BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — As WKU Football concluded its final Tuesday practice of the 2018 season, confidence from last week's performance vs. UTEP resonated with and flowed through the Hilltoppers in Houchens-Smith Stadium.
Head coach Mike Sanford leads WKU down to Ruston on Saturday, Nov. 24 for an 11 a.m. kick off against LA Tech. The 12th and final game of the Hilltoppers' campaign will be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network.
"We're going to play with the confidence that we attained from seeing something come to fruition, and that's playing good football a week ago," Sanford said during his Monday press conference. "No matter what the records are, no matter what's being said ... We're going to give it everything we got and we're going to go play together."
En route to a 40-16 win over the Miners on WKU's Senior Night this past Saturday, Nov. 17, the defense intercepted a program FBS Era-record five passes - all in the first half - as the Hilltoppers took a 40-0 lead into the locker room and cruised to victory.
It was seamless complimentary football early on, as the WKU offense scored touchdowns on its first four drives and the defense made interceptions on UTEP's first four drives. With two field goals and a pick six by Gaej Walker to follow, the Hilltoppers would post a first half perhaps unlike any other.
"The first 30 plays were probably something I've never been a part of, to be honest with you," defensive coordinator Clayton White said during his Monday press conference. "Our guys prepared all week ... I think our players did a great job of the details and it paid off in the first 30 plays."
Although WKU sits at 2-9 overall and 1-6 in C-USA play, there have been a number of performances as bright spots this season:
- Running back Joshua Samuel leads C-USA freshmen with 586 yards rushing, which ranks 10th in the league among all players, regardless of class.
- Redshirt junior Miles Pate is the highest-rated offensive tackle in C-USA, according to PFF College (+23.9 cumulative, 80.8 overall).
- Left tackle Mason Brooks has seen 244 snaps and is the only freshman offensive lineman in C-USA to not allow a sack or be called for a penalty.
- Junior nickelback Ta'Corian Darden is only 1-of-6 C-USA players with three interceptions in league games, while his five career picks rank sixth in the program's FBS Era.
- Junior linebacker Ben Holt ranks third in C-USA with 107 tackles, and is the only league defender to rack up 19 tackles in a single game.
- Defensive end Juwuan Jones has tied a program FBS Era record with four sacks as a freshman.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 7-4 overall record, including 5-2 in Conference USA play. Running back Jaqwis Dancy leads LA Tech with 607 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns, while quarterback J'Mar Smith has thrown for 2,595 yards with 14 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. Smith's favorite target is Adrian Hardy, who has 927 yards receiving and six scores.
On the other side of the ball, defensive end Jaylon Ferguson leads C-USA with 14.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss.
"He's a big, powerful dude who can make you look silly at times, but we just need to buckle down," redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Tyler Witt said. "They're a tough opponent and we want to prove to ourselves that we can hang with a powerful team in our conference."
The Hilltoppers are 3-5 all-time against LA Tech, but 0-3 in Ruston as WKU looks to reverse that trend on Saturday in Joe Aillet Stadium.
"We're even more motivated to go out and upset those guys on their Senior Day," senior cornerback DeAndre Farris said. "They're sound in what they do, they get the ball out fast, they run the ball well and they have a great coach. It's going to be a competitive game and we look forward to it."
