WKU HILLTOPPERS (1-3, 1-1) at UAB BLAZERS (3-1, 1-0)
Saturday, October 17 | 12:30 p.m. CT | Legion Field | Birmingham, Ala.
Saturday, October 17 | 12:30 p.m. CT | Legion Field | Birmingham, Ala.
| HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG: |
| Watch on Fox Sports Go | Broadcast Networks | TuneIn | Listen Live Stats | WKU Game Notes | WKU YouTube Channel |
| WKU TRAVELS TO BIRMINGHAM FOR KEY INTER-DIVISION MATCHUP AGAINST BLAZERS UAB enters Saturday's game with a 20-game home win streak at Legion Field, which the Hilltoppers hope to halt |
NOTING THE GAME - WKU at UAB
- This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Hilltoppers and Blazers. The teams faced off four-consecutive seasons from 1993-97, with WKU winning the first three matchups before UAB took the fourth game.
- The programs did not face off from 1998-2013, before a head-to-head matchup in 2014 when the Hilltoppers joined Conference USA. WKU lost a three-point decision, 42-39, that year in Birmingham, but defeated the Blazers by a score of 20-13 last season in Bowling Green.
- In the 2019 matchup, UAB out-gained WKU by a 298-to-222 margin, but the Hilltoppers intercepted quarterback Tyler Johnston III four times en route to victory. Standing at 1-2 before that game, the win catapulted WKU to an 8-2 finish to the campaign.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
- 266 — From Bowling Green to Birmingham is a 266-mile drive South on I-65. This will be the final bus trip for the Hilltoppers this season, with three flights to away games.
- 2,156 — Days since UAB has lost a home game, which was a 23-18 decision to Marshall on Nov. 22, 2014. The Blazers have won 20 consecutive home games at Legion Field.
- 343 — The Hilltoppers' 25-man senior class brings 343 career starts of experience going into Game 5 of the year. Safety Devon Key leads WKU with 41 career starts on The Hill.
HILLTOPPER COACHES WITH BLAZER 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-CUSA, 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-CUSA. 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.
- Zach Lankford was a tight end for the Blazers from 2005-09, finishing his collegiate career with 22 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns. In 2008, Lankford recorded career-highs of 16 catches for 190 yards and both of those scores. Lankford returned to Birmingham in 2013 and served as the Blazers' Associate Director of Recruiting and Player Development for one year.
HILLTOPPER PENALTIES AT A MINIMUM
-
In 2019, WKU was only called for 53 penalties all season long which ranked third in FBS, and that trend has continued into 2020. So far this season, the Hilltoppers have committed only 11 penalties for 97 yards in four games, which ranks third in FBS. Last week vs. Marshall, WKU committed zero penalties for the first time since at least 2007. It was the first time an FBS team did not commit a penalty so far in 2020. There were only eight such instances in 2019.
GAME 4 vs. MARSHALL GAME NOTES
- WKU's team captain for the game was graduate senior quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome.
- Marshall won the coin toss, chose to receive and scored a touchdown on a two-play, 75-yard drive to open the game. The away team has won all four coin tosses so far this season.
- There was an attendance of 4,428 in Houchens-Smith Stadium for the 6:36 p.m. CT kick off. The game lasted 2:57, which was WKU's shortest of the season. In 2019, the Hilltoppers played 3-of-14 games in under 3:00.
- WKU lost to Marshall for the fourth-straight time and fell to 4-8 all-time against the Thundering Herd, including 2-3 in Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers dropped to 7-5-1 all-time in games played on Oct. 10.
- WKU fell to 55-31-3 all-time in homecoming games.
- WKU committed zero penalties, the first time the team has done so since at least 2007. It was the first time an FBS team did not commit a penalty so far in 2020. There were only eight such instances in 2019.
- WKU turned the ball over three times, which led to 21 points off turnovers for Marshall. The -21 points off turnovers margin was the worst for the Hilltoppers since Nov. 24, 2017 at FIU.
- WKU fell to 8-4 while wearing red jersey tops and white pants, dating back to 2013. The Hilltoppers are 2-3 in their past five games in that uniform combination.
- Kevaris Thomas came into the game in the third quarter and completed 9-of-18 attempts for 148 pass yards, with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. The touchdown – a 26-yarder to Dalvin Smith with 0:06 remaining in the game – was his first collegiate passing score.
- He carried 7 times for 30 yards and one touchdown, including WKU's game-long 13-yard rush in the fourth quarter. He completed a 51-yard pass to Xavier Lane in the third quarter, the longest play by the Hilltoppers this season. Scored a two-yard touchdown rush two plays later, the second rushing score of his WKU career.
- Dayton Wade led WKU with a career-high 8 receptions, while also adding 58 yards to rank second on the team.
- Xavier Lane had a team-high 74 yards on 4 receptions, including a career-long 51-yarder in the third quarter.
GAME 3 at MIDDLE TENNESSEE GAME NOTES
- WKU's team captain for the game was redshirt senior defensive tackle Jeremy Darvin.
- WKU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Hilltoppers have won 2-of-3 coin tosses this season.
- There was an attendance of 6,500 in Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium for the 4:05 p.m. CT kick off. The game lasted 3:03, which matched WKU's first game of the season at Louisville.
- WKU improved to 34-35-1 all-time against Middle Tennessee, including 14-20-1 in Murfreesboro. The Hilltoppers also improved to 8-5-1 all-time in games played on Oct. 3 – including four straight wins.
- With 37 combined points, it was the lowest-scoring game in the head-to-head series since a 21-10 win by Middle Tennessee in 2008.
- With a three-point margin of victory, eight of the past 10 head-to-head matchups have been decided by five points or fewer.
