Predictions: How Does WKU Bounce Back vs Old OVC Rival Eastern?
Roundtable: We asked our staff to give us a prediction and tell us whether they think EKU is a relevant rivalry.
Welp. Time to flush whatever that mess was at Alabama. Even by blowout standards, the 63-0 opening week bloodbath at the hands of the Tide caused WKU itself to bleed out crimson.
In typical Walter Wells (former WKU OC/Offensive Line Coach on Elson and Taggart’s staffs) fashion, EKU has decided to stick it to WKU, refusing to allow WKU to wear white in their annual “White Out” game.
In case anyone was wondering if EKU Football wasn’t intentionally being annoying and difficult, in one of the more hilarious petty tiffs between sports Twitter accounts in recent memory, Eastern actually doubled down…
Despite Coach Wells’ childish antics (which frankly are hilarious), surely nothing happens but getting WKU (and its fans) a little riled up.
It’s still football, EKU will treat its cute little Super Bowl, and WKU is looking to steamroll and get ready for Boston College.
WKU and EKU are the REAL Battle of the Gluegrass. A matchup controlled by WKU lately, the series has been extremely competitive. WKU leads the series 48-34-3.
We asked our staff to answer two questions:
What does the EKU rivalry mean to you?
Who wins and by how much?
Predictions
Matt McCay (1-0)
The EKU rivalry is certainly something I appreciate. However, I don’t really remember the old days of the rivalry myself. I know Western’s history, and I know Western and Eastern were the premier teams in the OVC most of the year they were in the conference together. I know about WKU and EKU trading consecutive controversial home court wins for championships in the 1970s in basketball. A lot of older WKU fans will be fired up.
I believe WKU gets it together this week. The Tops should be the superior roster, although you should not completely sleep on EKU. FCS rosters can be very comparable to middling non-power teams. TJ Finley is a gifted athlete with a superior arm to nearly anyone in the Group of Five. Western should control the trenches. We’ll see, but I saw some good things despite the really bad score. I think that serves as a wake-up call, and WKU rolls 48-14.
Alex Sherfield (1-0)
The Battle of The Bluegrass is just what we all needed after a forgettable season debut against Alabama. Hopefully, Saturday should be a day where *some* questions about how the Tops will do in 2024 will be answered. Although the main topic is wondering how much we’ll see TJ Finley & Caden Veltkamp quarterbacking against the Colonels, I’m looking forward to see how our defense will bounce back following a 63-0 drubbing. In the few plays that went right for the Tops, Hosea Wheeler sacking Jalen Milroe & forcing a fumble was the biggest takeaway in terms of gaining confidence. I would expect to see that again along with multiple opportunities to blow off some steam. Also, I would love to see the Tops secondary play a better game & bait some interceptions.
Overall, it should be an old fashioned showdown that’ll start off with some rust but a way better performance to open up the home slate of games at The Houch.
Prediction: WKU 51, EKU 17
Devin Stewart (1-0): Tops beat EKU in a pretty easy one. WKU 35-EKU 14.
Jacob Gary (1-0)
I mean, you can’t expect to refuse the home team to wear the white out jerseys and not think you are going to get blown out, right? I don’t know who EKU thinks they are, but their football team is still an FCS squad. I’ve never seen an FCS team give such bulletin board material to the FBS school and get away with it. Couple that with Helton coming back to prove something after the disaster that the Alabama game was, and I think Tops come out ready to roll.
WKU 45-EKU 14
David McCay (1-0)
I love a good rivalry, especially an old one. These two teams have met 85 times and 86 looks to be an interesting one already. Most of these games are close and unpredictable. WKU holds the winning record and has won the last three meetings. I just hope Western players and coaches take this game and team seriously, because EKU is saying they are more than prepared for WKU. Last season’s second game for EKU was against UK. EKU held a lead late in the third quarter, before falling 28-17. May this game never be that close.
I hope WKU rights the sinking ship from the Alabama bombing. As a WKU fan, I want this to be a total white washing and set a new spank EKU record. My prediction is WKU 70 - EKU 7. By the way the record (for margin of victory) is when WKU beat EKU 50-0 in 1930.
Conclusion: We Like WKU to Bounce Back and Win by at Least Three Scores
Like we said in last week’s edition, there may not be a lot of debate until at least next week when WKU plays Boston College. Certainly the Toledo game will be a mixed bag. Against an FCS opponent that went 5-6 last season, ultimately it’s hard to justify someone picking EKU outright. EKU has a chance, but losing to EKU would be embarrassing.
The main thing to watch for with EKU (and Walt Wells’ personal philosophy) is the running game and the offensive line. Wells is a former offensive lineman from EKU, so expect physicality, nastiness, and chippiness. Also, can EKU muster a defense? Their defense was horrendous last season. Meanwhile WKU couldn’t stop the run last year to save their lives. Is this a “get right” game for the Tops? Or will they be exposed on either side of the ball and be in a battle with rival Eastern?
It’s still very early in the season, so tune in to The Towel Rack. Towel Rack is here to be your source for all things WKU. Tune in for more articles, live tweeting, reaction to big news, and the podcast. We truly appreciate our loyal audience! GO TOPS!
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