WKU HILLTOPPERS (5-6, 4-3 Conference USA)
vs. GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS (5-4, 4-4 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 26 | 2:30 p.m. CT  | Ladd-Peebles Stadium | Mobile, Ala.
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vs. GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS (5-4, 4-4 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 26 | 2:30 p.m. CT  | Ladd-Peebles Stadium | Mobile, Ala.
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| WKU AND GEORGIA STATE MEET IN 22nd ANNUAL LENDINGTREE BOWL ON SATURDAY Hilltoppers looking to avenge loss to Panthers in 2017 Cure Bowl and close out 2020 with fourth consecutive victory |
NOTING THE GAME - WKUÂ vs. GEORGIA STATE
- WKU and Georgia State have played only twice all-time in their head-to-head series, most recently in the 2017 AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
- In that game, the Panthers defeated the Hilltoppers by a score of 27-17, denying WKU a bowl victory in four-consecutive seasons. WKU had previously won the 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (W, 49-48 vs. Central Michigan), 2015 Miami Beach Bowl (W, 45-35 vs. South Florida) and the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl (W, 51-31 vs. Memphis). Georgia State also denied a seven-win season for WKU for the seventh straight season. The Hilltoppers had won seven-plus contests in every campaign from 2011-to-2016, but finished the 2017 season at 6-7.
- In 2013, WKU defeated the Panthers by a score of 44-28 in the Georgia Dome, when both teams were in the Sun Belt for only that one year. WKU took a 31-7 lead early in the third quarter and cruised to victory. Running backs Antonio Andrews and Leon Allen combined for 171 yards, but Keshawn Simpson had four rushing scores to lead the Hilltoppers to victory. Georgia State quarterback Ronnie Bell had 325 pass yards, but threw a pair of picks.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
- 264 — Pass attempts this season by QB Tyrrell Pigrome without an interception. That's the longest current streak in the FBS and the longest such streak in WKU history.
- 155 — Career starts by WKU's primary starting five offensive linemen (Cole Spencer, Tyler Witt, Seth Joest, Jordan Meredith and Mason Brooks) which ranks 3rd in the FBS.
- 61 — Pass breakups by the WKU defense this season, which leads in the FBS. CB Dionté Ruffin leads the Hilltoppers with 11, while CB Dom Bradshaw ranks second with 10.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS... AGAINST THIS DEFENSE
- The Hilltopper defense ranks eighth in FBS with only 170.1 pass yards allowed per game – although that number ranks fourth among FBS teams that have played more than six games.
- After the first game of the season at Louisville – in which WKU allowed 343 pass yards – the Hilltoppers have allowed only 152.8 pass yards on average over the past 10 games.
- Since that opening game, WKU has allowed more than 162 pass yards only three times – at Middle Tennessee (217), at #10/11 BYU (244) and at Charlotte (219) – and not allowed any pass play over 42 yards.
- Over the past seven games, the Hilltoppers have allowed opponents to complete only 87-of-194 (45%) of their pass attempts for 1,016 yards (145.1 yards per game), with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
- The Hilltoppers have allowed only 12 passing plays of 30 yards or more in 11 games. Last season, WKU allowed 21 such plays in 13 games.
- WKU has recorded 66 passes defended (61 pass breakups plus five interceptions), which is tied with Alabama for No. 2 in the nation. Appalachian State ranks No. 1 with 70, while the No. 4 team – Georgia Southern – has 60.
DIFFICULT STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE IN 2020
- The combined record of teams WKU lost to this season is 41-16. The Hilltoppers lost at Louisville (4-7), vs. Liberty (9-1), vs. Marshall (7-2), at UAB (6-3), at #10/11 BYU (10-1) and at Florida Atlantic (5-2).
- On the flip side, the combined record of teams the Hilltoppers defeated this season is 8-23. WKU won at Middle Tennessee (3-6), vs. Chattanooga (0-1), vs. Southern Miss (3-7), vs. FIU (0-5) and at Charlotte (2-4).
- Navigating successfully through the COVID-19 pandemic, (prior to bowl season) WKU is only 1-of-25 FBS teams to play 11-plus games this season and did not have any of their first 10 contests re-scheduled or canceled. Among Conference USA teams, only the Hilltoppers and UTSA (7-4) were able to play more than nine games.
HILLTOPPER HISTORY IN BOWL GAMES
- This year's bowl game is the seventh in the FBS Era (since 2009) for WKU, and it continues a historical trend for a program that was a I-AA and II power for most of its existence under head coaches like Jack Harbaugh and Jimmy Feix. This will be the first bowl game for WKU played in the state of Alabama, with it being the seventh different state (plus the Bahamas) in which the Hilltoppers have competed in a bowl game.
- WKU is 8-4 all-time in bowl games, including 4-2 in the FBS Era (since 2009). WKU lost in the Camellia Bowl, the NCAA D-II Championship, in 1973 and 1975.
CONFERENCE USA vs. SUN BELT IN BOWL GAMES
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Conference USA and the Sun Belt have faced off 12Â times in postseason play since 2012 and the Sun Belt owns a 9-3 advantage over C-USA in those bowl games. There have been seven matchups in the New Orleans Bowl and two in the Camellia Bowl.
WKU and Georgia State will be the first re-match of C-USA vs. Sun Belt in the past nine seasons, as the Panthers defeated the Hilltoppers in the 2017 Cure Bowl. Two other C-USA vs. Sun Belt matchups in the 2020 bowl season went to Appalachian State over North Texas in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and Georgia Southern over LA Tech in the New Orleans Bowl.
WKU vs. NON-CON, NON-POWER FIVE OPPONENTS
- After going 0-12 against non-conference foes in their first three years as an FBS team (2009-11), WKU has turned it around and has been on a hot streak against teams from Group of Five or FCS conferences.
- When facing opponents from other Group of Five or FCS conferences, the Hilltoppers are 20-6 since 2012, with two of five losses coming in bowl games. The Hilltoppers are 12-3 in home games against non-conference Group of 5 or FCS teams in that time frame.
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