GAME 12
WKU (6-5 Overall, 4-3 Conference USA) at FIU (4-7 Overall, 1-6 Conference USA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 25
Kickoff: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Miami, Florida (FIU Stadium)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WKLX (SAM 100.7 FM) and WWKU (ESPN Radio 102.7 FM) in Bowling Green
Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
Game Notes: WKU Notes | FIU Notes | CUSA Notes
NOTES
- WKU became bowl eligible for the fifth time in five seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton with its 28-23 win over Sam Houston last weekend. The Hilltoppers have gone to bowl games in each of Tyson Helton's first four years as head coach, with wins in three of those, including last year's R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. WKU has gone to nine bowl games in the 11 seasons leading up to the 2023 campaign, with a 6-3 record in those games, and a bowl game this year will be the 10th for the program in 12 seasons.
- WKU has seen tremendous late-season success under Tyson Helton, who boasts a 14-4 overall record in the month of November and a 13-3 record in November in CUSA games. WKU had won 10 consecutive CUSA games in November before the loss to New Mexico State earlier this fall. The only two conference losses in the month under Helton before that were both to FAU, who is no longer in the league. WKU has one game remaining in the regular season – this weekend's matchup with FIU in Miami. WKU has won five straight regular-season finales.
- Quarterback Austin Reed is third in WKU's career completion rankings with 652, after passing Mike White (648) and Kawaun Jakes (650) in last week's win over Sam Houston. Reed has 67 career touchdown passes, which is second all-time in program history. His 7,804 passing yards are fifth all-time. Justin Haddix sits ahead of him on the list in fourth with 7,929 career passing yards. Malachi Corley moved into second on WKU's career receptions list in the win at LA Tech, and now has 249 catches in his career. Corley is second on WKU's career touchdown receptions list with 28. Taywan Taylor holds both records – 253 catches and 41 touchdowns – and Corley's 2,955 receiving yards are third all-time behind Taylor (4,234) and Nicholas Norris (3,091).
- The "Takeaway Tops" are back this season after tying for the best marks in the nation with 32 forced turnovers and six defensive touchdowns in 2022. WKU has 22 turnovers gained so far this fall – which is second in CUSA and tied for sixth nationally – and forced three on Sam Houston's final three possessions last week.
- WKU has won its last three games in the state of Florida – at FIU in 2021, against Appalachian State in 2021, and at FAU in 2022.
QUOTES
- "It's big. We take a lot of honor and pride in going to bowl games here – not only going, but we do all we can do to try to win those games. We take a lot of pride in playing in them and winning them as well. Five straight years to do that says a lot about the people in our organization, it says a lot about our athletic administrative staff, our athletic director, our president, the players, the coaches. It's just very, very important that we go to bowl games here. For us to do that, that was a big accomplishment and we're very proud of it." – WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton, on becoming bowl eligible with last week's win over Sam Houston.
- "I don't know that I've ever been a part of a game like that. It felt explosive at times. I think at one point in the game entering halftime, Austin (Reed) was 18-of-22, and if he throws three of those passes to us, he finishes 21-of-22 with 250 yards and three touchdowns. That's pretty incredible. But yeah, obviously you want to limit the turnovers as much as you can, but sometimes games like that don't go your way and you're going to make some mistakes, but really credit our guys for battling and playing hard and fighting through some adversity. We tell them all year that you never know how these games are going to go. There's four or five plays in every single game that they're going to make the difference. Like coach Helton said, credit the defense for helping us out in some of those situations. We came up on top on four or five of those plays that end up making the difference. You want to eliminate the turnovers, try not to have five of them in a game like that, but felt really good about some of the other things that we did. We finished with almost 450 yards of total offense and did some really good things. We're trying to improve on that, but it was a strange, strange game, for sure." – WKU Offensive Coordinator Drew Hollingshead, on finding a way to win last week against Sam Houston.
- "I don't think so. I can't speak for anybody else, but for me, pressure is so ingrained into what we do. It's always a challenge trying to get ready for opponents and trying to get ready this time of year in particular. But if one game makes something easier, than that's just not really how I look at it. We're trying to win every one of them. I haven't slept any less and I haven't slept any more than I normally do. We go through our normal progression of the things we try to do and our process. We're probably a little bit ahead, to be honest with you, just because we've got an earlier game at home on a Saturday, so that kind of gives us a couple more hours, I guess, to help us, but I don't think it takes any kind of pressure off. We're here to try to win seven, we're here to try to get into a bowl game and win eight, and if we can finish up and stack two more wins, then we will have finished the way we needed to in the last month of the season." – WKU Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers, on finishing the season strong.
LAST TIME OUT
- The WKU Football offense scored a go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the defense forced turnovers on Sam Houston's final three possessions, and the Hilltoppers held on for a 28-23 victory over the Bearkats on Saturday during senior day at Houchens-Smith Stadium to become eligible for a bowl game for the fifth time in five seasons under head coach Tyson Helton. WKU entered the fourth quarter trailing Sam Houston 23-21, but got a quick 75-yard touchdown strike from Austin Reed to Malachi Corley with 11:53 to play to go ahead 28-23. Anthony Johnson Jr. picked off a pass on Sam Houston's ensuing possession after the go-ahead touchdown, Johnson recovered a fumble forced by Deante McCray on the Bearkats' next possession, and Desmyn Baker closed out the game with an interception with less than a minute remaining after Sam Houston drove to the WKU 8-yard line. Despite having five turnovers, WKU still racked up 465 yards of offense, with 392 yards and three touchdowns coming from the arm of Reed. Corley had 10 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown, and is now four receptions from tying the program's career record. Dalvin Smith added 125 yards and a touchdown on seven catches, and Craig Burt Jr. had six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Elijah Young led the Hilltoppers on the ground with 55 yards on 15 attempts.
ABOUT FIU
- The Panthers sit at 4-7 overall after a loss at Arkansas last week, and are 1-6 in CUSA play. FIU won three consecutive games early in the season against Maine, North Texas and at UConn, but an Oct. 18 double overtime victory at Sam Houston is the only win since. The Panthers are coached by Mike MacIntyre, who is in his second season with the program.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday's game will mark the 17th meeting all-time between WKU and FIU. The Hilltoppers lead the series 10-6, and have won four consecutive games, including a 73-0 rout early last season at Houchens-Smith Stadium. WKU has never lost to the Panthers under current head coach Tyson Helton. FIU's last win in the series came during the 2018 season, when they beat the Hilltoppers 38-17 in Bowling Green.
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