BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football will welcome rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 15, for Senior Day. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.
GAME INFO
- Middle Tennessee (1-8 overall, 0-5 Conference USA) at WKU (7-2 overall, 5-1 Conference USA)
- Saturday, Nov. 15 | 2:30 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium | Bowling Green, Ky.
- Watch: ESPN+ (PxP: Tyler Eaton | Analyst: Terry Obee)
- Listen: BG 100.7 FM/Varsity Network (PxP: Randy Lee | Analyst: Jared Holland | Reporter: Mike Cleff)
- Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
- Live Stats: wkusports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
- Game Notes: WKU | Middle Tennessee | CUSA
AT THE GAME
- Purchase tickets to Saturday's game against Middle Tennessee HERE.
- Ticket booths at Houchens-Smith Stadium will open starting at 12:30 p.m. CT. Gates will open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
- For the full WKU Football Gameday Guide, click HERE.
- Saturday is WKU's annual Senior Day game. Prior to the game, WKU will recognize 30 players for their time on The Hill.
- Saturday will be Military Appreciation Day. Active duty military members and veterans can receive $10 off tickets to this game. General fans can elect to donate their unused tickets to veterans or round up their ticket purchases for this game to support ticket donations. For more information on how to participate, contact the ticket office at 1-800-5-BIGRED.
- The Hilltoppers will be wearing special edition patriotic Tops script logos on their helmets on Saturday for Military Appreciation Day. Fans are encouraged to wear red to Saturday's game against the Blue Raiders.
- Topper Walk, a tradition where the team arrives at PS1 and walks down Avenue of Champions to Feix Field led by the band and spirit groups, will begin at 12:10 p.m. CT.
- The full 2025 WKU Football promotional schedule can be found HERE.
- Fans can purchase premium experience with the new Hilltopper Highlights. Experiences include videoboard messages, birthday shoutouts, sideline passes, riding on the golf cart during Big Red's entrance, in-game proposals and more. For more information, click HERE.
ABOUT THE TOPS
- LAST TIME OUT: WKU overcame a slow start to pick up a 35-16 Homecoming win over New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The Hilltoppers scored all 35 points over the final three quarters – led by a four-touchdown performance from redshirt freshman quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. – and held the Aggies to just 176 yards of offense in the game to improve to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA play.
- CUSA STANDINGS: The Hilltoppers remain in the mix for the Conference USA Championship Game with a 5-1 mark in league play. WKU is behind Kennesaw State and Jax State in the conference standings – both sit at 5-0, but face off this weekend. Missouri State also has one loss – the Bears are 4-1 in CUSA play – while the other teams in the league all have at least two losses in league play.
- BOWL ELIGIBILITY: WKU is one of just 11 teams in the country, and one of three G5 programs, that had played in a bowl game or College Football Playoff game in each of the last six seasons leading into the 2025 campaign. The Hilltoppers became bowl eligible for the seventh time in seven seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton with the overtime win at Louisiana Tech on Oct. 21. A bowl appearance this season would be WKU's 11th in the last 12 seasons. The Hilltoppers have won seven bowl games during that stretch. It marks the second straight season WKU has become bowl eligible in October, and the fifth time overall, also accomplishing the feat in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2024. This season marks the second-earliest WKU has become bowl eligible in a season, behind only the 2015 season, when WKU became bowl eligible on Oct. 15.
- CUSA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Two WKU Football players earned CUSA weekly recognitions following the team's 35-16 Homecoming win over New Mexico State its last time out. Quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. was named the CUSA Freshman of the Week and punter Cole Maynard was named the CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week. The two CUSA weekly awards brings WKU's total for the season to 15, which is more than twice as many as any other team in the league through Week 10. It was the fourth CUSA Freshman of the Week award for the Hilltoppers and second for Tisdale – running back Marvis Parrish also received the recognition twice before. It was the third CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week award the program had received and the second for Maynard. Koron Hayward received the other Special Teams Player of the Week nod. In addition to those recognitions, quarterback Maverick McIvor has claimed the CUSA Offensive Player of the Week award three times, running back La'Vell Wright has been named the league's Offensive Player of the Week once, left guard Laurence Seymore has been named CUSA Offensive Lineman of the Week twice and Marshall Jackson received the nod once, and defensive back Jaylen Lewis has been named the CUSA Defensive Player of the Week once.