- Middle Tennessee fell to 54-25-2 all-time in homecoming games.
- WKU won the time of possession battle 31:35-to-28:25 over Middle Tennessee. It was the first time this season the Hilltoppers had an advantage in time of possession.
- WKU allowed only 319 total yards to Middle Tennessee, the lowest total for the defense this season.
- WKU gained 326 yards of offense – including 138 rush yards and 188 pass yards – all three are the highest totals for the Hilltoppers this season.
- WKU improved to 9-3 when following a bye week dating back to 2012. The Hilltoppers have held their opponent to 17 points or fewer in seven of the last eight such games – all wins.
- WKU improved to 5-5 while wearing white jersey tops and black pants, dating back to 2013. The Hilltoppers are 4-1 in such games over the past two seasons.
- Xavier Lane led WKU with 7 catches, 73 yards and 1 touchdown, including a career-long catch of 26 yards in the second quarter. The 7 receptions were a career-high, and the touchdown was his first career score at WKU.
- Brayden Narveson went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, hitting from 47 and 53 yards. The 53-yarder is the third-longest in WKU's 102-season program history, and is tied for the fifth-longest field goal make in FBS this season.
GAME 2 vs. LIBERTY GAME NOTES
- WKU's team captain for the game was redshirt senior punter John Haggerty.
- Liberty won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Hilltoppers had won three consecutive coin tosses dating back to last season.
- There was an attendance of 4,276 in Houchens-Smith Stadium for the 11:02 a.m. CT kick off. The game lasted 3:14, which was above WKU's first game time of 3:03 at Louisville.
- WKU fell to 0-3 all-time against Liberty, including 0-2 in Bowling Green. The Hilltoppers also fell to 6-7 all-time in games played on Sept. 19.
- WKU was out-scored 10-0 in the first quarter, while out-scoring Liberty 24-20 in the other three quarters combined.
- Liberty won the time of possession battle 34:59-to-25:01 over WKU, a week after Louisville won the time of possession battle 32:33-to-27:27 over the Hilltoppers. Last season, WKU averaged a 32-to-28 time of possession advantage in 13 games.
- Liberty rushed for 354 yards, marking only the sixth time WKU has given up over 350 rush yards in the team's FBS Era (since 2009). Most recently the Hilltoppers allowed 368 rush yards in a 42-28 loss vs. Florida Atlantic on Oct. 28, 2017.
- WKU committed only 2 penalties for 19 yards, compared to Liberty's 8 for 89 yards. Through two games, the Hilltoppers have only committed 6 penalties for 42 yards. Last season, WKU ranked 11th in FBS with only 39.5 penalty yards per game on 4.1 infractions.
- WKU's loss to Liberty was only the team's fifth to a non-conference, non-Power Five team dating back to 2012. The Hilltoppers are 19-5 in such games over the past eight-plus seasons, but 5-4 since 2017.
- WKU fell to 7-4 while wearing red jersey tops and red pants, dating back to 2013. Since 2016, the Hilltoppers are 2-3 in such games.
- Devon Key led WKU with a career-high 15 tackles (7 solo, 8 assisted) for his 8th-career double-digit tackle game. He forced a fumble of Liberty QB Malik Willis in the second quarter that was not recovered by WKU, his first collegiate forced fumble.
- Dionté Ruffin led WKU with 3 pass breakups, which tied a career-high from last season in a 20-13 win vs. UAB on Sept. 28.
GAME 1 at LOUISVILLE NOTES
- WKU's team captain for the game was redshirt senior safety Devon Key.
- WKU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Hilltoppers have won three consecutive coin tosses dating back to last season.
- There was an attendance of 11,179 in Cardinal Stadium for the 8:05 p.m. ET kick off. The game lasted 3:03, which was slightly below WKU's average game time of 3:08 last season.
- In the 102nd season of WKU Football, the Hilltoppers fell to 60-36-6 all-time in season-opening games. WKU also fell to 1-4 all-time in games played on Sept. 12.
- WKU fell to 12-22 all-time against Louisville, including 12 consecutive matchups dating back to the Hilltoppers' last win in the series in 1975. That total includes a 4-19 record on games played in Louisville.
- WKU was out-scored 21-0 in the second quarter, while out-scoring Louisville 21-14 in the other three quarters combined. It was a similar story in last season's matchup between the two teams, as WKU was out-scored 24-7 in the second quarter, while tying Louisville 14-14 in the other three quarters combined.
- WKU allowed only 7 points in the second half, continuing the team's trend from last season. Over the final 12 games of 2019, the Hilltoppers allowed an average of only 6.9 points in the second half.
- Louisville converted 9-of-16 (56%) of third downs against WKU. Last season, the Hilltopper defense ranked 7th in FBS by allowing a third-down conversion rate of only 30%.
- Louisville won the time of possession battle 32:33-to-27:27 over WKU, which included a 18:55-to-11:05 advantage in the first half.
- WKU recorded 10 tackles for loss as a team, which was more than the Hilltoppers had in any game last season. In all, nine different WKU defenders had at least 0.5 tackles for loss.
- WKU fell to 4-5 while wearing white jersey tops and black pants, dating back to 2013. The Hilltoppers had won three consecutive games in the combination at the tail end of the 2019 season.
- Omari Alexander had a Swiss Army Knife-type performance, with a fumble recovery on a muffed punt, a blocked punt, an interception, a tackle for loss and 5 total tackles (3 solo, 2 assisted).
The 2020 WKU Football season is presented by Stewart Richey Service Group. Stewart Richey is a multi-disciplined construction and service firm providing contracting, maintenance, and repair services across residential, commercial, industrial, civil and institutional markets. Stewart Richey Service Group has provided over 45 years of service!
