WKU Football: Preseason Bowl Projections
A look at where bowl projections have the Hilltoppers before the start of the season.
So what if a down of meaningful football hasn’t been played yet in 2022? That doesn’t stop the 24/7 sports media content machine from churning, baybeeee.
With Week 0 upon us, the bowl prognostications are beginning to trickle out, lets see where preseason projections have the Hilltoppers and, maybe most notably, where one major projection doesn’t.
CBS Sports: Myrtle Beach Bowl vs. Coastal Carolina (Dec. 19, 1:30 p.m.)
In what would be the final game of Grayson McCall’s career, in the Chanticleers’ back yard, this would have the opportunity to be one of the best all-G5 bowls of the season, if WKU is as good as we think they could be this year.
College Football News: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Appalachian State (Dec. 21, 8 p.m.)
College Football News loved watching the Tops stomp on the Sun Belt Eastern Division champions so much, they wanna see it again! Throughout all of WKU’s FBS success over the last decade, the New Orleans Bowl - which was once the C-USA/Sun Belt champ v. champ game - has eluded the Hilltoppers.
ESPN: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. App State (Dec. 21, 8 p.m.) or EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl vs. Utah State (Dec. 24, 7 p.m.)
As is tradition, ESPN has two bowl prognosticators - Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach.
Bonagura follows the CFN prediction, predicting a Boca Raton rematch on Bourbon Street while Schlabach has the Hilltoppers heading to paradise just in time for Christmas.
If that prediction comes to fruition, Western Kentucky would be the fourth team to play at Hawaii in the regular season and make a return trip for a bowl game (2007 Boise State, 2015 San Diego State, 2017 Fresno State). The Tops would also be the first non-Western Athletic Conference team to do a Hawaii Double in the same season.
Notable omission: Brett McMurphy, Action Network
Let me take you behind the curtain of our editorial process really quick: This omission is what led me to think to do a preseason bowl round-up story.
The fact that Brett McMurphy omitted the Hilltoppers from his preseason projections is beyond baffling in almost every conceivable way.
McMurphy has six C-USA teams bowling in his preseason list: MTSU, FAU, UTEP, UNT, UTSA and UAB.
There are two implications that WKU’s non-inclusions lead to: McMurphy thinks that the WKU admin wouldn’t be happy with where they would be invited and would opt to not go (think of when Louisiana Tech said “thanks, but no thanks” to the Independence Bowl in 2012) or, the most likely option, McMurphy thinks the Hilltoppers will fail to win six games and finish at least seventh in the new divisionless set up of the conference.
I’m willing to admit I could be wrong on this, because there is a nightmare scenario in which things don’t come together for the Tops and they only win five or so games. But I’m also willing to give Tyson Helton the benefit of the doubt - he’s earned it, no? - and stand by my belief that not only will WKU win six games, but they’ll be well in the title game hunt until the end of the season.