WKU Football: Hilltoppers vs. Vanderbilt — Initial Thoughts
Saturday marks the final game of the current WKU series with the Vanderbilt Commodores in a series that has seen two awfully exciting…
Saturday marks the final game of the current WKU series with the Vanderbilt Commodores in a series that has seen two awfully exciting games.
In 2015, the Tops escaped Nashville with a two-point victory over the ‘Dores but Vandy got their revenge last year on WKU’s turf, in overtime no less, to take a Tops’ series win straight out of their hands.
Now, we are set up for a rubber match and it looks to be just as entertaining as the first two were.
Before I get to my initial thoughts this week, I’d like to take a moment to talk about my FAU recap, and what my intentions were. I had a lot of folks ask me, in essence, if I was okay with the Tops’ loss. And, the easy answer is no, despite how positive the recap was and how little I focused on what went wrong, I wasn’t okay with how the Tops lost on Saturday. Like the Ball State game before it (nevermind the Tops actually did pull that one out), and the Louisiana Tech game before it, FAU was a game the Tops should have won based on their play on the field. WKU had no business blowing a lead (in any of those three games), yet alone allowing 22 unanswered points to lose to the Owls.
Having said that, I stand behind my points I raised — there was a lot to like about the Tops performance (despite what folks on Facebook were saying) and, I’ll say it again, a lot of what happened in that game will be looked back upon as a good building block for the future of Mike Sanford’s tenure at WKU, especially if things get back on track next year and beyond.
So, long story short, no I’m not okay with how the Tops lost, but I honestly was expecting them to get their wheels blown off and they were in that football game for 48, hell, 50 minutes. Just gotta learn how to finish.
Okay, now to Vandy.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a team that started a well as the ‘Dores did. They blew away MTSU and Alabama A&M and beat Kansas State (or, as one of my buddies calls them, Purple Kansas, which yes) but have fallen on hard times since, dropping five consecutive contests — all in SEC play — and have the Tops and Kentucky back to back before closing out against Mizzou and Tennessee.
I remember being pretty damn afraid of this game in the first month of the season. Now, however, I feel pretty okay about it — Vandy is allowing 30.8 points per game while the Tops are scoring 27.0 points per game. The Commodores are scoring 26.3 points of their own but WKU is allowing more than a field goal less (22.8). This game should be closer than what was first imagined.
Both of these teams can throw the ball: Vandy is 71st in the nation with 220.5 yards a game while the Tops are 18th in the country, passing for a 309.4 clip.
Having said that, neither team can run the ball very well: We all know the Tops’ struggles (83.3 yards per game) while the ‘Dores are averaging *squints* 94.4 yards per game? (If you’re wondering, that stud Ralph Webb who kind of owns the Tops — 439 total yards this year.)
ESPN gives WKU only about a 20% chance to win on their predictor scale thing. I think that’s a bunch of crap, if you ask me. If the Tops can piece together (a big ask, I know) game, then it’ll go down to the wire, if not a WKU victory.
The Tops are a win away from bowl eligibility and, with a bunch of help, can still make the CUSA title game. Let’s do one thing at a time though — let’s take this series against the ‘Dores as we paint Nashville red. And, getting bowl eligibility Saturday would be pretty dope, too.
What say you? What are your initial thoughts as we begin Vandy week? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.