WKU Football: Gameday Information for Game 5 Against Old Dominion
WKU Football hits the road again this time to play the Old Dominion Monarchs with a golden opportunity to start off 3–0 in Conference USA.
WKU Football hits the road again this time to play the Old Dominion Monarchs with a golden opportunity to start off 3–0 in Conference USA.
If you need to know any of the game information, look no further — we have you covered.
Location
S.B. Ballard Stadium. Norfolk, Virginia
Time
5:00 p.m. CT
Weather Forecast
TV
Radio
Gameday Information
WKU Alumni Association Heartland Chapter Watch Party (Elizabethtown)
Betting Lines from Sportsline.com
WKU -3
Over/ Under: 43
Moneyline: WKU -168
Current Records
WKU: 2–2 (2–0 in Conference USA)
ODU: 1–3 (0–0 in Conference USA)
Last Week
WKU returned from the bye week to take on the defending Conference USA champion UAB Blazers. After falling behind 3–0, WKU would go on a 10–0 run on Josh Simon’s third touchdown catch of the season. WKU would intercept UAB quarterback Tyler Johnston four times on the afternoon and would break a 13 point tie on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Ty Storey to Jahcour Pearson with 11:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. WKU defense would then firm up turning over the Blazers on downs to effectively end the game with 2:11 left. WKU would take a knee and clinch a 20–13 win moving them to 2–2 on the season.
ODU hosted regional rival East Carolina. After a slow first ten minutes where each team traded field goals, East Carolina would return a blocked punt and then break open a 17–3 lead on a 72-yard touchdown from Holton Ahlers to Blake Proehl. Old Dominion would answer cutting the Pirate lead down to 4 in the third quarter. ECU would then extend their lead on another touchdown pass from Ahlers to Anthony Watley putting themselves up 11 points with 10:36 remaining. ODU would cut the lead back down to 3 with 2:13 left on a Kesean Strong touchdown run. The Monarchs onside kick would fail and the Pirates would run out the clock as ODU would lose 24–21 moving them to 1–3 on the season.
Coaches
Tyson Helton- 1st Season- 2–2 Overall
Bobby Wilder- 11th season- 77–48 Overall
Series
Last Meeting
last season, WKU returned home after a humbling road trip to host 1–6 Old Dominion. The game started off well, as the Tops jumped out to a 7–0 lead on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Davis Shanley to Mik’quan Deane.
After both teams traded scores in the second quarter, WKU entered the locker room leading 24–17. After a low scoring third quarter that extended the Hilltopper lead by one, the Monarchs tied the game at 27–27 with 5:40 remaining.
The Hilltoppers responded, taking a seven-point lead on a Gino Appleberry touchdown run with 1:37 remaining. Unfortunately, a familiar defensive meltdown allowed the Monarchs to 65 yards to tie the game with nine seconds remaining. Then the craziest series of events occurred with penalties, missed field goals, untimed downs and returned field goals ended with WKU losing 37–34 on a last-second field goal wondering what happened as they moved to 1–6 in what turned out to be Mike Sanford’s last season.
Relevant Reading
Injury Report by USA Today
For WKU:
CB — Roger Cray- Questionable- Leg Surgery
LB- Eli Brown- Out- Foot
RB- Jakairi Moses- Out- Knee
QB- Steven Duncan- Out- Foot
For ODU:
WR- Eric Kumah- Questionable- Hip
QB- Hayden Wolff- Questionable- Shoulder
RB- Lala Davis- Questionable- Ankle
OL- Nick Saldiveri- Out- Knee
Excitement Level — 7
While the Monarchs might not have a good record, tonight is the test that WKU needs to show they’re a serious challenger in the east division in Conference USA. A 3–0 start is very attainable and it’s up to the players and coaches to show this team can go on the road and build off of a huge win last week. Should they succeed, WKU football will have its most buzz since 2017. This all stacks up as a crucial game for not only WKU’s bowl possibilities but also keeps a conference title very much on the table.
Go Tops. We’ll be providing live coverage and reaction of tonight’s golden big road test. If you’re making the trip to Norfolk, please send us your tailgating and in-game pictures via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page and we’ll share.