WKU Football: Hilltoppers see 13-game conference winning streak come to an end in 55–52 loss to…
This was a game that, by all accounts, was over after the first drive of the second half.
This was a game that, by all accounts, was over after the first drive of the second half.
Louisiana Tech scored on their first series after halftime, marching 84 yards down the field on 12 plays to take a 42–24 lead over the Hilltoppers, and would eventually take a 49–24 lead.
It should have been over.
But, for a few glimmering moments, it wasn’t.
Mike White hit Nicholas Norris for his second of three touchdowns with 6:14 left in the third quarter to spark the second half offense for the Tops and, following another touchdown from the Bulldogs, White found Taywan Taylor in the corner of the endzone with a defender draping all over him.
This made it 52–38, and things got super silly from there.
La Tech kicker Jonathan Barnes knocked a career-best 54-yard field goal that was aided by the goal posts themselves to make it a 55–38 game, but the Tops came within 10 points on Norris’ third touchdown catch — this one of 11 yards — and a #scoopandscore off a blocked punt against the Bullodgs to bring the Tops within 3 at 55–52.
The Tops were almost there. They got a defensive stop, and got the ball at the 21 yard line.
Then Mike White, with the pocket collapsing and the pressure getting to him, couldn’t hold onto the football and Tech recovered, sealing the victory.
It’s a hard loss to swallow, but it’s a bit easier when you think you’re about to get steamrolled. And, to be fair, the Tops defense was steamrolled. Quarterback Ryan Higgins went 33-for-45 with 454 yards and five touchdowns. Carlos Henderson caught eight balls for 232 (yes, you’re reading that correctly) yards and three touchdowns.
For a bit — as an at-one-point 21-point deficit might suggest — it was ugly.
White still had a solid day, completing 36 of 50 passes for 340 yards and five scores. Norris was the main man tonight, logging 10 catches for 108 yards and three touchdowns, while Nacarius Fant (six catches, 91 yards) and Taywan Taylor (nine catches, 71 yards, two touchdowns) also had solid nights.
Clearly, despite the furious comeback to make it a three-point game and over 427 yards of total offense, the story of the night will go down as the defense playing, for lack of a better word, like utter crap.
Brandon Leston got burned repeatedly, and the absence of Marcus Ward for the remainder of the year might prove to be a big larger than we originally thought. The Tops had no answer defensively until it was too late and the game was decided (we just didn’t know it was decided yet).
There’s a lot to unpack after a game like tonight. What are your takeaways? It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the Tops aren’t in as bad shape as we all think, I promise. Let us know in a comment below, or on twitter @TheTowelRackWKU.