BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football will make its first-ever trip to Boston College this week to face the Eagles in an 11 a.m. CT game on Saturday at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Hilltoppers enter the matchup on a three-game winning streak.
GAME INFO
- WKU (3-1 overall, 1-0 CUSA) at Boston College (3-1 overall, 1-0 ACC)
- Saturday, Sept. 28 | 11 a.m. CT | Alumni Stadium | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
- Watch: ACCN (PxP: Jorge Sedano | Analyst: Orlando Franklin | Morgan Uber)
- Listen: SAM 100.7 FM/Varsity Network (PXP: Randy Lee | Analyst: Terry Obee | Reporter: Jared Holland)/SiriusXM 371 and on the SiriusXM APP
- Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
- Live Stats: bc.statbroadcast.com
- Game Notes: WKU | Boston College | CUSA
ABOUT THE TOPS
- WKU stands at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in CUSA play this season. The Hilltoppers have three straight wins over Eastern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and Toledo after falling in the opener at then-No. 5 Alabama.
- The Hilltoppers overcame a 14-point first-half deficit and a lengthy weather delay in the second half to beat Toledo 26-21 on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Houchens-Smith Stadium. WKU scored the final 16 points after the game was delayed for 75 minutes midway through the third quarter before getting two big red zone stops from their defense with a pair of interceptions from Devonte' Mathews to close out the nonconference victory over the Rockets. Redshirt sophomore Caden Veltkamp made his first career start and finished with 242 yards and one touchdown on 20-of-30 passing. He also had 20 yards and two scores on 16 rushing attempts.
- After Week 4 games, WKU is behind only Liberty in the CUSA standings. The Flames are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in CUSA play, while WKU and Sam Houston are both 3-1 overall and 1-0 in CUSA play. Louisiana Tech is 1-2 overall, while FIU, Jax State, Middle Tennessee and New Mexico State are all 1-3, Kennesaw State is 0-3 and UTEP is 0-4.
- Devonte' Mathews was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week and Cole Maynard was named CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week after the win over Toledo. Mathews had two interceptions in the final two minutes when the Rockets were threatening. The first came with Toledo facing a fourth-and-15 from the WKU 20-yard line, when he picked off a pass in the end zone with 1:20 left. After a turnover gave Toledo the ball, he intercepted his second pass at the WKU 1-yard line with 18 seconds left to clinch the win. Mathews, WKU's leading tackler, finished with four tackles in the win, including 0.5 for loss. Maynard averaged 50.8 yards per punt on six attempts in the game – the fifth-highest average in a single game in program history for players who had at least four attempts – with four traveling 50-plus yards and two downed inside the 20-yard line. His long was 57 yards, which he did twice, but his most impactful punt came with under a minute to play in the third quarter when he pinned Toledo at its own 2-yard line. The WKU defense recorded a safety on the next play, kicking off a stretch of 16 unanswered points in the comeback victory.
- WKU ranks among the best in CUSA and in the nation in several team statistical categories. The Tops again lead CUSA in passing offense (294.5) and rank 20th nationally in the category, and are in the same positions in completion percentage (0.685) both in CUSA and in the country. WKU is also first in CUSA in sacks allowed (1.00/game). WKU is also first in CUSA in fumbles recovered (4) and red zone defense (0.533). The Hilltoppers are 10th and fourth nationally in the categories, respectively.
- WKU has had some success against power conference teams in the past, with wins at Arkansas in 2019, at Vanderbilt in 2015, against Kentucky in 2013 and at Kentucky in 2012 during the program's FBS Era (since 2009).
- The Hilltoppers will try to win four games in a row in the same season for the first time since 2021, when they reeled off seven consecutive wins to earn a berth in the CUSA Championship game. WKU won four straight games between 2022 and 2023, with wins at FAU and against South Alabama in the New Orleans Bowl to close out the 2022 season, and wins over USF and Houston Christian to start the 2023 campaign.
QUOTABLE
- "They (Boston College) have got a really good football team. Coach (Bill) O'Brien's done a great job with that team. They've got some big-time playmakers up there on both sides of the ball. Our guys will be really excited to go up there and play. We've got momentum and we're looking for a big win. Really glad about a noon kickoff. Get to get the game started and get rolling and get to be one of those early games. Everything lines up good and just excited for the opportunity. Again, want to thank our fans for last week's game against Toledo. They really showed up and showed out and we really, really appreciate that. That really helped us get that win." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on Saturday's game at Boston College.
- "Very, very good defensive football team. Very physical. Very sound. Well coached. Play within the scheme well. It didn't take long to pull up the tape and see that they're playing within their scheme very well and they're playing harder than the teams that they play. Really impressed with both levels of their defense. Really good football team." – WKU Football Offensive Coordinator Will Friend, on scouting Boston College.
- "We're really proud of our guys. They've done an excellent job. We talk about takeaways and they come in bunches. We come out of the break, the lightning delay, and I think we had four, and the eight minutes of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, I think those were huge. Like we talked about last week, the ability to turn those into offensive points and to be able to play complementary football and to be able to help our offense – special teams did that for us the other night. Offense does a good job and is able to move the ball down the field and we wind up punting, do a great job with our special teams play of being able to pin the ball at the 1-yard line, get a safety, and really the safety kind of leads into the next set of points as well and really gets us back into the game. I think between the takeaways and playing complementary football, I think all of those things have been really, really big, and fortunately our players have done a great job with it." – WKU Football Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers, on the defensive performance against Toledo.
SERIES INFORMATION
- WKU and Boston College will be meeting for the first time on Saturday. It is the second of two first-time opponents the Hilltoppers face this season. WKU faced Toledo for the first time in program history on Saturday, Sept. 21, and beat the Rockets 26-21.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- Boston College enters the week with a 3-1 overall record and are coming off a 23-19 win against Michigan State last week. The Eagles have also beaten Duquesne at home and Florida State on the road this season. Boston College's only loss was at then-No. 6 Missouri, 27-21.
- The Eagles are just outside the top 25, ranking 28th in the AP Top 25 with 55 points, and also picking up 15 points in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
- Bill O'Brien is in his first season as the head coach at Boston College. His 32-year coaching career has included stops across the NFL and college ranks, including positions as head coach at Penn State, head coach of the Houston Texans, offensive coordinator at Alabama, offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots and offensive coordinator at Ohio State since 2012.
- Boston College has averaged 32 points over four games this season and has allowed opponents just 14.75 points on average.
- Thomas Castellanos has thrown for 729 yards and 10 touchdowns on 45-of-70 passing with two interceptions. He also has rushed for 112 yards and a score. Boston College has three other players with over 100 yards rushing this season – Treshaun Ward, Turbo Richard and Kye Robichaux. Lewis Bond has led the team in receiving with 258 yards and two scores on 16 receptions. Carter Davis leads the Eagles defensively with 22 total tackles, while Donovan Ezeiruaku has a team-high five sacks.
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