GAME 4
WKU (2-1 Overall, 0-0 Conference USA) at Troy (1-2 Overall, 0-1 Sun Belt)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 23
Kickoff: 11 a.m. CT
Location: Troy, Alabama (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
Watch: ESPNU
Listen: WKLX (SAM 100.7 FM) and WWKU (ESPN Radio 102.7 FM) in Bowling Green
Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
Game Notes: WKU Notes | Troy Notes
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NOTES
- Saturday will mark WKU's final nonconference game of the 2023 regular season. The Hilltoppers have gone 2-3, 1-3, 1-3 and 2-2 in the last four seasons under Tyson Helton in regular-season nonconference play, and have an opportunity at the first regular-season nonconference winning record under the fifth-year WKU head coach.
- WKU quarterback Austin Reed has thrown for 796 yards and seven touchdowns on 77-of-120 passing with one interception through three games this season. Reed, the nation's leader in passing yards in 2022, is averaging 265.3 passing yards per game. He has also rushed for 55 yards and two scores on 14 attempts. In WKU's most recent game at No. 6/4 Ohio State, Reed threw for 207 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-37 passing with an interception.
- WKU wide receiver Malachi Corley returned to action at No. 6/4 Ohio State last week after missing most of the first two games, include the entire victory over Houston Christian. Against the Buckeyes, Corley – the nation's leading returning receiver from 2022 – caught eight passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
- The "Takeaway Tops" are back this season after tying for the best marks in the nation with 32 forced turnovers and six defensive touchdowns a season ago. WKU has eight turnovers gained so far this fall – tied for the sixth-most in the country – with a defensive touchdown in both wins. JaQues "Donut" Evans stripped the USF quarterback in the season opener, recovered the fumble and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown, and Utpon Sout had a 53-yard pick six against HCU. WKU is one of 12 teams in the country with two defensive scores in 2023, and no team has more than that.
- Saturday marks the third nationally televised game the Hilltoppers have played this fall. Only two other Conference USA teams have played as many nationally televised games through their first four games this fall, and one of those saw action in Week 0. WKU's next four games following the trip to Troy are already set to be nationally televised, and the final four will be available on ESPN platforms.
QUOTES
- "Excited about this week. Play a really good opponent in Troy – Sun Belt champs last year. Evaluating them on film, they're just as good, if not better, this year. Great challenge for our football team. Another one I think our guys are excited to play. What a great opponent to play. They've got a great atmosphere down there. Very, very much looking forward to the opportunity of getting to play them, and it should be a good football game." – WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton on playing at Troy.
- "To play against a program like Ohio State that's really buttoned up on offense and defense and special teams, and the amount of attention to detail and strain you have to have to, play after play, consistently match up – I think our guys kind of recognized that and we're trying to reach that level as well. We're not going to dwell on the loss. It was over after yesterday, but I think it's a good barometer for our guys to understand here's where we're trying to take this thing and the things we have to clean up, the things we have to get better at to kind of set the table for us." – WKU Offensive Coordinator Drew Hollingshead on learning from last week's trip to No. 6/4 Ohio State.
- "Troy is a special place in my heart. It was my first Division I job in 2004. Larry Blakeney gave me an opportunity. I was a GA working with wide receivers – my only time ever being on offense. Loved Troy. Still got a lot of friends there and close with a lot of people there. I've had a chance to play them a number of times as a special teams coordinator and as a head coach. To be able to go back again – Larry Blakeney gave me my first opportunity and I'm very appreciative of him – and to be able to go back to Larry Blakeney Field and play a great team and a great opponent like Troy, I'm looking forward to it." – WKU Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers on playing at Troy.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Hilltoppers look to bounce back from a 63-10 loss at No. 6/4 Ohio State last weekend. WKU stayed close with the top-10 team for the first quarter and a half before the eventual defeat in the first road game of the season.
ABOUT TROY
- The Trojans look to rebound from back-to-back losses against then-No. 15 Kansas State and James Madison the last two weeks. Troy is coming off a 12-2 campaign in 2022 in the first season under Jon Sumrall, which included a 45-26 victory over Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Championship Game and an 18-12 win against then-No. 22 UTSA in the Cure Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday's game will mark the 14th meeting between Troy and WKU. The Trojans hold a 10-2-1 lead over the Hilltoppers in the series, including victories in the last two meetings. The most recent game between the two programs was a season ago in Bowling Green – a 34-27 Troy victory, in which the Trojans scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win, despite being outgained offensively in total yards by WKU 470-415. Last year's meeting was the first between the two programs since 2013, before the Hilltoppers left the Sun Belt for Conference USA. WKU's only two wins against Troy came in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012.
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