BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football will host unbeaten Toledo on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium after posting back-to-back wins the last two weeks. Kickoff for the Parent & Family Weekend game against the Rockets is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME INFO
- Toledo (3-0 overall, 0-0 MAC) at WKU (2-1 overall, 1-0 CUSA)
- Saturday, Sept. 21 | 6 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium | Bowling Green, Ky.
- Watch: ESPN+ (PxP: Jeff Hem | Analyst: Terry Obee)
- Listen: SAM 100.7 FM/Varsity Network (PXP: Randy Lee | Analyst: Jared Holland | Reporter: Mike Cleff)/Sirius XM APP
- Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
- Live Stats: wkusports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
- Game Notes: WKU | Toledo | CUSA
AT THE GAME
- Purchase tickets to Saturday's game against Toledo HERE.
- Ticket booths at Houchens-Smith Stadium will open starting at 3 p.m. CT. Gates will open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
- For the full WKU Football Gameday Guide, click HERE.
- Topper Walk, a tradition where the football team arrives at PS1 and walks down Avenue of Champions to Feix Field led by the band and spirit groups, will begin at 3:40 p.m. CT.
- The Topper Tailgate Show – a live pregame radio show that fans can watch and listen to from the tailgate area – will begin two hours prior to kickoff at 4 p.m. CT on South Lawn.
- Saturday's game will be a part of WKU's Parent & Family Weekend. Celebrate family and football on The Hill, and be sure to stay in your seats during halftime as we announce the Family of the Year. For more information on Parent & Family Weekend, click HERE.
- Saturday will be WKU's Extra Yard For Teachers game. Join the Hilltoppers in celebrating those who teach and educate our community. For more information on how to participate, contact the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIGRED.
- The full 2024 WKU Football promotional schedule can be found HERE.
ABOUT THE TOPS
- The Hilltoppers enter the game with a 2-1 record after claiming back-to-back wins against EKU and at Middle Tennessee. WKU's only loss this season was against now-No. 4 Alabama in the season opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
- WKU dominated "100 Miles of Hate" rival Middle Tennessee 49-21 on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Hilltoppers put up over 600 yards of offense and 49 points – the most WKU has scored against the Blue Raiders in a game in Murfreesboro and third-most in a game against the rivals overall – in the win. WKU has now won six straight games against Middle Tennessee and have claimed victories in nine of the last 10 meetings to take a 38-35-1 lead in the series. The 49-21 win on Saturday marked the sixth time in the last 11 meetings WKU has scored 40-plus points against Middle Tennessee. In the 63 meetings prior to 2014, WKU had only scored 40-plus points in a game in the rivalry four times.
- WKU has now claimed victories in three straight Conference USA openers, with the last two conference-opening wins coming against Middle Tennessee. WKU has now won five of its last six league openers and are 7-4 in those games since joining CUSA. After Week 3 matchups, the Hilltoppers are behind only Liberty in the CUSA standings. The Flames are 3-0 overall and 2-0 in CUSA play this season with wins at New Mexico State and against UTEP. Like WKU, Sam Houston also sports a 2-1 overall record, but the Bearkats have yet to face a fellow CUSA team.
- WKU's 26.7 points per game ranks second in CUSA, and the Hilltoppers also rank second in total offense at 414.3 points per game. Head Coach Tyson Helton has again produced the top-ranking passing offense in CUSA with 311.7 yards per game. WKU ranks first in sacks against, and defensively the Hilltoppers have been strong the past two games, especially in the red zone – they currently rank second in CUSA in red zone defense. The Hilltoppers are fourth in the league in scoring defense, and produced six consecutive shutout quarters between the EKU and Middle Tennessee wins.
