WKU (2-9, 1-6 C-USA) at LA Tech (7-4, 5-2 C-USA)
Saturday, Nov. 24 | Joe Aillet Stadium | 11 a.m. CT
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Saturday, Nov. 24 | Joe Aillet Stadium | 11 a.m. CT
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| WKU CLOSES OUT THE 2018 AT LOUISIANA TECH. WKU's 10 seniors will play their final game on Saturday morning. |
The Matchup
WKU wraps up the 2018 season on the road in Ruston, La., a place where the Hilltoppers have yet to win a game in this series. The Hilltoppers nearly rallied from 25 points down on their last trip in 2016 before ultimately falling 55-52.
Outside of the 2014 game in Ruston, matchups between WKU and LA Tech have generally been close affairs. The 2015, 2016, and 2018 regular season matchups were all decided by three points or less, and the C-USA Championship Game in 2016 was a four-point game in the fourth quarter before the Hilltoppers added two touchdowns that period.
WKU redshirt freshman running back Josh Samuel's 570 rushing yards are the fourth-most by a freshman in school history, and he could pass D'Andre Ferby's mark of 650 (2015) with 81 yards this week.
The Hilltopper roster features three players from Louisiana including two key reserves: DB Dionte Ruffin (Kenner) and RB Garland LaFrance (New Orleans). True freshman receiver Anthony Spurlock is also from New Orleans.
Scouting Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech will honor 21 senior student-athletes who will play their final game at the Joe. The Bulldogs are aiming for their eighth win of the season this weekend, which would mark the fourth time in Skip Holtz's six years at the helm of the program that his team has won at least eight games in a season.
LA Tech's Jaylon Ferguson, who is the nation's active career leader in sacks (42.0), is in the midst of a stellar senior campaign that has him on the verge of history. With 14.5 sacks in 2018, Ferguson has already broken the LA Tech andÂ
C-USA record for career sacks. Ferguson leads the country this season with 14.5 sacks, while he is only two sacks shy of matching the NCAA career sack record. The senior has recorded at least half a sack 26 times in 41 career starts.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are led by the multi-dimensional J'Mar Smith at quarterback. Smith has thrown for 2,595 yards on 221-of-386 (57.3) passing with 14 touchdowns to eight interceptions. With some ground mobility, Smith has also added 307 yards on the ground before accounting for sack yardage. Smith's primary targets include Teddy Veal (62/609) and Adrian Hardy (60/927) while Jaqwis Dancy leads the ground attack with 607 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 carries.
2018 Team Captains
WKU's season-long team captains were voted on at the end of fall camp, entirely by the players. In 2018, the Hilltoppers will have just two captains, both from the defense: senior DB DeAndre Farris and junior LB Ben Holt Holt's older brother, Nick, was a 2015 team captain at linebacker and both played for their father, Nick Holt, during his time as WKU's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2013-16.
Holts on The Hill
When Ben Holt was voted a team captain, he and his brother, Nick, joined a very unique and exclusive group as one of just two sets of brothers to both serve as WKU captains.
Elmer (1965) and Lee Murray (1962) also served as captains and for over 50 years were the only sets of brothers to both serve as captains until the Holt's in 2018. Lee enjoyed a Hall of Fame career on The Hill in various roles as an assistant coach under Jimmy Feix and administrator as well as color analyst on WKU's radio broadcasts in the early 2000s.
Young Stars Shining on Defense
Junior linebacker Ben Holt and defensive end Juwuan Jones - both in their first seasons as starters - are putting up impressive numbers.
Holt's 9.7 tackles per game is currently the highest mark in the FBS era, outpacing Andrew Jackson's mark of 9.38 set in 2012 (122 over 13 games). Jones' team-leading four sacks has tied the FBS era record for sacks by a freshman set by Tanner Reeves in 2014.
Within Striking Distance
The Hilltoppers have lost four of six by a combined 12 points - three point losses in four games. WKU has been within striking distance of all four (vs. Maine, at Louisville, vs. Marshall, vs. ODU), and they aren't alone in being close to having their records flipped.
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| TEAM | ONE-SCORE GAMES | RECORD |
| Arizona State | 8 | 3-5 |
| Eastern Michigan | 6 | 2-4 |
| WKU | 5 | 1-4 |
| Air Force | 6 | 1-5 |
| Old Dominion | 5 | 2-3 |
Youth Movement
WKU is in the midst of a youth movement and rebuilding a roster which lost multiple three- and four-year starters at a number of positions after the 2016 Conference USA Championship season.
Last season, 24 players earned their first career start as Hilltoppers on offense or defense, the fourth-most nationally, and 11 true freshman saw game action. WKU trailed only Ball State (33), Illinois (31), Baylor (27), and Coastal Carolina (25) for the most first-time starters. On the 2018 roster, 66 percent of the roster is comprised of underclassmen.
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| CLASS | # ON ROSTER | O/D STARTS |
|---|---|---|
| Seniors | 10 | 122 |
| Juniors | 21 | 123 |
| Sophomores | 27 | 138 |
| Redshirt Freshmen | 10 | 15 |
| True Freshmen | 27 | 1 |
Rebuilding Up Front
WKU's 2018 starting five entering the season was also one of only three offensive lines in the nation to have all five position starters earning their first career starts at their position (UTSA, Fresno State).Â
LT Cole Spencer started five games at RT to close the 2017 campaign while Tyler Witt started the final six at RG. Both have now swapped to the left side while center Seth Joest and RG Jordan Meredith earned their first career starts at any position at Wisconsin. RT Miles Pate has been primarily a guard during his time on The Hill but bumped outside this fall under the direction of new offensive line coach TJ Woods.
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The 2018 WKU Football season is presented by LifeSkills, a part of your community for the last 50 years.  As a non-profit, community mental health center, LifeSkills supports people who experience mental illness, addictions and developmental disabilities as they build meaningful and independent lives. With the widest array of services for both adults and children in south central Kentucky, LifeSkills gives you greater choice, easy access, and proven quality. When it comes to your health, experience matters.
