WKU Football: Grading the Tops vs. Hawaii
How did WKU grade out in Paradise?
Western Kentucky Football is 2-0 for the first time since 2015. Heading over 4,000 miles to paradise, the Hilltoppers met the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors for the first time ever on the gridiron. A mammoth expense operationally, at least WKU went all the way there and came back with a convincing “W”, trouncing the Warriors 49-17.
Far from perfect, Western still has plenty to improve, but the Tops made massive improvements from scraping by against a mediocre FCS team to handily taking down a solid FBS program, albeit a very down program at the moment.
Western forced six turnovers, had over 400 yards of offense, 141 rushing yards, and once again, the offensive line surrendered zero sacks. On the other hand, WKU struggled to convert on third down, made several costly mistakes of their own, and at times allowed a team that hasn’t shown much of an ability to move the ball to quickly march down the field.
So how did WKU grade out? Let’s start with the Keys to Victory
Grading the Keys to Victory
Deal With the Massive Distraction Disadvantage: C+
Honestly, other than the awful start of muffing a punt and having the coverage team recover at the 2-yard line, squandering opportunities in the first quarter, screwing up heading into the half, everything was fine. Whoa, that was a long list when I thought about it. Honestly, Western didn’t do much in the first half to show they were incredibly sharp mentally. The Tops made some nice plays, like the defense stepping up and forcing a field goal from two yards out, like the pick-six from Juwuan Jones, and that Joshua Simon touchdown was something to behold. However, WKU absolutely underachieved and you could certainly argue they showed some nerves in the first half.
Take Advantage of the Early Season Woes: A
Tyson Helton touched on it and so did Coach Chang from Hawaii: The team that made the most improvement from Week One would win the game. Hawaii is a program reeling from significant loss. They are filling more than 50 holes in their roster from last year, most of which took off after Head Coach Todd Graham resigned amid accusations that he had mistreated staff and players. Hawaii is still coming together, and Tyson Helton’s team, although still trying to find its own identity, certainly made the most connection from its average performance against Austin Peay to a much more solid performance against Hawaii. It wasn’t perfection, but the first half and especially the first 12 or so minutes were crazy, with both teams nearly scoring a few times. WKU would spread the margin, and in the second half, the Tops found some separation and kept it. That’s a good job dealing with some weird circumstances, dealing with injuries in the secondary, and whatever else and just focusing and getting it done.
Utterly Obliterate the Line of Scrimmage: A-
As I mentioned in our Hawaii Keys to Victory, Hawaii had a stone-cold zero tackles for loss against Vanderbilt, so keep that in mind as we look at how to grade this. First of all, for the second game in a row, WKU’s offensive line (a huge question mark coming into the season) is yet to give up a sack in two games. That’s exceptional. They were also able to impose their will near the end of the game when the Tops wanted to run the ball. That’s a massive improvement compared to 2021. They only allowed three tackles for loss in this one, totaling seven yards of loss. Austin Peay’s defense only mustered two TFL for three yards, another amazing statistic.
Defensively, WKU’s defensive front did not get home as much, only recording two sacks this game. However, they were all up in the quarterbacks’ faces, created six turnovers, and although they produced the aforementioned two sacks, how about six QB hits, including three by Mike Allen alone. The Tops did a nice job in the trenches for the most part. A few stray moments drag down the score a little bit. They didn’t quite obliterate Hawaii, but they decisively won.
Control the Receivers: A+
Five interceptions is one way to view this. That’s a huge disruption to the offensive flow. How about no receiver having more than 52 yards and the second producing receiver only have 32 yards? That’s excellent. In football, the two ways you lose are a few guys completely go off against you or the team is so good and so deep that they just keep coming for 60 minutes. Hawaii did have a ton of receivers catch a ball, but with 11 receivers catching the ball, you would think someone had a heck of a day or several had 40-60 yards. No one was exceptional, and that’s exactly what you shoot for as a defense.
