WKU HILLTOPPERS (6-4, 5-1) vs.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS (5-5, 3-3)
Saturday, November 20 | 3 p.m.
Houchens-Smith Stadium | BG, KY
FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS (5-5, 3-3)
Saturday, November 20 | 3 p.m.
Houchens-Smith Stadium | BG, KY
| LEARN ABOUT THE TEAM: |
| Jerr. Sterns Voted a Biletnikoff Semifinalist Kittley Named a Broyles Award Nominee D. Smith Named a Comeback PotY Nominee Zappe Voted C-USA Player of the Week WKU Weekly Game Notes Package Coach and Player Interviews (YouTube) |
| HILLTOPPERS HOST FLORIDA ATLANTIC IN WILLIE TAGGART'S RETURN TO THE HILL Head coach Tyson Helton has WKU on a five-game win streak heading into the final stretch of the regular season |
NOTING THE GAME
- This will be the 13th all-time meeting between the Hilltoppers and Owls, who lead the series 9-to-3. The teams faced off once in every season since 2008, other than 2013. WKU and FAU were Sun Belt Conference foes from 2008-12 before reconnecting as Conference USA rivals beginning in the 2014 season.
- The Hilltoppers' 20-0 victory over FAU in Boca Raton on Oct. 15, 2011, was the last time WKU has shut out an opponent; it has been 132 games since then. The Owls have defeated the Hilltoppers in four straight meetings.
SENIOR DAY SUCCESS
- WKU has won 10 consecutive Senior games dating back to 2011 and are 10-2 in such contests in the program's FBS Era (since 2009). The Hilltoppers have scored at least 25 points in 11 straight Senior games.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
- 6,003 — Passing yards for Bailey Zappe in 14 games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Zappe has completed 483-of-698 passes (69.2 %) with a 57-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the 14 games.
- 417 — Bailey Zappe leads FBS with 4,170 pass yards, with the next-closest being Virginia's Brennan Armstrong at 3,952 yards. Zappe also leads FBS with 42 TD's, five above the next-closest, SMU's Tanner Mordecai.
- 15-2 — Head coach Tyson Helton's C-USA record against league opponents other than FAU and Marshall. But Helton's Hilltoppers have an 0-4 record combined against the Owls and Herd.
- 10 — Interceptions by WKU in the team's past two games vs. MTSU and at Rice. The second time an FBS team has done so in the past 19 seasons.
CHASING GREATNESS
- Through 10 games, Zappe's numbers are comparable to Brandon Doughty's 2015 season in which he set WKU's all-time passing record (5,055) in 14 games, as well as Texas Tech's B.J. Symons' 2003, in which he set the FBS all-time passing record (5,833) in 13 games:
- Bailey Zappe: 342-of-483 (71%) for 4,170 yards, with 42 TD and 7 INT
- Brandon Doughty: 279-of-384 (73%) for 3,590 yards, with 34 TD and 6 INT
- B.J. Symons: 366-of-557 (66%) for 4,741 yards, with 44 TD and 16 INT
STERNS: ALSO A STUD
- Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns is also nipping at the heels of the all-time greats. Through 10 games, Sterns' numbers are comparable to Taywan Taylor's 2016 season in which he set all-time records (98 catches for 1,730 yards, with 17 touchdowns) in 14 games. East Carolina's Zay Jones set the FBS record with 158 receptions in 12 games in 2016, and Nevada's Trevor Insley's 2,060 yards in 11 games in 1999 is the all-time FBS mark:
- Jerreth Sterns: 111 receptions for 1,368 yards, with 11 touchdowns
- Taywan Taylor: 71 receptions for 1,174 yards, with 10 touchdowns
- Zay Jones: 139 receptions for 1,473 yards, with 6 touchdowns
- Trevor Insley: (In search of game-by-game stats for TI's 1999)
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 105 players on WKU's 2021 roster, 26 of them (24.8%) are incoming transfers. Of the 26, 14 are coming directly from FBS programs –10 from Power Five programs and four from Group of Five teams. Of the 26, eight are from FCS programs – including four from the Houston Baptist offense. Of the 26, 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 CFB passers to begin the season. Now at 14,174 yards after 4,170 through his first 10 games as a Hilltopper, Zappe still tops the list.
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