BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – WKU Football fell to No. 4 Indiana 38-0 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
The Hilltoppers (0-3) stayed close with the defending national champion Hoosiers (3-0), but Indiana pulled away in the second half of WKU's third straight road game to start the season. The Hilltoppers will return to Houchens-Smith Stadium next week to face Mercyhurst in the home opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After holding Indiana scoreless for the first quarter, the Hoosiers scored the first touchdown of the game with a 26-yard pass at the 9:51 mark in the second quarter, capping off a 98-yard, 12-yard play drive.
- The Hoosiers scored their second touchdown with 37 seconds left in the half off a 1-yard rush to make the score 14-0. The score came after Indiana intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards to WKU's 3-yard line.
- Indiana made a 21-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half to make the score 17-0.
- The Hoosiers scored their third touchdown off of a 79-yard pass to make the score 24-0 at the 10:43 mark of the third quarter.
- Indiana scored on a 2-yard rush, making it 31-0 at the 1:38 mark in the third quarter.
- Indiana added a 25-yard touchdown run with 7:10 to play to make it 38-0.
NOTABLES
- WKU falls to 0-3 with the loss.
- The Hilltoppers fall to 0-6 all-time against Indiana.
- WKU's team captains for the game were tight end CC Ezirim, linebacker Jaylen Wester and tight end Aiden Miller.
- Announced attendance for the game was 54,695.
- Saturday marked WKU's second game this season against a team ranked in the top five of the AP Poll. It is WKU's second time playing multiple ranked FBS teams in the AP poll during the same season – the Hilltoppers faced three teams in the AP Top 25 during the 2008 season at the time of the meeting, including back-to-back games against ranked Virginia Tech and Ball State teams – and it is the first time WKU has played two top five teams in the AP Poll in the same season.
- Quarterback Brock Glenn threw for 120 yards on 17-32-1 passing, and rushed for an additional 30 yards on 11 attempts.
- Seven different Hilltoppers caught passes in the game, and five different WKU players recorded multiple receptions in the contest.
- True freshman Jonathan Stafford Jr. caught a career-high six passes in the game for 27 yards, and he added 14 yards on three rushing attempts.
- Ten different Hilltoppers recorded multiple tackles in the game. WKU had four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
- Safety Jaylen Lewis recorded a team-high 11 tackles in the game.
- Defensive tackles Mackavelli Malotumau recorded a team-high two tackles for loss, including a sack – WKU's first of the season.
- Linebacker Westen Ard had 1.5 tackles for loss, including one sack – the first of his career – to go along with a career-best nine tackles.
- Linebacker Jaylen Wester recorded a forced fumble. It was the seventh of his career, fifth as a Hilltopper and third of the season. All three have come in the last two weeks.
QUOTABLES
- "Congratulations to Indiana. Really good football team – one of the best in the country and they showed it today. We did a lot of good things today, particularly defensively. The guys battled hard defensively. I thought early on we had some things going offensively but then we kind of faded away. We've got to get better offensively and finish drives and do better in short-yardage situations and all those things. Very excited to get back home. We get to play our first home game (next week) and no matter who the opponent is, we've got to play our best game. We've got to put a complete game together and try to get that first home win." – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the loss to No. 4 Indiana.
- "There's a lot to clean up, a lot to grow and get better from. Obviously we come into every game expecting to win and we play to win. We didn't get the job done, but I think we have a lot to grow and learn from. It's only going to make us a better team." – WKU Football quarterback Brock Glenn, on the loss at No. 4 Indiana.
- "We did some good things, but it wasn't good enough. We lost. We've got to get back to the drawing board, look ourselves in the mirror and get back ready for next week." – WKU Football defensive tackle Mackavelli Malotumau, on the loss at No. 4 Indiana.
NEXT UP
- The Hilltoppers will host Mercyhurst on Saturday, Sept. 26, in the 2026 home opener. Kickoff at Houchens-Smith Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. The game will be WKU's annual White Out game, and it will also be WKU's Parent & Family Weekend. For more information on Parent & Family Weekend, click HERE. To purchase 2026 WKU Football season or single game tickets, click HERE.
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