Dominate Special Teams: F
WKU’s special teams last year were extraordinary. This year? There’s room for improvement. Let’s go position by position. Kickoff: Only 3-of-8 touchbacks (although resulting field position was not bad). Punting: 41.7 yards to 43.8 yards per punt for UH. Kicking Game: PATs made, chip shot field goal to end the half doinked off the goalpost. Kickoff return: Meh. Punt Return: Vomit emoji. Not only did WKU not dominate special teams, they could have cost WKU the game. Is that hyperbole? Maybe. I believe WKU would have won no matter what almost. However, what if Hawaii had scored on the muffed punt by Upton Stout? What if Narveson had made the field goal to go up 14 at half instead of allowing Hawaii to be firmly in the game down 11? Special teams were awful in the first half, allowing Hawaii to have tons of momentum. I mean, good lord. Muffed punt and and missed FG is for sure six points. It really should have been ten points if not for that wonderful defensive stand on the goal line. The Tops must get their act together against Indiana in this very important phase of the game.
Get the Running Game Going and Don’t Look Back: B+
Well, obviously we don’t know the part about not looking back, because that has to do with the rest of the season. But I’m telling you, the fact that the running game has it together enough now to be functional (even against two inferior opponents) is something WKU absolutely did not have last season until late. WKU’s 141 yards were only topped by the 2021 version of the Tops four times. Those were all the fifth game in the season or later, though. Before the 200+ yards against Appalachian State in the final game, WKU posted no more than 157 yards rushing in any other game. If WKU can run for 100 yards a game at minimum, it just opens up so many more options for WKU to win games without having to throw for 500 yards and six touchdowns.
Position Grades
Overall Offense: B+
Each position group showed up and did something of value for the Tops against Hawaii. I still think this offense could be better through the air and on the ground. They could absolutely be better on third down (1-for-7), could finish off more drives, and avoid a few more penalties.
Quarterback: A-
Austin Reed may be a different style from the gunslinging Bailey Zappe, but he is plenty good enough. He’s a career winner. He has never started and led a losing season in his life, and he’s not planning on stopping that trend. With what seems more and more like a winnable game at Indiana Saturday, a quarterback that just does the best thing for his team is exactly what you need. With Austin Reed, you get a significant loss in accuracy with the football, but he does pretty much know what to do with the football, and I believe this performance on the ground (and even his ability to slide around and make plays with his legs avoiding sacks) just shows he’s going to be one of the most mobile WKU quarterbacks in recent memory.
Running Back: B
Here’s the problem with the running backs: We still don’t know what the Tops really have. WKU barely mustered 100 against Austin Peay and followed up against Hawaii with 141. Well, 40+ of that against Hawaii was Austin Reed, and also Hawaii is notably atrocious against the run, giving up over 400 to Vanderbilt and getting slaughtered all over the field against Michigan. So do we have some fool’s gold here, or is WKU’s ground game decent enough to function this season? I still think these guys are good enough, and WKU was able to run the ball late and not risk wasting possessions having to pass to finish games.
Wide Receiver: C-
Let’s be honest here in saying that the overall passing game was good enough against Hawaii. However, when you break it down, 271 passing yards is nice, but over 100 yards came from tight ends, and 22 yards came from Jakairi Moses. All told, only 147 yards came from receivers. That’s not a lot of production from this position group. If you get 100 from the tight ends, shouldn’t the receiving corps help the quarterback get over 300 yards? Malachi Corley was nonexistent this game. Only one of the three passing touchdowns came from receivers. If Austin Reed could have a receiving corps guaranteed to grab 200+ per game, that’s a dynamite receiving corps. Again, the depth at receiver is still concerning going forward.
Tight End: A+
There we go. Praise the lord. Three tight ends made receptions, Josh Simon is freaking back with a freakish, determined touchdown catch complete with yards after the catch and broken tackles. He also singlehandedly laid down the law in the running game late, as well. All around, over 100 yards and production in the run game is a heck of a performance. Let’s see if they raise the bar going forward, but this is the standard for tight end play that you would like to see.
