WKU Football: Tops BBQ Razorbacks
Even with Senior Day at DW Reynolds Stadium, the Razorbacks must’ve forgotten about one fellow senior. Graduate transfer and former…
Even with Senior Day at DW Reynolds Stadium, the Razorbacks must’ve forgotten about one fellow senior. Graduate transfer and former gunslinger for The Hogs, Ty Storey led the charge on an impressive rout over the SEC opponents.
John Stephen Jones started his first game for Arkansas with a forgettable opening drive. Tops started to capitalize early off the shortcomings of their opponent. In the middle of the Razorbacks’ first drive, Antwon Kincade achieved success as he came away with his first interception of the year. This was from a third and 5 play.
Dring the Tops’ opening drive, head coach Tyson Helton wasted no time gambling as it paid off with a 4th down conversion pass from Storey to Jahcour Pearson. Later during the SAME drive, the Tops converted again on fourth down with a QB keeper from Storey. Later, Jaquez Sloan was the receiver in Helton’s bag of tricks as he scores on a 19-yard reverse toss play. Cory Munson hit the extra point and the Tops led 7–0 with 3:45 off the clock during a 9 play, 42-yard play drive.
The WKU defense was caught napping on the next drive as the Razorbacks leading rusher (from Last Chance U fame) Rakeem Boyd caught fire with a 76-yard touchdown. The game was tied 7–7 with 8:02 left in the first quarter.
However, the Tops didn’t let that score get to them as they kept it moving down the field. Josh Simon was able to nab a 22-yard first-down pass from Storey. This was the tipping point as Storey scored on a QB keeper from another red-zone appearance, changing the score to 14–7. This drive took up 12 plays for 75 yards downfield.
The defense kept the Hogs at pay, even into the second quarter. To this point, The Tops were 3 out of 3 on 4th down conversions. This continued with a Luck Jackson grab with 1026 left in the second for a 4th fourth-down conversion. Storey will once again score on yet another QB sneak as 7:59 was taken off the clock from 16 plays. The Tops now led the game still 21–7.
After another 3 and Out for Arkansas, the ball was given back tp the Tops. On the next offensive drive, this beauty of a play was constructed from Storey’s pass to Jahcour Pearson for 69 yards. 2 lays, 73 yards on a short drive as the Tops keep leading 28–7.
Int he middle of the second quarter, John Stephen Jones was replaced by KJ Jefferson, as an effort for Arkansas HC Chad Morris to spark some chance of a comeback against WKU. For the period, Arkansas did not convert on third down all game. The Tops were 7/11 on their third-down conversions. The next series on offense, the ball was moved down the field included an ESPN highlight-reel catch from Lucky Jackson.
On the next play, Gaej Walker ran the ball in for another touchdown, making the score 35–7 after the Munson extra point. In the first half alone, Ty Storey was 19/28, 202 yards, and a passing TD. Already in the game, he had two rushing touchdowns.
Moving on to the third quarter/second half of the contest, the opening drive for the Tops faltered on a 3 and out. John Haggerty was called to punt fo te first tie all game with 13:30 left in the third quarter. John Stephen Joes returned to e game after a small injury to KJ Jefferson. He was already 3/7 for 27 yards and an interception to his credit. Another 3 and out for the Razorbacks gave another edge for the Topper. Gaej Walker ran wild a few plays later as he was stopped inside the 25-yard line, landing the Tops bak into the red zone. Attempts for another touchdown was stopped short as they couldn’t convert on a three and out. Cory Munson returned in the game for a 19-yard field goal attempt. It was successful, now the Tops have 38–7 lead in the third quarter with 9:38 left.
In the next drive, Arkansas thought that they finally reached paradise with their first score since the 1st quarter. KJ Jefferson returned for the series as he threw a pending touchdown pass to Treylon Burks. However, that was called back as thee was an offensive penalty that negated the touchdown and sent the Hogs back into the Tops 40 yard line. On a four and out, Jefferson tried to recreate the same magic to Burks by a deep attempt for a touchdown pass on 4th and 16. It was a turnover on downs as the catch was made out of bound. This further added insult to injury as their drive chewed up a lot of time. WKU keeps the led with 2:47 left in the 3rd quarter.
Going into the 4th, Rakeem Boyd scores again on yet another long touchdown run. The series only took 18 seconds as it counted over 2 plays for 86 yards. The PAT from Connor Limpert was blocked, resulting in a 38–13 score with 12:21 left in the game.
Later in the quarter, KJ Jefferson threw a pick-six to Devon Key. This was his first interception of the season and it resulted in great rewards. The Tops would add to their largest lead of the game, 45–13 with 8:20 remaining.
A Tj Hammons run resulted in a lot more as Devon Key was penalized for a horse-collar tackle which brought the Razorbacks into the red zone for the first time all game. The next tandem of plays within the series created for a KJ Jefferson touchdown. The next play was a 2 point conversion attempt that was failed on a high pass. Going down the final stretch of the quarter, the Tops were still leading 45–19.
After recovering the onside kick, Davis Shanley came into relief for Storey. Keshawn McClendon also came into the game to give a much-needed break for Gaej Walker. The Tops have their first turnover of the game with 1:38 left in the game as the fumble was recovered by Micah Smith.
The clock runs out as Arkansas tries to make one more drive to salvage the pain of losing on Senior Day as the Tops move on to 6–4 (4–2) on the season with the 45–19. This team is now bowl-eligible under the first season of Tyson Helton, truly a bounce back from last season.
Here are some post-game thoughts from today’s exciting (for the Western faithful) victory:
Tyson Helton woke up feeling dangerous. His decision making along with offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis’ playcalling was the highlight of the game. Storey and company played mistake-free football as they cruised on to victory. Not to mention, a perfect 5 for 5 on 4th down conversions. Third down efficiency was not too shabby, scoring 50 percent for 9/18. The offense had 478 yards total nd hitting over 40 points for the first time this season.
This was the Ty Storey game. Returning home to his home state was huge for the graduate senior as he played phenomenally during the contest. He finished the day with 22 completions out of 32 attempts for 213 yards. He also has 77 yards with 2 touchdowns
Gaej Walker was back into his old self. He led the team in rushing with 23 attempts for 129 yards. The trend of keeping his as a workhorse back is paying off with great results. With two games left in the season, you have to keep some plan in place to no tire him out to much as McClendon and Garland LaFrance are starting to get more carries.
The pass defense stepped up today. They took advantage of an Arkansas offense that has already had its fair share of inconsistency with the ongoing quarterback carousel. Jefferson looked solid compared to Jones as the game progressed. Going forward, you would think that the Razorbacks can stick with Jefferson as the leader of the offense. The run defense suffered greatly as Rakeen Boyd showed out with 8 carries, 185 yards, and 2 touchdowns. I can see this being a focus for improvement on the bye week before heading back into conference play.
Other than the Devon Key tackle which turned into a defensive penalty in the 4th quarter, the Tops were the least penalized team. Playing an SEC opponent has its challenges but playing mistake-free ball and with great discipline, it can make a huge difference. This was a huge impression.
This game is now the marquee win you would want heading into bowl projection positioning. Even with two games left in the season, after a bye week, this is where you want to be. The Hilltoppers can rest easy for another week but you don't want to settle for anything less. Let's finish out strong and make the best of the last remaining moments of 2019.
Here are the final stats for today’s victory in Fayetteville:
Western Kentucky vs. Arkansas - Box Score - November 9, 2019 - ESPN
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