WKU Football: 10 Essential WKU Football Games to get you through a Sportsless month
We’ve had a few days to process the craziness of the impact of the coronavirus and the life-altering changes to short term life the global…
We’ve had a few days to process the craziness of the impact of the coronavirus and the life-altering changes to short term life the global pandemic has caused in the US. The ramifications include the canceling of sports for the foreseeable future and social distancing measures that will leave us with ample hours of time to kill at home without the distraction of sports to fill the time that we’d normally be using for March Madness, MLB opening day, NBA & NHL Playoffs and other various sporting events. With that in mind, I recently saw an interesting article by Andy Staples of The Athletic titled 10 college football games worth watching while you wait. That inspired me to post a piece what I’ve long thought about writing but couldn’t find the right time to post. Yesterday we posted 10 essential WKU Basketball games, today we’re going to finish our series with Football. While Football has been played on the Hill since 1908, the sport has a back seat to basketball until recently. Yes, there were long periods of success and moments of glory including the bowl trips in 1952 & 1963 and Division 2 Championship postseason runs in 1973 & 1975 but WKU Football didn’t start having any of its games televised until the early 2000s. With that in mind, this list suffers from a big recency bias problem. I’m sure there were games from the ’50s to the ’90s that deserve to be on here but they are non-existent on YouTube. With that in mind, I decided to list 10 essential WKU Football games that you can watch for free on YouTube to get you through the foreseeable future. Here are some notes before we start the list:
I only included WKU victories. While there are several classic close calls available online (2012 Little Ceasars Pizza Bowl, 2016 Overtime loss to Vanderbilt, the entire 2018 season), I wanted to use this list to highlight huge wins in WKU history. The list below includes memorable regular-season victories & postseason wins that will help you relive big moments in WKU history.
I only included full games for your enjoyment. That leaves out several games that we only have highlights for including the 2012 Overtime victory over Kentucky, the 2011 win over Middle Tennessee and several wins from the past 20 years. This will help you re-live the entire experience of the games and remember crucial players from the last 18 years.
There are probably several important games that are lost to history or are only available on dusty videotape. That includes the ’70s Championship runs, and 80’s and 90’s 1-AA playoff appearances. I hope one day that WKU or some wise person decides to complete the collection of big WKU basketball games. With the program’s relatively recent surge in interest, it’s great to show fans new and old of some of the greatest moments in WKU history.
Shoutout to Youtuber Jeff Schreiner, who within the last month has improved WKU fan’s ability to relive old games and new 10 fold. He has uploaded 110 complete game videos from recent football and basketball games to classics that we’ve highlighted over the past two days. Keep up the good work Jeff and if you see this please shoot us a DM on twitter.
With that in mind here are 10 essential WKU Football games that you can watch in their entirety on YouTube:
10) 2019 First Responder Bowl vs. Western Michigan. 23–20 WKU Win. December 30th, 2019.
The most recent game in WKU Football history begins our list. Tyson Helton orchestrated a bounceback debut season in 2019 finishing the regular season with an 8–4 record and a bowl berth in the First Responder Bowl against fellow directional school Western Michigan. In an ugly, mistake-prone game, WKU squandered various opportunities to pull away from the Broncos despite outgaining them 481–307 on the day.
The Hilltoppers tied up the score at 17 on a 5-yard touchdown from Ty Storey to Lucky Jackson with 10:40 remaining. WMU pulled ahead on a 20-yard field goal with 4:58 remaining. WKU rallied and Cory Munson drilled a 21-yard field goal to knot it up at 20 with 1:36 remaining. WMU drove inside the Hilltopper 35 late but several miscues cost them a shot at winning the game. The Hilltoppers took over with just seconds remaining. After several fortuitous Bronco penalties gave WKU an untimed down, the freshman kicker Munson drilled a 52-yard field goal to clinch a thrilling 23–20 Hilltopper victory. The Bowl game helped WKU close out the decade with 6 bowl appearances in 10 years (8 eligible seasons) and the win has catapulted WKU Football to high expectations in 2020.
9) Jeff Brohm's Debut against Bowling Green. 59–31 Win. August 29th, 2014.