Offensive Line: A
We still don’t know if this line is top-shelf elite, facing a defensive line that didn’t record a TFL in its first game, but no sacks in two games is remarkable work with a pass-heavy offense. Something that also doesn’t prove anything but is eye-opening, Austin Peay was WKU’s first game opponent. The Governors have not allowed a point since playing WKU and have outscored opponents 104-0. Maybe the Tops are proving to be elite, but we still don’t know just yet. So let’s not go full A+, but they’re definitely doing their job.
Overall Defense: B+
This defense oozes with potential, but there were definite moments where Hawaii had some rhythm. We know WKU can come up with stops, and that raises the potential of this defense above the 2021 defense. Without turnovers, WKU’s defense may never have seen the sideline without giving up scores. This year is different.
Defensive Line: B+
Obviously a defensive touchdown from the defensive line is huge. How often does a team have a big fella rumble in for a score and not win? It’s inspiring and uniting. That’s a long time waiting for pay dirt. By the time the big dog crosses the goal line, it’s the end of the quarter and we get a nice long TV break. WKU’s defensive line didn’t produce sacks, very many TFL, or anything else. But they were definitely in the backfield. For example, Mike Allen was in the backfield all night, recording an incredibly different three QB hits while not recording a single tackle. Although WKU only got home twice total as a team in terms of sacking the quarterback, the Tops were always around causing problems in the backfield. Give Hawaii’s offensive line some credit: They’re one of the better units on the team and did enough to keep WKU’s defensive line from utterly obliterating them.
Linebacker: A-
Given that linebackers were so absent early in the year in 2021, I probably grade a little higher based on just pure joy that there’s something there. It’s immeasurably important to have productive linebackers. But it’s really nice to see linebackers both racking up tackles and affecting the game statistically. Jaques Evans is an awesome edge rusher that is kind of doing the DeAngelo Malone thing, both producing tackles and getting in the backfield. Will Ignont is showing up and producing consistently, as well. Several other linebackers are contributing per game, including Niko Cooper stripping the ball and Matthew Flint recovering. Sure, there were some issues here and there (like eliminating big plays), but WKU has a functional defense with good linebackers.
Defensive Back: A
Kahlef Hailassee is absolutely all over the field. In both games, he has been the most consistent guy taking care of business and showing up everywhere. But also, plenty of guys in the secondary are getting action (which happens in a nickel-based defense) and producing. Kaleb Oliver showed his Power Five talent producing two interceptions this game, one of which was just incredible that he was even in the area. It’s key in this type of defense to have good DBs that can both come up and run stop as well as produce turnovers while also minimizing damage down to down. Thus far, WKU can generally get some stops, stopping all but 29% of third down conversion attempts. When including fourth down, it’s a higher number, but overall, WKU can actually stop people this year. Last season, WKU gave up about 45%. Thus far, Western is a full ten percent lower, even when including the 4-of-7 for opponents on fourth downs at this point. Western has forced ten turnovers in two games thus far, a remarkable statistic. That’s massive credit to the DBs, especially considering how banged up they were this game with A.J. Brathwaite and two other depth guys out with minor injuries.
Special Teams: D-
Sorry, but this team will lose to Indiana if they keep screwing up Special Teams. Western is probably distinctly better offensively and can probably get stops, but if the special teams unit keeps handing points and field position away, you can forget upsetting Indiana. This area must be fixed yesterday. We all know Tyson Helton prides himself on Special Teams. It must be driving him crazy. They must get their stuff together or this could be a frustrating season where you’re in close games and the kicking game costs you the whole thing.
Coaching: A-
Head Coach: A
There wasn’t anything that stood out to me as just plain awful from Tyson Helton that I can recall. Feel free to comment if you thought you saw a few things that were off base, but there wasn’t a stupid fourth down decision, the Tops kicked it when it made sense and just missed, they came out and executed in the second half despite struggling to convert in the first, and the management toward the end was thoughtful and made sense. I’d say the lone dings were the slow start and Upton Stout’s issue with the punt. Hopefully, that issue is rectified and we move on.
