WKU HILLTOPPERS (4-4, 3-1)
vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
BLUE RAIDERS (4-4, 2-4)
Saturday, November 6 | 2:30 p.m.
Houchens-Smith Stadium | BG, KY
vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
BLUE RAIDERS (4-4, 2-4)
Saturday, November 6 | 2:30 p.m.
Houchens-Smith Stadium | BG, KY
| LEARN ABOUT THE TEAM: |
| Zappe Voted Manning Award QB of the Week Zappe Voted C-USA Player of the Week WKU's Weekly Game Notes Package Coach and Player Interviews (YouTube) |
| HILLTOPPERS WELCOME RIVAL BLUE RAIDERS 100 MILES NORTH FOR MATCHUP WKU could even the all-time series – which stands at 34-35-1 – and claim their third straight over MTSU |
NOTING THE GAME
- The teams will meet for the 71st time, with the Blue Raiders holding a 35-34-1 all-time advantage. But the Hilltoppers have won five of the past six matchups.
- The first meetings between WKU and Middle Tennessee were in 1914 and 1915, with the Blue Raiders winning both by a score of 47-0. The two played four times in five years from 1921-to-1925, then in every year from 1928-to-1936. After not meeting in 1937 or 1938, they faced off once per year from 1939-to-1941. After a 10-year haitus, the two matched up in every season from 1952-to-1991 except for 1986. They did not play their close rival from 1992-to-2006, but the two have faced off in every season since 2007 except for 2013.
- In six matchups from 2011-to-2017, four of them went into at least double overtime. WKU won 36-33 in 2011 in 2OT, Middle Tennessee won 50-47 in 2014 in 3OT, WKU won 44-43 in 2016 in 2OT and WKU won 41-38 in 2017 in 3OT. WKU is 20-15 all-time in Bowling Green, while Middle Tennessee is 20-14-1 in Murfreesboro. Since 1940, the past 54 meetings have alternated hosts.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
- 425.9 — Bailey Zappe leads FBS with 425.9 pass yards per game, with the next-closest being Virginia's Brennan Armstrong at 395.2 yards. Zappe also leads FBS with 33 TD's, while ranking 10th with a 169.3 passing efficiency rating..
- 48-7 — Bailey Zappe's TD-INT ratio in 12 games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He has completed 420-of-606 passes (69.3%) for 5,240 yards (436.7 avg) in the 12 games.
- 53.0 — With 1.5 TFL's vs. Charlotte, DeAngelo Malone upped his career total to 53.0, moving past Chris Carpenter (52.0) for second in program history. Sherrod Coates (75.0) ranks first.
- 3 — Junior Jerreth Sterns leads all FBS receivers in the 3 major statistical categories: Receptions (93), Yards (1,166) and Touchdowns (11).
CHASING GREATNESS
- Through eight 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: 279-of-391 (71%) for 3,407 yards, with 33 TD and 6 INT
- Brandon Doughty: 234-of-327 (72%) for 3,034 yards, with 27 TD and 5 INT
- B.J. Symons: 304-of-459 (66%) for 3,914 yards, with 36 TD and 11 INT
STERNS: ALSO A STUD
- Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns is also nipping at the heels of the all-time greats. Through eight 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: 93 receptions for 1,166 yards, with 11 touchdowns
- Taywan Taylor: 64 receptions for 993 yards, with 8 touchdowns
- Zay Jones: 114 receptions for 1,094 yards, with 4 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 13,411 yards after 3,407 through his first eight games as a Hilltopper, Zappe still tops the list.
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