Jeff Brohm’s unexpected debut ended up being a sign of things to come as he put on an offensive fireworks show during the opening Thursday night in 2014. Most fans didn’t know what to expect when he took over as head coach after Bobby Petrino’s lone season in Bowling Green. He quickly proved that he was completely different from his mentor as he out-tempo’d the high flying Falcons. WKU piled up 569 Yards of offense as Brandon Doughty finished with 6 total touchdowns as WKU dominated the defending MAC Champions 59–31 to open the 2014 season. This was just the beginning of the most exciting era since the Hilltoppers went to FBS in 2007. Brohm lit up scoreboards and finish with several memorable games (see below) during his wildly successful tenure.
8) 2014 Bahamas Bowl vs Central Michigan. 49–48 Win. December 24th, 2014.
After the wildly successful debut, Brohm stumbled to a 3–5 start during his first season. WKU closed the year with a playoff mentality that resulted in four straight victories (more below), WKU was rewarded with a bid to the Bahamas Bowl on Christmas Eve. There they would get a rematch against a Central Michigan squad that beat them in the 2012 Little Ceasars Pizza Bowl. WKU put on yet another offensive clinic through the first 2 and a half quarters as they piled up yards and jumped to a 49–14 lead with 8:55 left in the 3rd quarter.
That margin held into the fourth quarter until future Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush connected with Titus Davis on a touchdown pass to cut the margin to 28 with 11:37 remaining. From there WKU went go three and out a few times and commit some turnovers as the Chippewas caught fire and Rush passed for three more touchdowns cutting the Hilltopper lead to 7 with 1:09 remaining. The Hilltoppers stalled out during their game-sealing drive and give CMU the ball at their own 20-yard line with 1 second remaining.
What happened next was perhaps the wildest finishes in College Football history as Central Michigan successfully pulled off a hail mary and several laterals to get into the endzone and cut the Hilltopper lead to 1 with no time left on the clock. CMU went for the win and miss the two-point conversion attempt as their fade sailed incomplete and WKU hung on for a 49–48 victory to seal their first FBS Bowl victory. The win felt like a loss but ended up propelling them to a huge encore in 2015.
7) 2016 Boca Raton Bowl vs Memphis. 51–31 Win. December 20th, 2016.
WKU went into the Boca Raton Bowl as the 2-time defending Conference USA Champion but without their head coach Jeff Brohm who had departed for Purdue before the Hilltoppers had the chance to garner their 11th win of the season. Interim coach Nick Holt went into the game as a lame duck as Todd Stewart had chosen Mike Sanford over Brohm’s defensive coordinator. With a skeleton staff and nothing to lose, the Hilltoppers put on a show as they pulled out all of the stops against the Tigers. WKU piled up 598 yards of total offense as Anthony Wales accounted for 329 yards and three touchdowns on his own in his last college game. There were several trick plays too including a throwback touchdown pass to offensive lineman Forrest Lamp and a fake kneel down that set up WKU for a field goal attempt. The easy feel-good victory was the official end of the Brohm era as the program went in a wildly unsuccessful new direction during the next two seasons.
6) 2015 Miami Beach Bowl vs South Florida. 45–35 Win. December 21st, 2015.
The 2015 season was the apex of the Brohm era. The Hilltoppers ran roughshod through CUSA and finished with an 11–2 record during the regular season. That performance earned them a bowl bid against an 8–4 South Florida squad coached by former Hilltopper player and coach Willie Taggart. The Hilltoppers started off uncharacteristically slow as they went scoreless through the first quarter and trailed USF 14–0 three minutes into the second quarter. WKU picked up the pace from there and trail by 14–10 at the half.
From there the Hilltoppers finally clicked, scoring four touchdowns in the 3rd quarter on several long passes from Brandon Doughty to Nicholas Norris and Jared Dangerfield to enter the fourth quarter with a 38–21 lead. USF made the game interesting scoring two touchdowns over the next four minutes cutting the lead to three with 11 minutes to play. Anthony Wales wouldn’t let them get any closer as he broke a 42-yard run to put the Hilltoppers up two scores sealing a 45–35 victory. The win was WKU’s 12th of the season as the Hilltoppers finished with their only FBS ranking in school history (#24) to complete arguably the best season in program history.
