was one of just four rookie head coaches (out of 10) in 2017 to win his debut and one of only 12 new coaches overall (out of 24) to win his season opener.
Sanford has 12 years of FBS coaching experience while his predecessors had just 11 when they landed their first head coaching job on The Hill. Additionally, the head Hilltopper has been to five Bowl Championship Series (BCS) or New Year's Six bowl games, compared to just one combined with the previous two first-timers.
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