Hilltoppers Head to Hawaii for Saturday Showdown

GAME 2

WKU (1-0) at Hawaii (0-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 3
Kickoff: 11 p.m. CT
Location: Honolulu Hawaii (Clarence T.C. Ching Complex)
Watch: Team 1 Sports Mobile App
Listen: WKLX (SAM 100.7 FM) and WWKU (ESPN Radio 102.7 FM) in Bowling Green
Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
Game Notes: WKU | Hawaii
Game Day Information: Live Stats

NOTES AND QUOTES

Western Kentucky makes its first trip across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii when it prepares to do battle with the Rainbow Warriors Saturday. The Hilltoppers head into the game off a season-opening, Week 0 win over Austin Peay. Hawaii likewise played Week 0 but saw the opposite result as WKU via a 63-10 setback against Vanderbilt.

WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton started his coaching career at Hawaii before the 2000 college football season. After playing quarterback at the University of Houston for his father from 1996 through 1999, Helton followed in his dad's footsteps and got into coaching a year later as a graduate assistant for the Rainbow Warriors. Following one season as a GA, Helton was promoted to serve as the team's special teams coordinator. He worked in that capacity for three seasons before moving on to the University of Memphis in 2004 to serve as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator.

When Helton was beginning his coaching career with the Rainbow Warriors in 2000, current Hawaii Head Coach Timmy Chang was beginning his playing career on the Islands. Chang was named WAC Freshman of the Year that season, which was just the beginning of a highly-decorated career. In four seasons together, Helton and Chang went a combined 31-21, including a 10-win season in 2002 with a pair of nine-win seasons along the way. Helton and Chang now square off against each other as head coaches for the first time.

WKU sophomore linebacker JaQues Evans (nicknamed doughnut by his teammates), set a career high in tackles in the Tops' season-opening win over Austin Peay. Evans tallied 13 stops on the day, including a career-best 2.5 sacks for 13 yards.

The trip to Hawaii marks a handful of firsts for the Hilltoppers. Not only has WKU never been to Hawaii or squared off against the Rainbow Warriors, but the Tops have never played a team from the Mountain West Conference. In addition to Hawaii, the current membership of the MWC includes Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming. The Hilltoppers played BYU, a founding member of the Mountain West, for the first time in 2020, but the Cougars left the MWC to go independent in 2011.

"Hawaii week, big week for us. Looking forward to it. It's going to be a quick week. We'll actually start practice today. Usually, the players would be off today, but we're going to get on a plane later this week and fly over there. Looking forward to the trip and looking forward to a highly competitive game. I think we're going to face a really, really good football team in Hawaii. I think they match up well with us. I think it will be a four-quarter game and we better show up and play our best game if we want to win."

-Helton previewing the matchup at Hawaii

"It will be neat. Unfortunately for me, all I'm focused on is trying to win a game. I was there for four years and it's a very special place. We were there at a great time. June Jones was the head coach and we were winning. Timmy Chang was the quarterback, Nick Rolovich was the quarterback and I think of some other great names. It will be special to go back there and be on campus. I hear it's a great venue."

-Helton on returning to Hawaii after beginning his coaching career there

"I felt like we lot of yards out there offensively. I felt Austin Reed in his first start did some really, really good things. We had a couple drops that could have been explosive plays that could have changed some things. For us defensively, they're a big offensive line, so we've got to be able to stop the run."

-Helton reviewing the Austin Peay game and looking forward to Hawaii

LAST TIME OUT

In the very first college football game of 2022, WKU defeated Austin Peay by a score of 38-27. Malachi Corley caught three touchdowns from quarterback Austin Reed while Daewood Davis caught the other. The Hilltopper defense recorded four takeaways for the game, including a pick six by defensive back Upton Stout.

ABOUT HAWAII

The Rainbow Warriors fell to Vanderbilt, 63-10, in their season opener at home. Brayden Schager threw for 161 yards for Hawaii with Jonah Panoke as his leading receiver with seven catches for 101 yards. Dedrick Parson led the rushing attack by racking up 82 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Virdel Edwards and Leonard Lee each recorded six tackles for the Rainbow Warriors.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday marks the first ever meeting between WKU and Hawaii.

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Players Mentioned

Malachi Corley

Daewood Davis

JaQues Evans

Austin Reed

Upton Stout