Red Towel Roundtable: Storylines to Watch Post-WKU’s Bye Week
We are in the middle of the long hiatus some refer to as “bye week,” and it’s a time to step back and take stock of what has gone right…
We are in the middle of the long hiatus some refer to as “bye week,” and it’s a time to step back and take stock of what has gone right, and wrong, for WKU thus far in the year.
While the Tops have only played four games up to this point (it’s a very early bye, for better or worse), there’s still no shortage of storylines and talking points to go around both as we look back and look ahead.
Today, I’ve asked the writing staff to give their two cents on what they’re looking forward to come next week and beyond as the Tops continue to improve, and hopefully, find their stride sooner rather than later as their hopes for a C-USA East Division title isn’t completely down the drain.
Yet.
Fletcher Keel — Making Adjustments
The season started off rough with clear issues on the offensive line, and it was an issue that took an embarrassing loss at Illinois (how weird is that to say? Shows how far WKU football has come) for Sanford to address the issue and, while the fix wasn’t perfect (the last-second loss to Louisiana Tech), it was still addressed and the O-line play has been better.
The defense in each of the last two games has nearly allowed the game to slip through their fingers (I refuse to completely post blame on the D for the Louisiana Tech loss. The offense had the opportunity to ice the clock and didn’t). Whlie we’ll have to wait a week to see how the defense will respond, what is Sanford and the coaching staff working on to help implement that response?
Essentially, I want to know how the Tops will look the same and how they’ll look differently come kickoff in El Paso. Will there be new personnel on either side of the ball? Will schemes be altered? Or will things go as have been?
I’m still hesitant to call this team a bad team. A couple of breaks go their way and they’re 3–1 and still favorites in the East. Having said that, they lose a couple of breaks and they’re 1–3 and the fanbase is on the verge of a total collapse.
All that said, I’m interested in not just what the team will look like against UTEP, but how long it takes first-year coach Mike Sanford to make adjustments when they need to be made.
Ross Shircliffe — Mike Sanford’s Progress
I think the most interesting storyline as the season progresses is Mike Sanford’s continued growth as a head coach. Heading into the season, a lot of us knew there would be an adjustment period for Sanford. He’s only 35 years old, and much more experienced coaches struggle with being in charge for the first time. A lot of us didn’t realize just how much that inexperience would factor into the early games.
After three years of elite-level offenses, it has been jarring to see the Hilltoppers struggle to sustain drives, limit turnovers and put the game away. A lot of that can be attributed to the change in key personnel and the transition to a different system, but some of the challenges should be attributed to Sanford’s inexperience. He talked a great game in the preseason and we all thought he was an offensive guru coming from Boise and Notre Dame, but you can tell that some of the struggles come from him and his staff being thrust into elevated roles for the first time.
Sanford has complained about not knowing the full capabilities of his players and still being in a feeling-out period. Over the past two games, the offensive game plan has improved in the first half and the results have followed. The next thing I want to see over the course of the rest of the season is if he can learn to make adjustments in the second half and put teams away. He obviously failed with that against Louisiana Tech and almost repeated that against Ball State. If he and his team makes that happen then WKU could threaten to have another 8–9 win season and make the second year jump in 2018 that most first time head coaches make.
Jared Rosdeutscher — Does WKU have what it takes to win another C-USA title?
To me, the most interesting storyline up to this point is if WKU has what it takes to win another C-USA title this season. Many people have already started to abandon ship and give up only four games into the season but now that four weeks have passed, we have a better picture of what the C-USA competition is starting to look like.
In the west, UTSA is currently 3–0 and have been pretty solid, including owning a win against Baylor in their belt and Southern Miss is 2–1 with their only loss coming against UK in a veeery close game. Both of them play each other next week so that will give us more of an idea on who could win the West but Louisiana Tech is still a force as well.
The Bulldogs (barely) beat WKU a couple of weeks ago in Bowling Green and still have a shot to win out in their C-USA competition, despite losing against SEC teams Mississippi State and South Carolina. My early prediction for the West winner would be UTSA.
As far as the East goes, MTSU is 2–2 including a win at P5 Syracuse but a losses against Vandy and Minnesota while Marshall is 2–1 with their only loss being against an NC State team that beat #12 Florida State in Tallahassee this past weekend. Needless to say, they are still threats to WKU.
ODU has been a favorite from many to win the east this year and they currently sit at 2–2 as well, with their only losses being UNC and VA Tech.
With the records that all the top teams in the C-USA have, it’s still a tossup as to who could win the conference and WKU has just as good of a shot as every other team does right now. Hopefully with the last four games, it’s been enough for Sanford & Co. to see what went wrong with the close losses they had and get on track. The win against Ball State was a must-win for them and they were able to get it done despite still falling asleep towards the end of the second half but moving forward, there’s still hope. If they can have their main two running backs get healthy after the bye, WKU should be ready for action at UTEP in their next game.
Hunter Peay — Running Back
After four games of Hilltopper football, the most intriguing story line is the situation at running back. After several years of having solid, consistent running backs taking the rock from the back field, WKU has yet to establish a strong identity at running back. Through the opening quarter of games games (and injuries and suspensions,) all four running backs have had chances to play in games, with not much separating them. The running back position has definitely been played by committee thus far.
With lackluster rushing performances the first two games for WKU, D’Andre Ferby and Quinton Baker came out and pounded the rock well against Louisiana Tech. Yet, injuries currently have them sidelined; this gave Jakairi Moses and Marquez Trigg the opportunity to come out and show that they can run the ball as well. Trigg has racked up the most offensive yardage thus far, but Moses ran the ball in for the touchdown that took the lead back for the Tops late in the game against Ball State on Saturday. I still think Baker is the running back who has the most potential to really take things over on the ground, if he can get healthy.
It will be interesting to see the approach going forward for the Chrome Domes on how they will get their ground game going. One of the keys to the Hilltoppers’ offensive success the past few years has been the (somewhat unnoticed) ground game that racked up a ton of yards and took pressure off the passing game. Obviously, Coach Sanford is running a different system offensively but having a good ground game is still important.
The mission for the WKU running backs going forward is to establish a consistent ground game to chew up clock and rack up yardage. It will be interesting to see who Coach Sanford gives the majority of the hand-offs to going forward, and how well the ground game can be established. The next few games against (currently) win-less teams should help Coach Sanford to work out a ground game.
Clay Francis — Mike White’s Emergence
The main storyline that I am looking forward as the season progresses is the emergence of Mike White in the offense. So far this season, White only has two touchdowns through four games. With the pace he was on last year, White would have already had nine touchdowns by now.
Yes, the Tops have a new coach, which changes the dynamic of the offense, and Taywan Taylor is gone to the pros (along with the departure of other key offensive weapons), but White needs to start getting the red-zone touchdowns that he received last year. White has shown time and time again that he can throw for short yard gains this season, but he hasn’t been able to convert those into red zone scores. This bye-week gives White and his recievers the time they need to become the force that they were last year. Expect Mike White to come out of the bye-week looking sharp and on-point.
You’ve heard from us, now its your turn! What storyline are you most looking for as we head into the rest of the season? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.