BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football returns home and will face Nevada at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The Parent & Family Weekend game will be streamed on ESPN+.
GAME INFO
- Nevada (1-2 overall, 0-0 Mountain West) at WKU (2-1 overall, 1-0 Conference USA)
- Saturday, Sept. 20 | 6 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 | Nevada | CUSA | MWC
AT THE GAME
- Purchase tickets to Saturday's game against Nevada HERE.
- Purchase the WKU Football "Pick Any Two" customizable mini plan HERE.
- Ticket booths at Houchens-Smith Stadium will open starting at 3 p.m. CT. Note: This is one hour earlier than previous games. Gates will open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
- For the full WKU Football Gameday Guide, click HERE.
- Saturday's game against Nevada will be WKU's annual Parent & Family Weekend game. For more information on Parent & Family Weekend, click HERE.
- Saturday's game will also be the Teachers Appreciation and Extra Yard For Teachers game. Join the Hilltoppers as we celebrate those who teach and educate our community. For more information on how to participate, contact the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIGRED.
- Fans are encouraged to wear red to Saturday's game against Nevada.
- 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 3:40 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
- WKU Football is coming off a bye week following a 45-21 loss at Toledo on Saturday, Sept. 6. The loss was the first of the season for the Hilltoppers, who enter Saturday's game with a 2-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in CUSA play.
- The Hilltoppers are 2-0 at Houchens-Smith Stadium so far this season, with wins over Sam Houston and North Alabama. WKU has won eight of its last nine games played at home dating back to the 2023 season, with the only blemish during that stretch coming against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 16, 2024. WKU has claimed a pair of wins over Sam Houston at home during that stretch, as well as wins over Toledo, UTEP, Kennesaw State, Jax State and North Alabama. The Hilltoppers are 26-11 in home games since Tyson Helton was named Head Coach ahead of the 2019 season.
- WKU has seen tremendous success offensively throwing the ball under Tyson Helton. The Hilltoppers have led CUSA in passing offense each of the last four seasons and have finished in the top 25 nationally each year during that timeframe, including leading the nation in passing offense in 2021. Helton also found success through the air as WKU's Offensive Coordinator in 2014 and 2015, finishing first in CUSA in passing offense both years and second and fourth nationally, respectively. QB Maverick McIvor and Offensive Coordinator Rick Bowie have helped keep that trend going so far this season. Through three games this season, McIvor has thrown for 941 yards and 10 touchdowns on 80-120-1 passing and rushed for another score. Through Week 3, McIvor leads CUSA and is third in the nation in passing touchdowns (10), is first in CUSA and eighth nationally in passing yards (941), and leads CUSA and is third nationally in points responsible for (66) and in points responsible for per game (22.0). He is first in CUSA and 10th nationally in total offense (313.7). McIvor is first in CUSA and eighth nationally in passing yards per game (313.7). He is first in CUSA and fifth nationally in completions per game (26.67).
- Cole Maynard enters Week 4 leading the nation in punting average at 51.62 yards per punt. He's currently the only player in the country averaging over 50 yards per punt. Maynard, the son of former NFL punter Brad Maynard, has totaled 671 yards on 13 punts this season, with eight traveling 50-plus yards – and a long of 71 yards –and four landing inside the 20-yard line. Maynard was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List prior to the season.
- WKU has been well represented on Conference USA's weekly awards so far this season. Quarterback Maverick McIvor has claimed two of the four Offensive Player of the Week awards presented by the conference, and the Hilltoppers swept CUSA's weekly awards after the Week 0 win over Sam Houston. That week, Jaylen Lewis was Defensive Player of the Week, Cole Maynard was Special Teams Player of the Week, Marvis Parrish was Freshman of the Week and Laurence Seymore was Offensive Lineman of the Week.
QUOTABLE
- "Good to be back home. We get to have another good test this week against Nevada. It's great to be back and playing at home, and our guys are looking forward to it. Nevada is a quality football team, a gritty football team early in the season and they do some really good things. We've had two weeks to start to prepare and hopefully we can put it all together. But excited to get back home and try to go get a win." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the game against Nevada on Saturday.
- "It's been good. I think Coach Helton talks a lot about turning the page, and I think you miss the opportunity to get that extra week of preparation if you're constantly looking in the rearview mirror at the previous game. I think we did a decent job of using this as an opportunity of getting a little bit of a leg up on our next opponent and we're going to need it. This is a very good team who has been very good on defense – the numbers will show you that, and when you turn the tape on, it's fun to watch with the effort and the intensity that they play with defensively. We tried to use as much of that time as we could to turn the page and move forward and not necessarily looking back. You put it to bed, you address the issues and then you try to use it as an advantage in the bye." – WKU Football Offensive Coordinator Rick Bowie, on using the bye week to prepare for Nevada.
- "You better stop the run – based off our last game and everybody's going to keep saying it until we do it – we've got to stop the run, and these guys have wanted to run the ball. Another deadly quarterback. I feel like every quarterback in college football now can run the ball to some aspect and we've got another huge challenge. The game (against Middle Tennessee) kind of got away from them there at the end, but it's another dangerous rushing attack and we'll have our hands full, so we have to show up and do that on Saturday." – WKU Football Co-Defensive Coordinator Davis Merritt, on stopping the run.
SERIES INFORMATION
- Saturday's game will mark the first meeting between WKU and Nevada. It will be WKU's second game against a current member of the Mountain West Conference. The Hilltoppers beat Hawaii, 49-17, on Sept. 3, 2022, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK
- Nevada enters Saturday's game with a 1-2 overall record. The Wolf Pack has a win over Sacramento State and losses at No. 2 Penn State and to Middle Tennessee.
- The Wolf Pack are coached by Jeff Choate, who is in his second season as the team's head coach. Choate holds a 4-12 record in his current role.
- Nevada averages 14.7 points per game, which ranks 11th in the Mountain West, and gives up an average of 25.7 points per game, which ranks eighth in the Mountain West.
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