WKU Football: Toppers *Insert Losing-Cliche Here* In 31–17 Loss Against Vandy
What are some of your favorite cliches that are thrown around when a team of yours loses? “Falls flat”? Yeah, the Tops did that this…
What are some of your favorite cliches that are thrown around when a team of yours loses? “Falls flat”? Yeah, the Tops did that this afternoon.
“Unable to finish”? The Tops did that as well, especially to open the second half where the had one drive in which they marched right down the field and had to settle for a field goal and another drive shortly after in which they took over following a muffed punt at midfield and failed to convert on fourth down and came away with no points.
I’m sure there are a plethora of other cliches — and feel free to send us yours — but no matter how you slice it, that’s what happened to WKU in Saturday’s 31–17 loss to Vanderbilt.
The pace was really set on the first drive of the game, when the Vandy offense sliced through the Tops’ defense for a game-opening touchdown, going 75 yards in 11 plays.
The Tops answered back on their second drive of the game when Sanford pulled out the magic top hat and Nacarius Fant tossed a beautiful ball for a touchdown.
After a Ralph Webb touchdown run, the Tops tied the game again at 14–14 on a Mike White touchdown run. The score should have stayed 14–14 heading into halftime, but a flukey tipped-ball landed into the hands of a Commodore receiver to give them a 21–14 lead at the break.
The Tops came out of the locker room and put together the best drive of the game, but had to settle for a field goal and that would be the end of the scoring for WKU. Vandy would add a 31-yard touchdown pass, a 45-yard touchdown run and a field goal to finish out the scoring.
Some of the numbers on the afternoon are very good, and continue the trend of “signs of hope,” for the Tops moving forward in the Sanford era. Mike White finished with 324 passing yards, completing 31 of his 50 pass attempts with a rushing touchdown.
Deon Yelder missed the game due to an injury, but in his place was Mik’Quan Deane who caught five balls for 57 yards. Also with Yelder’s absence, we heard from a couple of guys who have gone rather silent as of late — a six-catch, 129 yard day from Lucky Jackson (who finished as the Tops’ leading receiver) and Xavier Lane who had three catches for 36 yards.
The big, brutal stat is, to the shock of no one, that of the rushing game. WKU finished with -6 rushing yards, thanks in large part to the lack of protection for White, who was sacked a total of five times and finished with -28 yards on the ground.
Remember last week, where I was full of optimism despite blowing the game late in the fourth? This week has left me feeling, essentially, the exact opposite. The Tops had ample opportunity to put points on the board and make it a game, but fell short in just about every opportunity.
As has been the case most of the year, there were flashes of brilliance, but WKU has yet to put it all together for 60 minutes.
Your final stats:
