WKU Football: The Midseason State of Hilltopper Football
40 plus days. A lot can happen in what seems to be a short but lengthy amount of time. If we could go back to that fateful last Thursday…
40 plus days. A lot can happen in what seems to be a short but lengthy amount of time. If we could go back to that fateful last Thursday in August after the devastating loss to FCS juggernaut Central Arkansas, I would personally go back with a smile. Less than seven weeks later, it’s hard to fathom the fact that the Hilltoppers are sitting atop the East Division of the C-USA with a 4–2 (3–0 in conference play). Week by week, The Tops have been improving as the season progresses. After the October 12th victory over Army, the program is heading in the right direction as they have gone past the win total of last year after enduring a forgettable 3–9 season from 2018.
The foot injury to quarterback Steven Duncan set the tone for a“come to grips” moment for head coach Tyson Helton to put his trust into creating a solution for consistency among the quarterback position through the offense. The choice in the graduate transfer from Arkansas, Ty Storey has greatly paid off. With each passing week, he is growing more comfortable with the transition into a full-fledged starter. He’s almost completing 70 percent of his passes while maintaining his season stats at 522 yards, 5 all-purpose touchdowns (including 2 rushing TDs in the win against Army) in his first three starts, he’s earning the attention among the red towel faithful. Gaej Walker has become a gritty yet efficient halfback averaging 93.0 yards a game in all six games played including a firey debut versus Central Arkansas with his career-best of 152 yards & two touchdowns on just 19 attempts.
Also, if you’re going to give credit when it’s due, do not forget about our defense. Each victory was because of the mark they’ve created under Clayton White’s system allowing only 18.5 points per game. The Tops’ all-purpose defense is currently ranked 17th in the nation and is currently led by the dominance of junior defensive lineman DeAngelo Malone. As an edge rusher, he leads the defense with 46 tackles and seven sacks through five games including nabbing a hat trick of three sacks alone versus Old Dominion. He is emerging as the favorite to be the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. At this rate, he’s on the way of obtaining that crown. Kyle Bailey isn’t too far behind with his efforts as he received two interceptions on the year and Juwan Jones also comes out strong with 24 tackles of his own, including 5 of them being tackles for loss. Credit the defense with currently only allowing only 287.5 yards per game as they’re ranked number two in the conference, only to be behind last year’s defending conference champs UAB, who fell to the Tops on September 28th.
In short, here’s the bigger picture. The Tops are two wins away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2017. The Mike Sanford era is slowly becoming more of a thing of the past with each passing week, this ballclub is proving not only to the fans but the rest of college football that it is closer to the program that reeled off seven straight seasons of bowl eligibility & two conference titles this decade, not the one that bottomed out in 2018.
Looking forward, here are three things for the Tops to improve on down the stretch to take their game to the next level.
The offense needs more production across the board and needs to learn how to finish drives. The Tops need to get the passing game more involved. In the CUSA, they are ranked 7th in total pass offense with a 62 .9 percent in their completion rate. Jahcour Pearson leads all receivers with 33 catches over 316 yards but it’s Josh Simon who leads the pack with 4 TDs. Lucky Jackson has yet to score all season but individually, he contributes with 263 yards over 26 catches. I’d look to how Storey will target Quin Jernigan, Jacquez Sloan, and tight end Kyle Fortenberry more as the latter only one has a touchdown to his 2019 campaign. However, the rushing offense also has room to improve. The 12th ranked rushing offense among the CUSA could use some love by letting Garland LaFrance get more carries to lighten the load for Gaej Walker as the unit has notched 710 yards on the ground.
Special teams will be depended on increasingly: John Haggerty is enjoying his role as the punter as he has accounted 908 net yards with an average of 45.4 yards per punt. This earns WKU the ranking of being third among punting throughout the conference. Cory Munson is still a viable option for the kicking game as he is 7/11 on the year with his longest field goal being a 44 yarder during the victory over FIU. Not bad for the true freshman. I’ll see him improve more as the season continues, especially in situations where the offense won’t be able to get six points on the board deep in the opponent’s territory.
Don’t overlook any of the remaining conference opponents. Emergent or struggling: this may sound like a broken record but I’ll keep on playing it until the record spins. The second half of the season can make or break a team down the stretch. Looking ahead, here are the upcoming six opponents
Oct. 19th: vs Charlotte (Homecoming)
October 26th: at Marshall
November 2: vs Florida Atlantic
November 9th: at Arkansas
November 23rd: at Southern Miss
November 30th: vs. Middle Tennessee (Senior Day)
Coming into those six games, all opponents come in with a combined record of 15–19. It’s not all smooth sailing on homecoming weekend as the attention shifts to the 49ers. The leading rusher out of the CUSA Benny Lemay may give the rushing defense some fits as the scoring offense is among the top 2 behind Louisana Tech, averaging 33.7 ppg.
Then it’s off to Huntington for this year’s edition of the Moonshine Throwdown as the Thundering Herd boasts an offense that averages 430.2 yards per contest. Although the above said combined opponent record looks misleading, Southern Miss and FAU are undefeated in conference play at the moment. I won’t be a bit surprised that the trip to Hattiesburg in late November will hinder the implications of a future conference championship matchup between them and/or Lousiana Tech out of the West Division. The Golden Eagles are reaping the benefits of standout junior quarterback Jack Abraham who has amassed 1,936 yards through six games with no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Back on the road to Fayetteville, the Arkansas game will be a battle with the former stomping ground of Ty Storey. It’s a golden opportunity for the program to get a signature P5 win against a struggling SEC team. For Arkansas, it’ll serve as a season break for the Razorbacks as they endure a tough SEC conference schedule which includes back to back games with Auburn, Alabama, and Mississippi State and might be a must-win for head coach Chad Morris to keep his job.
The final game will be the latest installment of The 100 Miles of Hate as the Blue Raiders come to town. MTSU is ranked last in the conference for their rushing defense, allowing 237.0 yards per game. The pass offense should not be taken lightly as they are fifth in the conference, being led by quarterback Asher O’Hara who so far, has 10 passing TDs & 1491 yds.
I will say this. The opportunity is there for the taking if the Hilltoppers want to quell any talk of the program being “beyond rebuilding” as they’re on a serious quest for success in Tyson Helton’s first year as a head coach on The Hill. In the next six games, I can see the defensive climbing the rank nationally along with the offense with a couple of strong performances on their own. A Bowl game is now the minimum expectation while a return to the top of the conference is definitely on the table moving forward.