WKU Football: Hilltoppers vs. Old Dominion — Initial Thoughts
Saturday saw a return to form for the WKU football team — a dominating offense, a do more than enough defense and, when it was all said and…
Saturday saw a return to form for the WKU football team — a dominating offense, a do more than enough defense and, when it was all said and done, a blowout victory.
We are sitting in a far different position than we did this time last week, and I, for one, am quite alright with that.
This week, the Tops have a short week ahead of them, as they’ll take on Old Dominion, a team that, much like WKU, began the year with high hopes but have quickly crashed to earth.
Here are my initial thoughts as we begin ODU week.
My biggest fear on the planet is that Mike Sanford and the coaching staff do not replicate last week’s game plan. What we saw on Saturday is what WKU fans have been asking for since the aftermath of week one. And, guess what, to the surprise of no one, IT WORKED! The points were a plenty, everyone (seemingly) on the offense got to make a play, and it not only led to a Topper victory, but a very happy fanbase.
WKU’s season has been up and down to this point, but it’s still fair to call this season a consistent one for the Tops. The exact opposite can be said for the Monarchs, who have lost four straight games (most recently a 35–3 shellacking at the hands of the Thundering Herd). In those four losses, ODU is allowing (yes, this number is 100% factual) 46.6 points per game. Thats…not great.
Speaking of not great, the Monarchs are averaging 155.7 passing yards (118th in the country) and 131.7 rushing yards (99th in the country) per game.
This might be the third or fourth time we’ve said this this year about a matchup, but this will be a good measuring point for WKU. I’m not saying the Tops are necessarily equal with ODU, but if the Tops can repeat their Charlotte performance (which, with the way ODU is playing, I don’t see a reason that shouldn’t happen) I’ll instantly feel so much better about what the rest of the Tops’ season could look like. (Mostly because that means Sanford has finally gone all-in on doing what the Tops have done so well for the last few years.)
It’ll be weird for the Tops to be playing on Friday, but I find myself getting excited because, as said above, if the Tops blow the Monarchs out of the water, we might just witness the turn of the season.
What say you? What are your initial thoughts as we begin ODU week? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.