5) 2016 Conference USA Championship vs. Louisiana Tech. 58–44 Win. December 3rd, 2016.
The 2016 regular season was a fun follow up to the wildly successful 2015 season. While WKU replaced several key cogs from the 2015 squad (Brandon Doughty, Tyler Higbee, Jared Dangerfield), several players stepped right into the Brohm offense and kept the machine rolling. After a 3–3 start that included close losses to Vanderbilt and Louisiana Tech, the Hilltoppers reeled off six straight victories to clinch a Conference USA East Division title. They’d get a rematch against the same Tech team that defeated them by a score of 55–52 in Ruston but this matchup would be at home.
The game was a true shootout throughout as both teams combined for 1163 total yards. Each team traded scores throughout the first half. Luckily for the Hilltoppers, they score more touchdowns than field goals as they took a 38–27 lead into halftime. Tech came out of the locker room on fire, scoring two Kameron McKnight touchdowns to claim a 41–38 lead with 10:17 remaining in the third quarter. From there it was all WKU as they outscored the Bulldogs 20–3 the rest of the way as Anthony Wales capped off a 209-yard rushing day with two touchdowns (of his 5 total) in the final 19 minutes to secure a 58–44 victory and the second straight Conference USA title in a row. Jeff Brohm’s last game as WKU head coach was his 30th victory in just 40 games.
4) Bobby Petrino’s Debut vs. Kentucky. 35–26 Win. August 31st, 2013.
Personally, out of the two back to back wins over Kentucky, I prefer the 2012 overtime victory (complete game not on Youtube), but this one was still very sweet. In perhaps the most anticipated opener in WKU Football history, the Hilltoppers traveled to Nashville to host in-state big brother Kentucky to open the 2013 season. Fans didn’t know what to expect going from the Taggart ball control era to the highly acclaimed Petrino offensive system. 47,623 fans (the biggest crowd for a WKU win in school history) showed up at LP Field to witness the Hilltoppers start the Petrino era. Hilltopper fans were not disappointed.
Petrino scripted up a beautiful 9 play 75-yard drive capped off by a 3-yard Keshawn Simpson touchdown. The Hilltoppers traded scores with Kentucky but eventually extended the lead to 21–10 on another 2-yard touchdown by Simpson with 7:46 left in the 2nd quarter before taking a 21–17 lead into the locker room.
WKU put away the game in the late 3rd and early fourth quarters on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Doughty to Mitchell Henry and a 14-yard touchdown run by Leon Allen to extend the lead to 35–17 with 13:32 remaining. WKU would let Kentucky creep back into the game and make it closer than the game actually was in a 35–26 opening statement win. WKU outgained the Wildcats 487–419 and controlled the time of possession 35–25 minutes to reel off their second straight victory over the in-state Wildcats (the last two times the teams played).
Petrino finished his lone season at 8–4 and Kentucky’s refusal to schedule the Hilltoppers leaves WKU winning streak over the Wildcats at two games for the foreseeable future.
3) 2002 Division 1-AA National Championship vs. McNeese State. 34–14 Win. December 20th, 2002.
The by far oldest game on this list is one that Hilltopper fans should never forget. In 2002, WKU was an upper-tier Division 1-AA squad that had made the playoffs four of the previous six seasons under legendary head coach Jack Harbaugh. Led by Division 1A transfers Jason Michael (Army) & Jeremi Johnson (Indiana) as well as Central City tailback Jon Frazier, WKU’s triple-option attack and a veteran defense (NFL draft picks Mel Mitchell & Joseph Jefferson) and led them to an 8–3 regular season and a #15 overall seed in the Division 1-AA playoffs. From there they’d defeat three conference champions including 1-AA power Georgia Southern to earn a trip to Chattanooga to face #1 overall seed McNeese State in the Division 1-AA National Championship. The Cowboys had defeated the Hilltoppers 38–13 earlier in the season.
