WKU Football: Tops Become Bowl Eligible For 7th Straight Season In 41–38 OT Thriller
On Friday night, a fairly mundane game went crazy after the third quarter as WKU prevailed against archrival MTSU, 41–38, in three…
On Friday night, a fairly mundane game went crazy after the third quarter as WKU prevailed against archrival MTSU, 41–38, in three overtimes to become bowl eligible for the seventh straight season.
The Tops once again went up 7–0 early on this beautiful touchdown pass form Mike White to Deon Yelder.
White would complete his first 13 passes on the day but several missed opportunities and mental mistakes by both teams kept the margin close at the half with WKU clinging to a 7–3 lead.
In the third quarter, WKU forced a MTSU punt on their opening drive and then bypassed an easy field goal and got stopped on a fourth and one on the MTSU 14 yard line. WKU would tack on a field goal and MTSU would drive down the field to knot the game up at 10–10 heading into the fourth quarter.
From there on the game went haywire. The Blue Raiders took the lead on this boneheaded play by freshman running back Jakairi Moses:
The Tops would quickly strike back with a long touchdown pass to Kylen Towner that had fans thinking of flashbacks to the Brohm days:
After another stop by the defense the Tops took the lead on yet another deep pass this time to Lucky Jackson that put the Hilltopper up seven with 9:42 left in the game.
MTSU would then drive 75 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 24–24. After several tense moments the bitter rivals took the 100 Miles of Hate to overtime for the fourth time in the last six games played.
MTSU would get the ball to start overtime and made quick work of the Tops defense, scoring on four plays in the first OT drive. Mike White would answer with this out route to Nacarius Fant:
The Tops and Raiders traded scores in the second OT period before WKU forced an MT field goal in the third session, which went wide to the left.
That miss put WKU in prime position for their sixth win but they still had to seal the deal. After two D’Andre Ferby runs and an incomplete pass, Ryan Nuss had this 37 yard FG attempt for the win.
The win was not only big because of the rivalry aspect but it clinched WKU’s 7th straight season of bowl eligibility (2011–17).
On Senior Night, in front of a expectantly small crowd of just 12,612, Mike White and Nacarius Fant saved their best performances for their last game in front of the WKU faithful. White finished the night going 39–54 for 485 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers. Fant hauled in 14 catches for 101 yards and the first touchdown of overtime.
The win, at the bare minimum, helps Mike Sanford’s debut season from being a total disaster. Despite inexperience and a lack of composure by himself, coaching staff and some personnel, he has at least kept the now seven-year run of six or more wins going. He can still match Jeff Brohm’s debut record of 8–5 and might just build momentum into his second season on the Hill.
At the end of the day, despite the constant frustration and self inflicted wounds, it’s still good to see the program not slipping off the ledge just yet. We’ll all miss White, Fant, Yelder, Joe Brown, Derick Overstreet and several seniors that played major roles on the best Hilltopper teams of recent memory. After tonight, we’ll get to see them for two more games as they get to leave a legacy of hopefully seven straight winning seasons.
Here are your stats from tonight’s wild game.
What did you think of tonight’s shootout? Are you happy the Tops at least will be bowling for the fourth season in a row? Where do you think the Tops will go bowling? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.