WKU HILLTOPPERS (1-2, 1-0 C-USA) vs. UAB BLAZERSÂ (3-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Saturday, September 28 | 6 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium | Bowling Green, Ky.
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Saturday, September 28 | 6 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium | Bowling Green, Ky.
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| WKU FOOTBALL HOSTS DEFENDING C-USA CHAMPION BLAZERS FOLLOWING BYE WEEK The Hilltoppers return to their home turf for the first time in almost a month, looking to knock off undefeated UAB |
BYE, BYE, BYE - HELLO, HELLO, HELLO
- The Hilltoppers enter Week 5 following their first bye week of the season; the other coming the Week of Saturday, Nov. 16, following their matchup at Arkansas and prior to their final two Conference USA games of the regular season at Southern Miss and vs. Middle Tennessee.
- Since becoming a full FBS member in 2009, WKU is 6-7 following a bye week, although boasts a 6-3 mark since 2012. Oddly enough, this will be the first home game for the Hilltoppers following a bye week since Oct. 15, 2013, against Louisiana-Lafayette. The past seven games in a row after bye weeks for WKU have been road games.
HILLTOPPER COACHES HAVE STRONG UAB TIES
- Tyson Helton spent the 2007-12 seasons at UAB, the first five as the quarterbacks coach, and then 2012 coaching the running backs and serving as the recruiting coordinator. Under Helton's guidance, quarterback Joe Webb developed into one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NCAA history. In 2009, when he finished sixth nationally in total offense and ninth in passing efficiency, Webb became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. The 2009 and 2010 Blazer offenses produced the two highest total offense yardage totals in UAB history, both topping 5,000 yards. Then in 2012, running back Darrin Reaves was voted First Team All-Conference USA, as he ran for 1,037 yards and a school-record 13 scores.
- Bryan Ellis came to UAB as a freshman quarterback in 2007, eventually earning nine starts for the Blazers in 2010. Ellis Completed 231-of-411 passes (56%) for 2,940 yards and 25 touchdowns in 11 total games and was named Honorable Mention All-Conference USA. At the time, his 418-yard passing performance vs. East Carolina was fifth-highest single-game performance in program history; also had five touchdown passes against the Pirates, the second-most in program history. Ellis' 25 touchdown passes during the season were just one shy of the program record (26) held by Darrell Hackney (2004). Ellis graduated in 2011 and then transitioned to a graduate assistant coaching role working with the quarterbacks for the 2012-13 seasons.
WKU AMONG FBS LEADERS IN MANY CATEGORIES
Thru four weeks, Hilltoppers rank among the best in FBS in a handful of statistics:
- Tied for 6th in Sacks Allowed, with only two let up by the WKU offensive line.
- Tied for 16th in Red Zone Defense, allowing opponents to score only 67% of the time.
- Tied for 17th in Opponent First Downs, with only 52 allowed in three games.
- 18th in Opponent Third Down Conversions at a rate of only 28.2% (11-of-39).
- Tied for 24th in Opponent Kickoff Yards Per Return, with only 16.2 yards per return.
- Tied for 26th in Tackles For Loss Per Game, with 7.7 by the WKU defense.
- 27th in Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game with 44.7 yards per game.
GAME 3 POST-GAME NOTES - LOUISVILLE 38, WKU 21
- Steven Duncan completed 25-of-47 passes for 245 yards, with a career high three touchdowns. The last WKU quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns in a game was Mike White on Nov. 17, 2017, when he tallied five touchdowns against Middle Tennessee.
- Duncan's 47 pass attempts are the most by a WKU quarterback since Mike White had 49 attempts at FIU on Nov. 24, 2017.
- Jahcour Pearson had 5 receptions for 37 yards and 1 touchdown – the 2nd of his career – on an 8-yard pass from Duncan in the third quarter.
- After coming into the season with 20 receptions in 21 games, Pearson leads the team with 16 thru three games.
- Joshua Simon caught the 2nd touchdown of his career on a 77-yard pass from Duncan in the second quarter. It was the longest reception by a Hilltopper since Lucky Jackson's 91-yard touchdown on Nov. 17, 2017, against Middle Tennessee.
- Juwuan Jones recorded 1.5 sacks for a 2019 total of 3.5 thru three games, after recording 5.0 sacks in his redshirt freshman season over 12 games. The 2.5 TFL's tied a career-high from Oct. 20, 2018, against Old Dominion.​​​​​​​
- DeAngelo Malone recorded 10 tackles (4 solo, 6 assisted) and is tied for the team-high in tackles for the season with 27. He also has a team-high 6.0 TFL's, including 1.5 against Louisville.
- Cory Munson executed a surprise onside kick for the second straight week, improving to 2-for-2 in onside kick attempts. Also went 3-for-3 on extra point attempts, improving to 9-for-9 on the season.
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