WKU HILLTOPPERS (1-3, 0-0) vs.
UTSA ROADRUNNERS (5-0, 1-0)
Saturday, October 9 | 6 p.m.
Houchens-Smith Stadium | BG, KY
UTSA ROADRUNNERS (5-0, 1-0)
Saturday, October 9 | 6 p.m.
Houchens-Smith Stadium | BG, KY
| LEARN ABOUT THE TEAM: |
| Jerreth Sterns Added to Biletnikoff Watch List Zappe Added to Maxwell Award Watch List WKU Weekly Game Notes Package Coach and Player Interviews (YouTube) |
| HILLTOPPERS BEGIN CONFERENCE USA PLAY AGAINST UNDEFEATED ROADRUNNERS Zappe leads prolific WKU offense into matchup with UTSA, as the teams face off for the first time in seven years |
NOTING THE GAME
- WKU and UTSA have previously met only once – on November 22, 2014 – and the Hilltoppers came away with a 45-7 victory in Bowling Green. In that game, QB Brandon Doughty completed 26-of-35 passes for 346 yards with five touchdowns – as WKU scored the first 38 points of the contest and out-gained the Roadrunners 466-to-234 overall.
- Since the Hilltoppers joined the league prior to the 2014 season, WKU is 11-5 against the Conference USA West division in the regular season and 2-0 against such teams in the league title game.
- Facing 5-0 UTSA after 4-0 Michigan State, this is the first time in WKU's FBA Era (since 2009) that the Hilltoppers have faced back-to-back undefeated opponents in the month of October.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
- 428 — Bailey Zappe leads FBS with 428 pass yards per game, with the next-closest being Virginia's Brennan Armstrong at 394.6 yards. Zappe ranks second in FBS with 4 TD's per game and ninth with a 177.9 passing efficiency rating.
- 30 — WKU already has 30 "chunk" passing plays (20+ yards) with eight going for scores. In 12 games in 2020, WKU had 15 "chunk" passing plays with three going for scores.
- 25-3 — Bailey Zappe's TD-INT ratio in nine career games vs. FBS teams. He has completed 286-of-437 passes (65.4%) for 3,446 yards (382.9) in those games.
- 17 — Jerreth Sterns had 17 receptions (for a career-high 186 yards) at #16/17 Michigan State, tying WKU's all-time program mark set by Lucky Jackson in the 2019 First Responder Bowl.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
- Hosting Indiana two weeks ago on the 288th game in Houchens-Smith Stadium history, WKU fans showed out in record numbers to set the program's all-time attendance record of 25,171, breaking the previous high of 23,674 on September 24, 2016, vs. Vanderbilt. Through two home games in 2021, the Hilltoppers have averaged 20,704 fans; the all-time Houchens-Smith Stadium record average for an entire season is 18,454, which was established in 2016.
STAFF SHUFFLE
- Of WKU's 10 full-time assistant coaches, only one (special teams coordinator and safeties coach Andy LaRussa) has the same role as last season. Four have new roles: Maurice Crum (linebackers –> defensive coordinator), Bryan Ellis (now co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach), Kenny Baker (defensive ends –> defensive line) and Stephen Hamby (quality control –> offensive line). Five are new faces: Zach Kittley (offensive coordinator and quarterbacks), Pat Bastien (linebackers), Josh Crawford (outside receivers), Keynodo Hudson (cornerbacks) and Carlos Locklyn (running backs).
THE PORTAL
- Of the 108 players on WKU's 2021 roster, 28 of them (26%) are incoming transfers. Of the 28, 16 are coming directly from FBS programs –10 from Power Five programs and six from Group of Five teams. Of the 28, eight are from FCS programs – including four from the Houston Baptist offense. Of the 28, four are from the JuCo ranks, however three of those spent a year on Power Five teams.
ZERO TO 10,004
- WKU returned zero passing yards from the 2020 season. Enter graduate transfer quarterback Bailey Zappe, whose 10,004 yards at Houston Baptist from 2017-to-2020 led all active Division I passers to begin the season. Now at 11,716 yards after 1,712 through his first four games as a Hilltopper, Zappe still tops the list.
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