The Hilltoppers quickly proved that history wouldn’t repeat itself as they jumped out to a 17–3 lead over the favored Cowboys. The Hilltoppers triple-option attack posted a surprisingly balanced stat line of 380 yards on the day (195/185 rushing to passing yardage) and the Hilltopper defense intercepted McNeese State three times as they cruised to a comfortable 34–14 victory to give them the only national championship in school history. This was the win that probably showed the WKU administration the power of football and probably propelled them to the FBS school they are today. Shout out to Jeff Schreiner again for posting this online a month ago. This was another video that until recently was tragically not available to view. Great job Jeff.
2) 2015 Conference USA Championship vs. Southern Miss. 45–28 Win. December 5th, 2015.
The shining moment during arguably the most dominant season in school history, the 2015 CUSA title game is the shining example of Brohm ball at its best. After steamrolling through Conference USA play by an average margin of victory of 27.13 points, WKU hosted the 9–3 Golden Eagles of Southern Miss looking to cap off an 11–2 regular season.
Despite the Hilltoppers scoring first, Southern Miss quickly responded jumping out to a 21–7 lead 20 minutes into the game as the Golden Eagles future NFL stable of Nick Mullens, Jalen Richard, Ito Smith and Michael Thomas (not that Michael Thomas) made their presence felt early. WKU responded before the half as Brandon Doughty ran for a touchdown and passed for another to tie the score up at 21 at the half.
After an opening 37-yard touchdown from Smith gave USM a 28–21 lead with 12:04 remaining in the 3rd, WKU responded with four straight scores including back to back D’Andre Ferby touchdown runs to outscore USM 24–0 the rest of the way and emerge victorious with a 45–28 final margin. The Hilltoppers offense not only outgained USM 521–340 but the Hilltopper defense also forced 4 turnovers to lead to the route. The victory showed that WKU’s move to FBS 8 years earlier was not only worth it and proved that Football will be a key part of WKU fanhood for years to come.
1)2014 Moonshine Throwdown at Marshall. 67–66 Overtime Victory. November 11th, 2014.
This game wasn’t a championship or a statement against an in-state power school but this is the best game on the list by a mile. By the time Black Friday of 2014 rolled around, WKU had rallied from the 3–5 start to position themselves for a bowl bid in their first season in Conference USA. Standing in their way was #19 Marshall sitting at 11–0 and very much in play for a New Years Six Bowl bid. What happened next was an instant classic that started a new rivalry that is still the most talked-about game in WKU history to this day.
In a game that ended with a combined 133 points and 1446 total yards, the scoring came early and often. WKU quickly jumped out to a 14–0 lead in the first five minutes but Marshall responded immediately trading scores throughout the first quarter to trail 28–21 after one period. The high scoring wouldn’t stop as Leon Allen and Joel German added two more scores to give the Hilltoppers a 42-21 lead just 5 minutes into the second quarter. That lead wouldn’t last as Marshall scored four of the games next five touchdowns to tie it up at 49 heading into the fourth quarter.
WKU scored twice early in the fourth on a Garrett Schwettmann field goal and a Brandon Doughty Touchdown pass to Jared Dangerfield to give them a 59–49 lead with 9:11 remaining. That lead wouldn’t last as Marshall kicked a field goal and engineered a game-tying drive with 39 seconds left to send it to overtime tied at 59.
Marshall scored first in the extra frame on Rakeem Cato’s 7th touchdown pass on the day but the Hilltoppers answered on Brandon Doughty’s 8th touchdown pass of the day on a 25-yard bomb to Jared Dangerfield to pull the Hilltoppers within 1. Instead of kicking the extra point and going to double overtime, head coach Jeff Brohm elected to go for the win on a two-point conversion.
Brandon Doughty found Willie McNeal on an out route for the two-point conversion to give the Hilltoppers a 67–66 win that sparked a rivalry and an all-time meme as Doughty taunted the Herd after his game-clinching throw. The win is still the only victory over a ranked FBS team in school history and is still considered a classic to this day.
Hopefully, these two pieces get you through this long period of sportless uncertainty. If you find any games that I may have missed please feel free to share with us on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section below. Go Tops!