BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU has accepted an invitation to play in the 2022 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the school announced Sunday.
The Hilltoppers will face 10-2 South Alabama in the New Orleans Bowl, which will be played on Wednesday, Dec. 21, in the Caesars Supderdome, home of the NFL's New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
The accepted invitation to the New Orleans Bowl marks WKU's ninth bowl game in the past 11 seasons. Starting with the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2012, the Tops have only missed the postseason in 2013 and 2018. This marks the fourth-consecutive bowl game WKU will have played in under four years with Head Coach Tyson Helton at the helm of the program.
Western Kentucky finished the 2022 regular season with an overall record of 8-5, and a 6-2 mark in Conference USA play. Due to a 13-game schedule because of the team's trip to Hawaii early in the year, the Hilltoppers needed to win seven games to become bowl eligible instead of the regularly required six wins. WKU earned that seventh victory in its home finale against Rice with a 45-10 victory. The Tops then ended the season by going on the road to defeat Florida Atlantic, 32-31, by going for two to win the game in overtime.
WKU's last bowl game appearance came a season ago when the Tops defeated App State in the 2021 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl by a score of 59-38. The game was memorable for various reasons, including quarterback Bailey Zappe breaking the FBS single-season records for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62).
This year's version of the Hilltopper attack has been similarly lethal with Austin Reed under center. Reed has thrown for 4,249 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for an additional eight scores. Reed finished the regular season second in the nation in passing yards, and third in the country in passing touchdowns. Malachi Corley has been Reed's go-to receiver this season with 1,181 yards and nine touchdowns to his credit. Corley finished the regular season sixth in the country in receiving yards. Kye Robichaux is the Hilltoppers' leading rusher with 496 yards and three touchdowns while Davion Ervin-Poindexter is right behind with 492 yards and three touchdowns of his own.
The WKU defense has been equally impressive as the Hilltoppers lead all of college football in forced turnovers (30) and defensive touchdowns (6) this season. JaQues Evans was a nightmare for opposing offenses all year as the sophomore linebacker racked up 100 total tackles and eight sacks. Evans also broke up four passes, hurried the quarterback eight times, blocked a kick and recovered two fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Derrick Smith was not far off from Evans with 90 tackles of his own, including six for loss.
Western Kentucky and South Alabama have only met one time on the gridiron with the Jaguars claiming victory in 2013 when they hosted the Hilltoppers in Mobile, Ala. The Tops are 14-8 against the current members of the Sun Best Conference since joining Conference USA in 2014. Last year's version of the New Orleans Bowl saw Louisiana defeat Marshall by a score of 36-21. The last C-USA team to win the New Orleans Bowl was Southern Miss in 2016, while the last current C-USA team to win the bowl game was Louisiana Tech in 2015.
Tickets for the 2022 New Orleans Bowl can be purchased HERE. Fans can also call the WKU Ticket Office at 270-745-5222 on Monday-Friday during normal business hours.
For all the latest on WKU Football, follow @WKUFootball on Twitter and Instagram and like the WKU Football Facebook page.
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