- WHAT YOU DO IN NOVEMBER, THEY REMEMBER: WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton has seen tremendous success in the month of November. He has an 18-6 overall record in the month of November as WKU's head coach, including a 17-5 record against CUSA competition. Last season was the first season the Hilltoppers lost multiple games in November under Helton, but in their final November game, WKU beat Jax State 19-17 on a game-winning field goal to send the program to the CUSA Championship Game. WKU has won the first game it has played in November each of the last five seasons after the win over New Mexico State on Nov. 1. The Hilltoppers are 1-0 so far this November.
- SENIOR DAY: WKU will recognize 30 players and their families prior to the game for their time on The Hill.
- PUNTING PROWESS: WKU punter Cole Maynard ranks second nationally in punting average at 48.76 yards per attempt on 38 attempts. The WKU season record is 45.9 yards per punt (John Haggerty; 2019).
QUOTABLE
- "Excited to be at home and get to play a rivalry game. There's a lot to play for this time of year. If nothing more, it's a rivalry game that means a lot to a lot of people. We need to be playing our best football. This football team we're going to play in Middle Tennessee is a very tough football team, a very competitive football team. They are a football team that I know their coaching staff and they will be ready to play. They have been in it in pretty much every game, so we need to play our best level of football. Had a good idle bye week and got better at practice. We need to continue to get better." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on Saturday's game against Middle Tennessee.
- "You look at this defense, where obviously I spend most of my time looking at them, and this is an extremely talented group. They do a really good job stopping the run, which is the first thing you notice. In terms of the front and the front seven, they're as talented as anybody in our league. They pose a bunch of problems with their athleticism. They're an aggressive bunch. They're going to try to outnumber you quite a bit, so that causes problems. As far as defensively, you're looking at a pretty impressive group. They do a great job, like I said, of stopping the run, which is where you're always going to start, so that's naturally an impressive group. Obviously, they're led by a defensively-minded head coach who's had a ton of success at a lot of different spots. It definitely poses a lot of great opportunities to go compete against a great group, and I'm looking forward to that opportunity." – WKU Football Offensive Coordinator Rick Bowie, on Saturday's game against Middle Tennessee.
- "They're a gritty football team. They've been in what? I think it's five one-score games, or something like that, so you can't ever underestimate your opponent regardless of schedule or rivalry games or whatever. You've got to show up each and every day. You look across the country and teams that shouldn't be losing are losing and teams that shouldn't be winning are winning. You've got to show up to the ballpark each and every day regardless of records and things like that. Last time I checked they're going to keep scores for every single game, so you've got to show up and compete your butt off." – WKU Football Co-Defensive Coordinator Davis Merritt, on Saturday's game against Middle Tennessee.
SERIES INFORMATION
- Saturday will be the 75th all-time meeting in the rivalry between WKU and Middle Tennessee. The Hilltoppers hold a 38-35-1 lead in the series against the Blue Raiders. WKU has won the last six meetings and nine of the last 10, with Middle Tennessee's only win during that stretch coming during the 2018 season. The Hilltoppers won last year's meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 49-21. They 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.
SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
- Middle Tennessee enters Saturday's game with a 1-8 overall record and an 0-5 mark in CUSA play. The one win came on Sept. 13 at Nevada, 14-13. Five of Middle Tennessee's nine games so far this season have been decided by one score.
- The Blue Raiders are led by Derek Mason, who holds a 4-17 record over the last two seasons as Middle Tennessee's head coach.
- Middle Tennessee is 11th in CUSA in scoring at 20.1 points per game and also 11th in scoring defense, allowing 32.0 points per game.
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