BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football swept the Conference USA weekly awards after claiming a 41-24 Week 0 victory over Sam Houston on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium, the league announced Monday.
Quarterback Maverick McIvor was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week, safety Jaylen Lewis was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week, punter Cole Maynard was named CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week, offensive lineman Laurence Seymore was named CUSA Offensive Lineman of the Week and running back Marvis Parrish was named CUSA Freshman of the Week.
McIvor led the WKU offense in the season-opening win, accounting for four touchdowns in his Hilltopper debut. He threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns on 33-51-0 passing, and added a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help close out the Week 0 CUSA win. McIvor's touchdown passes were 26 yards to Matthew Henry, 9 yards to K.D. Hutchinson and 22 yards to Parrish. McIvor completed eight passes of 15-or-more yards, and had six completions of 20-or-more yards in the win.
Lewis helped lead a solid defensive effort for WKU in the win. The transfer safety posted four tackles in the game, as well as an interception in the fourth quarter that helped the Hilltoppers close out the Week 0 conference win.
Maynard made a statement with a long 71-yard punt – the first 70-plus yarder a Hilltopper punter has recorded since the 2012 season, and the kick was downed at the Sam Houston 4-yard line. Maynard, who was included on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List prior to the season opener, finished the night with five punts totaling 250 yards – an average of 50 yards per punt – with two traveling 50-plus yards.
Seymore helped the Hilltopper offense rack up 506 yards of offense in the victory. The starting left guard helped the Hilltoppers to 401 yards through the air with his 88.7 pass blocking grade, and was the highest graded Hilltopper offensive lineman over his 87 snaps in the win, according to PFF.
Parrish had a strong showing in his college debut. The true freshman running back accounted for 110 all purpose yards, finishing second on the team. After earning the start in his first game, Parrish led the team in rushing with 52 yards on 12 attempts, and also caught six passes for 58 yards and one touchdown. His touchdown was a 22-yard reception on a pass from McIvor that put the Hilltoppers ahead 34-24 with 4:47 to play in the third quarter.
WKU will stay at home and face North Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 30. Kickoff at Houchens-Smith Stadium is set for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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