WKU HILLTOPPERS (5-3, 4-1Â C-USA) vs. FAU OWLS (5-3, 3-1Â C-USA)
Saturday, November 2 | 3 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium | Bowling Green, Ky.
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Saturday, November 2 | 3 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium | Bowling Green, Ky.
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| WKU FOOTBALL HOSTS AN C-USA EAST DIVISION BATTLE AGAINST THE ONE-LOSS FLORIDA ATLANTIC The Hilltoppers look to get back in the win column vs. the Owls, as a three-way tie atop the C-USA East division will be broken today |
NOTING THE GAME - WKU vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
- This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Hilltoppers and Owls, who lead the series 7-to-3. The teams faced off once in every season since 2008, other than 2013. WKU and FAU were Sun Belt Conference foes from 2008-12 before reconnecting as Conference USA rivals beginning in the 2014 season.
- The Hilltoppers' 20-0 victory over FAU in Boca Raton on Oct. 15, 2011, was the last time WKU has shut out an opponent. It has been 105 games since then.
- The Hilltoppers had another large margin of victory in Boca Raton on Oct. 29, 2016, when WKU defeated the Owls by a score of 52-3. Before the Hilltoppers' 20-3 win earler this season, it was the most recent time WKU allowed only three points in a game. In that contest, the Hilltoppers outgained FAU 661-to-202.
- In the past two seasons, the Owls have gotten the best of the Hilltoppers. With a 5-2 record in 2017, WKU led FAU by a score of 28-20 going into the fourth quarter. The Owls scored the final 22 points of the game to win, 42-28.
LUCKY JACKSON REWRITES HILLTOPPER RECORD BOOKS
- Despite WKU's 26-23 last-second loss to Marshall on Oct. 26, wide receiver Lucky Jackson and quarterback Ty Storey were in a groove. The senior from Lexington caught a WKU program record 16 passes for a career-high 168 yards. Jay Davis' 15 receptions on Nov. 15, 1969, at Akron were the previous best mark in Hilltopper history.
- Jackson became the first FBS receiver since SMU's Trey Quinn on Oct. 21, 2017, with 16+ receptions in a game.
- With 161 career receptions, Jackson passed Jared Dangerfield (151) for 6th on WKU's all-time charts. Jack Doyle (162) stands 5th in program history. And with 2,119 career receiving yards, Jackson passed Keith Paskett (2,117) for 6th on WKU's all-time charts. Willie McNeal (2,181) stands 5th in program history.
- For the season, Jackson leads the Hilltoppers with 572 yards and is tied with Jahcour Pearson for a team-best 46 receptions. Jackson is only four receptions shy of his career-high of 50 in 2018, and 28 yards shy of his career-high of 600 in 2017. His 34 receptions and 466 yards in five Conference USA games leads all league receivers.
DEFENSE INITIATES SIGNIFICANT SECOND HALF SHUTDOWN
- After allowing 21 points in the fourth quarter vs. Central Arkansas to suffer a 35-28 loss in Week 1, the WKU defense has been stellar in the second halves of games. The Hilltoppers have allowed only one second-half touchdown in five Conference USA contests, while Marshall's game winning field goal has represented the lone three points scored against WKU in the fourth quarter in league play.
- Over the past seven games overall, the Hilltoppers have let up only 31 second-half points. For the season, WKU has outscored its opponents 83-to-52 in the second halves of games, and overall has forced a three-and-out on 35% (29-of-83) of their opponents' drives.
KEEPING THE FOURTH QUARTER QUIET
- In four games from Sept. 7 to Oct. 5, the Hilltopper defense silenced the opposition late in the contest, keeping points off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter against FIU, Louisville, UAB and Old Dominion. The Panthers didn't score for the last 21:03, the Cardinals for the last 16:26, the Blazers for the last 24:17 and the Monarchs for the last 44:56 of the game.
- Since 2007, this is the first WKU defense has posted scoreless fourth quarters in four-consecutive games. If not for a Army touchdown with 101 seconds left in the final frame, the Hilltoppers would have had a six-game scoreless fourth quarter streak from Game 2 to Game 7.
DeANGELO MALONE CONTINUES DOMINANT SEASON
- Junior defensive end DeAngelo Malone just keeps racking up significant statistics. In WKU's 30-14 Homecoming victory vs. Charlotte, the Atlanta native notched 2 sacks for 16 yards lost, as well as 3 quarterback hurries. For the season, Malone leads WKU in solo tackles (31), assisted tackles (27), total tackles (58), tackles for loss (16), sacks (9) and quarterback hurries (10). Malone has at least 1 tackle for loss in every game (including 2-plus tackles for loss in four games), 2-plus sacks in three games and 3 quarterback hurries in a pair of games.
- With a career-high 3 sacks at Old Dominion, Malone became the first Hilltopper since the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl with 3 sacks in a game, and only the 4th different WKU defender since 2007 to have 3-plus sacks in a game.
- Malone leads Conference USA with 9 sacks and 16 tackles for loss on the season; while among FBS defenders he is tied for 4th in sacks and leads the nation in tackles for loss. Malone's 7.8 total tackles per game ranks t-81 among FBS defenders, which leads all defensive linemen. The next-best defensive lineman is Jessie Lemonier of Liberty, who is tied for 129th in the nation with 7.1 per game.
- Here are WKU's season-by-season TFL leaders in this decade:
- 2019 - DeAngelo Malone, 16.0 TFL
- 2018 - Ben Holt, 11.5 TFL
- 2017 - Joel Iyiegbuniwe, 11.5 TFL
- 2016 - Keith Brown, 13.0 TFL
- 2015 - T.J. McCollum, 11.5 TFL
- 2014 - Dejon Brown and Ge'Monee Brown, 8.0 TFL
- 2013 - Xavius Boyd, 15.5 TFL
- 2012 - Quanterus Smith, 18.5 TFL
- 2011 - Andrew Jackson, 17.0 TFL
- 2010 - Thomas Majors, 14.5 TFL
WKU AMONG FBS LEADERS IN HANDFUL OF CATEGORIES
- Tied for 7th in Fewest Penalties Committed, with only 4.5 per game.
- Tied for 13th in Fewest Penalty Yards, with only 41.4 per game.
- Tied for 13th in Opponent First Downs, with only 15.9 allowed per game.
- Tied for 13th in Opponent Red Zone Chances, with only 19 allowed total.
- Tied for 16th in Opponent Third Down Conversions at a rate of only 30.5% (32-of-105).
- 16th in Red Zone Defense, with opponents only scoring 73.7% of the time.
- 16th in Total Defense, with only 301.5 yards allowed per game
- 17th in Scoring Defense, with only 18.9 points allowed per game.
- 18th in Passing Defense, with only 183.6 yards allowed per game.
- 24th in Time of Possession, holding the ball an average of 32:04 per game.
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