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WKU HILLTOPPERS (8-4, 6-2Â C-USA) vs.
WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS (7-5, 5-3 MAC)
Monday, December 30 | 11:30Â a.m. CTÂ | Gerald J. Ford Stadium (SMU)Â | Dallas, Texas
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WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS (7-5, 5-3 MAC)
Monday, December 30 | 11:30Â a.m. CTÂ | Gerald J. Ford Stadium (SMU)Â | Dallas, Texas
| GAMEDAY LINKS |
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| WKU AND WESTERN MICHIGAN GO HEAD-TO-HEAD FOR THE SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL TITLE The Hilltoppers and Broncos will face off for the first time since 1947, as WKU looks for its fourth bowl victory in the past six seasons |
NOTING THE GAME - WKU vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN
- WKU and Western Michigan met 15 times from 1923-to-1947. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since a 39-0 victory by the Broncos over the Hilltoppers on Nov. 11, 1947, over 72 years ago.
- The programs' origins are very similar. So similar – in fact – that Western Michigan's nickname was also the Hilltoppers until 1939, because part of the school's campus in Kalamazoo, Mich., was built on Prospect Hill. Western Michigan changed its nickname to the Broncos prior to the 1939 campaign – based on the suggestion of then-assistant coach John Gill – partially because they did not want to be confused with the WKU Hilltoppers. The Broncos began playing at the newly-built Waldo Stadium in 1939, which is still their home 80 years later.
- WKU's football program started in 1913, while Western Michigan's began in 1906. The Hilltoppers are in their 101st season in program history, while the Broncos are in their 114th. WKU did not field teams from 1917-to-1919 (World War I) or 1943-to-1945 (World War II), while Western Michigan has not ceased play at any point.
- WKU and Western Michigan are both playing in their fifth bowl game in the past six years. The Hilltoppers are 3-1 in their previous four bowls, while the Broncos have a 1-3 record in their previous four bowls.
LEGENDARY FOOTBALL COACH JACK HARBAUGH
- Former WKU head coach Jack Harbaugh – who helped lead the Hilltoppers to the 2002 Division I-AA National Championship – compiled a 91-68 overall record in 14 seasons on The Hill from 1989-to-2002, including a 54-20 mark in his final 6 years.
- Harbaugh's coaching career began in 1964 and ran all the way through to 2009, when he was the 70-year old running backs coach at Stanford. His only other head coaching job was actually at Western Michigan from 1982-to-1986, compiling a 25-27-3 record with the Broncos in those 5 seasons. He then went to Pitt for the next 2 years before starting with the Hilltoppers in 1989.
OTHER WKU-WESTERN MICHIGAN CONNECTIONS
- Chris Chestnut is a Western Michigan football alumni, as the WKU wide receiviers coach played for the Broncos in 2002 and 2003 after transferring from College of the Canyons. The Durham, N.C., native caught 30 passes for 412 yards in Kalamazoo, Mich., and served as a team captain in his senior season.
- Nick Uhlenhopp served as the Director of Football Operations for Western Michigan and head coach P.J. Fleck during their record-setting season in 2016, when the Broncos went 13-1 and finished No. 15 in the AP Poll. Their only loss was a 24-16 defeat against No. 8 Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl.
THE LAST TIME WKU AND WESTERN MICHIGAN MET IN 1947...
- The average cost of house was $6,600 and the average wages per year were $2,850.
- A gallon of gas cost $0.15.
- Indian and Pakistan gained independence from Great Britain.
- The Polaroid Land Camera was first demonstrated at the Optical Society of America.
- Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier.
- The "Miracle of 34th Street" premiered and the "Diary of Anne Frank" was published.
- Jackie Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Johnny Bench, Bob Boone, David Bowie, Judge Joe Brown, Hillary (Rodham) Clinton, Glenn Close, Ted Danson, Larry David, Richard Dreyfuss, Farrah Fawcett, Elton John, Stephen King, Kevin Kline, Mike Krzyzewski, David Letterman, Meat Loaf, Pete Maravich, Iggy Pop, Mitt Romney, Nolan Ryan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, O.J. Simpson, Jimmie Walker, Darrell Waltrip and Warren Zevon were all born in 1947.
CONFERENCE USA vs. MAC IN RECENT BOWL GAMES
- Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference have faced off 10 times in postseason play since 2012 and C-USA owns an 8-2 advantage over the MAC in those bowl games.
- There have been five matchups in the Bahamas Bowl, three in the Boca Raton Bowl and two in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. WKU is 0-1 against the MAC in bowl games (vs. Central Michigan in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl); the Hilltoppers also faced the Chippewas in the 2012 Little Caesars Bowl when WKU was still in the Sun Belt.
- Western Michigan is 1-0 against C-USA in bowl games (vs. Middle Tennessee in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl). That is the Broncos' lone bowl victory in program history, as Western Michigan is otherwise 0-8 all time in bowl games, including a 24-16 loss to #8 Wisconsin in the 2016 Cotton Bowl.
- The First Responder Bowl with be the first C-USA vs. MAC bowl game to be played in the state of Texas. Charlotte and Buffalo are slated to play in the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 20, 10 days before the Hilltoppers and Broncos face off at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
WKU AMONG FBS LEADERS IN HANDFUL OF DEFENSIVE CATEGORIES
Entering bowl season, the Hilltoppers are:
- 3rd in Opponent First Downs Passing, with only 79 total allowed (6.6 per game).
- 6th in Opponent Third Down Conversions, with a rate of only 29.3% (46-of-157).
- Tied for 8th in Opponent Red Zone Chances, with only 30 total allowed (2.5 per game).
- Tied for 13th in Opponent Completion Percentage, with a rate of only 53.4%.
- 15th in Red Zone Defense, with opponents only scoring 73.3% of the time.
- Tied for 16th in Red Zone TD Defense, with opponents only scoring a TD 50% of the time.
- 17th in Opponent Total Plays, with only 768 total allowed (64 per game).
- Tied for 17th in Opponent First Downs, with only 17.1 allowed per game.
- 21st in Scoring Defense, with only 20.1 points allowed per game.
- 30th in Total Defense, with only 337.8 yards allowed per game.
And these other statistics:
- 4th in Fewest Penalties, with only 4.1 committed per game.
- Tied for 8th in Fewest Penalty Yards, with only 38.2 earned per game.
- 12th in Punting, with a 45.6-yard gross average and a 41.7-yard net average.
- Tied for 13th in Blocked Kicks, with 3 total (1 punt, 1 field goal, 1 extra point).
- 14th in Completion Percentage, with a rate of 66.7% for the season.
- 14th in Kick Return Coverage, with only 17.4 yards allowed per return.
- Tied for 16th in Tackles For Loss Against, with only 4.7 allowed per game.
- 23rd in Time of Possession, holding the ball an average of 32 minutes per game.
- Tied for 26th in Sacks Allowed, with only 1.5 by the opponents per game.
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