JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – WKU Football lost to Jacksonville State 20-17 on Tuesday at JSU Stadium for its first loss in Conference USA play this fall.
The Gamecocks made a 41-yard field goal as time expired to come away with the victory.
"Tough loss. I thought our kids battled hard, took it all the way down to the end," WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton said. "Defense did all they could do and gave us an opportunity to try to keep coming back. We moved the ball offensively, but we couldn't find the end zone – that's pretty obvious. We've got to rebound. We've got a big game coming up against Liberty at home and we've got to go get that conference win."
WKU (4-3 overall, 2-1 CUSA) took an early lead, but struggled to find the end zone after that and were shut out in the second half. The Hilltoppers led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter and 17-10 at the break.
The Hilltoppers opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Austin Reed to Dalvin Smith and added a 28-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro to make it 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Jax State (6-2, 4-1) got on the board with a 10-yard touchdown run, but WKU made it 17-7 with a 3-yard touchdown reception from Reed to River Helms in the second quarter.
The Gamecocks added a 23-yard field goal with 5:35 to play in the frame, and the 17-10 score stood at the break.
Jax State tied the game with a 26-yard touchdown run with 4:40 to play and made a 41-yard field goal as time expired to win 20-17.
WKU finished with 339 yards of offense. Reed threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-48 passing. Malachi Corley had 47 yards on six catches, K.D. Hutchinson had 52 yards on four catches, Helms had 50 yards and a score on three catches and Smith had 23 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Elijah Young led WKU's running game with 39 yards on 10 attempts.
Kylan Guidry recorded a team-high nine tackles, including one for loss, and Devon Lynch added eight tackles with one for loss to lead the Hilltopper defense.
WKU will return home for its next game – a Tuesday, Oct. 24 blackout game against Liberty. Kickoff at Houchens-Smith Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
For all the latest on WKU Football, follow @WKUFootball on Twitter and Instagram and like the WKU Football Facebook page.
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