WKU Football: Gameday Information for Game 8 Against Florida International
WKU football hosts their annual homecoming game against the Conference USA East Division leader FIU. The reeling Hilltoppers will be…
WKU football hosts their annual homecoming game against the Conference USA East Division leader FIU. The reeling Hilltoppers will be looking to end a three-game losing streak against the Golden Panthers.
If you need to know any of the game information, look no further — we have you covered.
Location
Houchens Industries L.T. Smith Stadium
Time
6:30 p.m. CT
Weather Forecast
TV
beIN Sports*
*beIN is available if you have any of the following TV subscriptions. It was recently dropped by Direct TV & Comcast Xfinity. In Kentucky that means you need Spectrum or Dish. If you are looking to stream the game and don’t want to pay, I would recommend signing up for a free trial of Fubo TV or Sling TV.
Radio
Gameday Information
WKU Alumni Association Homecoming Tailgate & Celebrate
Betting Lines from Sportsline.com
FIU -3.5
Over/ Under: 54
Moneyline : FIU -175
Current Records
WKU: 1–6
FIU: 5–2
Last Week
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 Mike Sanford’s second season.
The CUSA east leading Golden Panthers hosted the one-win Rice Owls in Miami. Despite leading 16–10 at the half, the Golden Panthers broke away in the second half outscoring the Owls 20–7 on the strength of three touchdowns from quarterback James Morgan as FIU moved to 3–0 in Conference USA with a 36–17 victory.
Coaches
Mike Sanford — 2nd season, 7–13 overall
Butch Davis- 12th season, 92–50 overall, 2nd season at FIU 13–7 overall
Series
Last Meeting
Coming off an emotional triple-overtime win against Middle Tennessee, Mike Sanford’s Hilltoppers traveled to Miami for a Friday night season finale against FIU. Both teams traded scores in the first half as the Panthers took a 13–10 lead at the break. WKU took a 17–13 lead out of the locker room, but it was all downhill from there as WKU’s defense got gashed and they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with special teams errors (including that fake punt disaster by Jake Collins) as WKU would blow a chance at their 7th straight winning season by getting embarrassed 41–17 to finish the regular season 6–6.
Relevant Reading
Injury Report from Don Best
For WKU:
QB Drew Eckles — Probable: Upper Body
RB Jakairi Moses — Out: Knee
RB D’Andre Ferby — Probable: Shoulder Surgery
OL Cole Spencer —Out: Knee
WR Quin Jernighan- Probable: Lower Body
WR Xavier Lane- Out: Suspension
For FIU:
DL Fermin Silva — Out: Undisclosed
RB Anthony Jones — Out: Back
Excitement Level — 2
Despite it being Homecoming, this game seems to just be the latest step in the death march of a disastrous season. Familiar questions about growth and positive steps forward persist but until the Hilltoppers can finish off a string of impressive victories, fans won’t be excited and are probably just wanting to see what happens to their embattled coach at the end of the season. Having a chance to unseat the division leader might motivate the players but the fan excitement will be minimal as they celebrate homecoming off the field instead of in the stands.
Go Tops! We’ll be providing live coverage of this game. If you’re in Bowling Green for the game, please send us your tailgating and in-game pictures via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page and we’ll share.