- Redshirt sophomore quarterback Caden Veltkamp will make his first start after putting together an incredible performance off the bench for the second time in his WKU career after replacing an injured TJ Finley on Saturday. He threw for 398 yards and five touchdowns on 27-of-30 passing in the win, and added a 1-yard rushing touchdown as well. Veltkamp's five touchdown passes were the most in a single game by a Hilltopper since he came off the bench in the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl and threw five touchdowns in WKU's 38-35 overtime victory over Old Dominion, in which he led a 28-0 comeback – the fourth-largest ever in a bowl game. Saturday marked the 24th time in program history a WKU player had thrown at least five touchdown passes in a game. Veltkamp's 256.4 rating was the third-best ever in single game by a WKU quarterback, and his 17 consecutive completions to end the game was the second-longest stretch in a game. His 90% completion percentage was the best mark in a game by a Hilltopper quarterback with at least 10 completions. Veltkamp was recognized for his performance with a helmet sticker on ESPN's "College Football Final," and he was also named to the Davey O'Brien Award's Great 8 list for Week 3, CUSA's Offensive Player of the Week and a Manning Award "Star of the Week."
- Kisean Johnson leads WKU in receiving with 263 yards and two touchdowns on 16 receptions. He's posted 129 and 119 yards over the last two games, marking the first time a WKU receiver has posted back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Malachi Corley and Jaylen Hall both did it in the 2022 regular-season finale at FAU and in the 2022 New Orleans Bowl.
- WKU has gone 17-24-3 against current teams in the Mid-American Conference, but have posted a 7-1 record against current MAC teams during WKU's FBS Era (since 2009), and are a perfect 7-0 against current MAC teams since joining Conference USA ahead of the 2014 season. The Hilltoppers haven't played a program from the MAC since 2019, when they took down Western Michigan 23-20 in the First Responder Bowl on a walk-off field goal from Cory Munson. The game was the only WKU has played against a MAC opponent under current head coach Tyson Helton.
QUOTABLE
- "Excited to be back home again. We get to play a really good Toledo team. They've done a fantastic job. Very talented football team. Excited about the opportunity to play at home. Really need our fans to show up and show out. It should be a great game, great atmosphere. I know our guys will be excited to get back home and play a really good Toledo team. Gained some momentum getting that first conference win against Middle Tennessee last week. Hopefully we can carry that into this home game." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on facing Toledo.
- "I watch him every day. We go through practice and those type of things. Like any other position, a guy comes up and maybe you weren't the starter and maybe something happens, you get called on. It's good to see a guy go in and answer the call when needed and I thought he did a good job." – WKU Football Offensive Coordinator Will Friend, on quarterback Caden Veltkamp.
- "I think we've got a great group of players and we played well together. Obviously we were able to showcase that for that period of time. I think the biggest thing that stands out over the game and the first half the other night is just not giving up very many explosive plays. If we can continue to do that, then we'll continue to play well. Obviously we need to do and I need to do a better job in the second half getting those guys to come out in the second half ready to play and really finish the game the way we wanted to. We had an opportunity for some takeaways in the second half and weren't able to do that. Again, trying to limit explosives in the second half and I think we would've felt a lot better coming out of the game had we done that." – WKU Football Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers, on back-to-back strong performances.
SERIES INFORMATION
- WKU and Toledo will be meeting for the first time on Saturday. It is the first of two first-time opponents the Hilltoppers will face this season. WKU will also face Boston College for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 28.
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
- Toledo enters Saturday's game with a 3-0 record after posting wins against Duquesne, UMass and at Mississippi State to open the season.
- Toledo picked up nine points in this week's AP Top 25 and one vote in the coaches poll.
- The Rockets were named the Cheez-It National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America following their 41-17 blowout win at Mississippi State last week – their first win over a power conference team in nine years.
- Like Veltkamp, Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason was recognized earlier this week as a Manning Award "Star of the Week," a Davey O'Brien Great 8 selection and the Offensive Player of the Week by his conference.
- Toledo has the top scoring offense in the MAC at 42.7 points per game, while also ranking second in the league in scoring defense at 16.7 points allowed per game.
- The Rockets finished as the runner-up in the MAC last season and played in the Arizona Bowl. Toledo won the MAC championship the year prior.
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