BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football beat Kennesaw State 31-14 on Wednesday at Houchens-Smith Stadium to improve to 6-2 overall, 4-0 in Conference USA play and 4-0 at home.
With the win, the Hilltoppers became bowl eligible for the sixth time in six seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- WKU scored on the opening drive of the game to take an early lead. Trevor Borland caught a 5-yard pass from Caden Veltkamp to cap off an eight-play, 79-yard drive.
- Kennesaw State tied the game with a 37-yard run with 5:28 to play in the first quarter.
- Veltkamp connected with Easton Messer for a 64-yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead with 3:16 to play in the first quarter.
- On the final play of the opening frame, George Hart III recorded the first touchdown of his career with a 30-yard scoring rush.
- Lucas Carnerio made it a 24-7 game at halftime with a 32-yard field goal with 3:46 to play in the second quarter.
- After a scoreless third quarter, WKU extended its lead to 31-7 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Veltkamp to Noah Meyers with 12:26 to play.
- The Owls found the end zone with 5:19 remaining on a 20-yard run to make it 31-14.
NOTABLES
- Captains for the game were quarterback Caden Veltkamp, defensive end Deante McCray and long snapper Rex Robich.
- Announced attendance was 14,547.
- WKU has become bowl eligible for the sixth time in six seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton with the win. It is the first time WKU has become bowl eligible before November under Helton and the first time the program has become bowl eligible before November since 2016. It is the fourth time WKU has become bowl eligible in October (2012, 2015, 2016, 2024). WKU is one of only 16 programs that had played in a bowl game each of the five seasons from 2019-23, and one of only seven programs to win a bowl game each year from 2021-23.
- WKU is 4-0 at home for the first time since the 2015 season, when the Hilltoppers finished 6-0 in games at Houchens-Smith Stadium, including a win in the CUSA Championship game.
- WKU is now 11-4 in non-Saturday games under Helton, with wins in four straight games played on days other than Saturday.
- WKU now holds a 1-0 record all-time against Kennesaw State.
- The WKU defense held Kennesaw State to 272 total yards and just 96 yards passing. It's the second time WKU has held an opponent under 100 yards passing in a game this season. WKU held Eastern Kentucky to just 76 yards passing in a 31-0 win on Sept. 7.
- WKU had 232 yards in the first quarter, with 150 passing and 82 rushing. The 21 points in the first quarter are the most the Hilltoppers have scored in a first quarter this season.
- WKU finished with 462 yards of offense, with 276 passing and 186 rushing. It is the fourth consecutive game the Hilltoppers have rushed for over 100 yards.
- Quarterback Caden Veltkamp finished with 276 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-22 passing in the win. It was his fourth game this season throwing for at least three touchdowns.
- Elijah Young rushed for 114 yards on 15 attempts. It was the first time this season a Hilltopper has rushed for at least 100 yards in a single game. He has nine rushes where he gained a first down, which is four more than his previous season high.
- Nine different WKU players recorded a reception in the win, with four players catching multiple passes. Three different WKU players caught touchdown passes, including two tight ends.
- George Hart III recorded his first career touchdown with his 30-yard rush in the first quarter. Cameron Flowers recorded the first catch of his career in the fourth quarter. The 17-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter marked the first catch and first touchdown of Noah Meyers' career.
- Twelve different Hilltoppers recorded multiple tackles in the win, led by nine from Chandler Matthews.
- WKU recorded three sacks in the game, with two coming from Darius Thomas and one from Hosea Wheeler.
- The Hilltoppers had six tackles for loss. Thomas recorded three of those tackles for loss.
- With his 32-yard make, Lucas Carneiro is now 9-of-10 on field goals this season, with nine consecutive makes.
- WKU did not have a penalty in the win. The last time before Wednesday WKU did not have a penalty was Oct. 10, 2020, against Marshall – a span of 57 games.
QUOTABLES
- "Good win tonight. Really proud of our football team. We talked about this time of year having a championship mentality. We have tremendous respect for Kennesaw State, who's coming in here and we knew they would be a tough conference opponent and they had a big win against Liberty the week before. We just had to make sure we did everything right. We felt like our team really played hard. We felt like we made plays when we needed to make plays. There's a lot we can still get better at, but good team win tonight. We'll get recovered and get ready to go on the road and play New Mexico State." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the 31-14 win over Kennesaw State.
- "It was just the game plan. We just went in this week saying we're just going to make our mark and we're going to run the ball. They've been holding teams down with minus rushing yards, so we made that a priority." – WKU Football running back Elijah Young, on the effective running game in the win over Kennesaw State.
- "They did a nice job. I always tell them that I love tight ends, 'I love throwing the ball to y'all.' They're big bodies, easy to throw to and they all have good hands. Everybody in that room can catch the ball. Those two other guys stepped up tonight and both of them made some really good plays." – WKU Football quarterback Caden Veltkamp, on the play of WKU tight ends Trevor Borland and Noah Meyers in the win over Kennesaw State.
- "Forcing turnovers – that's what we look forward to every game. We want to lead the country in turnovers, so that's our motto." – WKU Football defensive back Devonte' Mathews, on creating turnovers.
- "Well, we play good on game days because we practice hard during the week. We practice very hard during the week and we're very critical of everything we do, so then when we show up and it's game time, we're ready to go." – WKU Football linebacker Chandler Matthews, on what has led to WKU's defensive success.
NEXT UP
- WKU will be back to the traditional Saturday schedule starting with its next game. The Hilltoppers will head to Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to face New Mexico State in a 5 p.m. CT game on Saturday, Nov. 9. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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