Defensive Coaching: A-
For the most part, WKU’s new Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers is doing an absolutely amazing job. Without question, WKU’s defense is more fundamentally sound, and the play calling is both fun to watch and also makes sense strategically. That being said, the Tops did have some moments where the floodgates opened and Hawaii was able to move the ball. To be an elite defense, WKU is going to tighten up a little bit more. Without the six turnovers, how many yards would Hawaii have mustered? Then again, credit to the defense for scheming up ways to confused Hawaii enough six times to actually turn the ball over, but I do think a little bit has to fall on coaching to not find a way to slow things down in those moments.
Offensive Coaching: A-
Really trying to nitpick to really find anything, but looking back, WKU didn’t really try to rush Jakairi Moses at all. They did use him in the passing game, but he got his turn to start the game and wasn’t really asked to run the ball. Davion Ervin-Poindexter did run the ball and ran it successfully, and Kye Robichaux also did some good work later in the game. Why not rush the ball a few times with Moses and see if he could find some yards on the ground? I also love using Austin Reed a few times in the run game intentionally. I thought the ending to the game was phenomenal from a coaching perspective, and I really think the Tops allowed Hawaii zero opportunity to get back in the game once they took firm control. Last year, WKU couldn’t run the ball for first downs. This season, it’s different and it’s nice to see a little bit more emphasis on the run game late in the year.
Overall: B
Without question, this was a significant step forward from the Austin Peay game. WKU continued to force turnovers, but they also didn’t allow huge chunk plays defensively like they did against the Governors. Western was also able to run the ball if it wanted to, and as was mentioned several times, that’s nice to see a basic ability to gain yardage on the ground.
Now, the biggest concern by far right now is special teams. WKU did not improve on special teams, fumbling and allowing Hawaii an early lead. Props for holding them to three points, but these things cannot happen against better or more talented opponents. Hawaii is a mess from all of their transition and may be better later in the year. For now, they should lose any game they play for the most part, and they continued their losing ways at Michigan Saturday, 56-10.
Heading into a game at Indiana, you have to like the fact WKU did better forcing Hawaii to march down the field instead of allowing chunk plays. Hawaii’s longest pass was 31 yards and the longest rush was 17. That’s acceptable, and it just shows that WKU was much more disciplined than allowing ground and air attacks of way more than 20 yards against Austin Peay. WKU’s offense showed versatility, really winning with more traditional football, using tight ends and the running game.
Western still has some issues, folks. Wide receiver depth. Special Teams. Yardage allowed on defense to some degree. Dumb mistakes still abound, with 72 yards in penalties this game (sure, the refs were ridiculous early…so?). Third down conversions on offense are below 30%. Two turnovers given away per game is a little high.
This team oozes with potential, though. First of all, the schedule is theoretically wide open going forward. WKU is the lone undefeated team in C-USA, sadly. Indiana is favored by nearly a touchdown, but ESPN’s FPI likes the Tops at more than 54% chance to win.
Even Auburn, who the Tops play in the second to last game of the regular season, is barely scraping teams like San Jose State (24-16 Saturday).
If WKU gets past Indiana, the Tops will be flirting with a historically great start on The Hill. Western hasn’t started 3-0 since 2003, a team many believe was definitely better than the 2002 1-AA National Championship team.
In addition, the WKU offensive line is one of only nine units to not allow a single sack yet this season. WKU’s defense is first in turnovers per game (5). Western has three capable running backs. The tight ends finally showed up and Joshua Simon is unquestionably back and healthy. Austin Reed is a dual-threat quarterback that is probably going to throw close to 300 yards per game. We know Brayden Narveson and Cory Munson are very good if healthy and on track. Juwuan Jones has been the senior leader he’s needed to be so far. Playmakers like Upton Stout, Kaleb Oliver, Jaques Evans, and Khalef Hailassee have emerged early in the season. This coaching staff knows what it’s doing.
There’s a lot to like, but there’s still a great deal of room for improvement.