WKU Football: Tops Lose C-USA Opener vs UTSA, 52–46
We all expected a heavyweight battle between two of the better teams in C-USA and it definitely lived up to the hype. With several lead…
We all expected a heavyweight battle between two of the better teams in C-USA and it definitely lived up to the hype. With several lead changes and a ton of points, the Roadrunners were able to walk away with a win and stay undefeated.
Bailey Zappe looked sharp as normal and finished with an impressive 523 yards and 5 touchdowns and only one INT. The worst part is the one interception is what cost them the game. On third and goal with less than a minute left in the game down by six, Zappe was looking for a touchdown but was behind and it was intercepted which resulted in UTSA winning. On the ground, the Tops had 174 rushing yards.
The Roadrunners had 349 passing yards and had 192 yards on the ground. It’s still painful seeing the Hilltopper defense give up so many yards and points, especially early on once again. They had 28 of their 52 points in the first half. McCormick had 120 yards for the game. Harris looked great at quarterback as well.
The Tops once again buried themselves in a hole at the beginning of the game. UTSA scored less than a minute into the game and led 14–3 at one point but the Tops were able to score before the end of the quarter making it 14–10.
In the second quarter, there was a lot of back and forth. UTSA would score, one of them being a fancy double pass back to Harris and him running it in for a touchdown, and then the Tops would answer with a nice catch and run from Glasgow native Dalvin Smith.
The most frustrating thing was when UTSA were knocking on the door of scoring before halftime and a short pass got intercepted by Brathwaite but he fumbled after the pick and gave the ball back to the Roadrunners. UTSA would end up scoring on the drive after they recovered that fumble. The Tops would try to score before the half and would attempt a 55 yard field goal but sadly the kick was wide right. UTSA would lead 28–24 at halftime.
In the second half, UTSA would start to turn up the heat and go on a tear. The Tops defense continued to struggle to stop anyone and the Topper offense kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties. Tops would score and stop the bleeding but go for two to make it a three point game but did not convert. UTSA would lead 42–37 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, the Topper defense held the Roadrunners to a field goal and were able to get within two points after a great drive but failed to get two different two points conversions. UTSA would extend their lead to 52 and the Tops would later cut the lead to six points with a field goal. And like I said early, the Tops had a chance to win but after a chop block penalty inside the ten yard line, they had to throw from the 15 yard line and Zappe’s pass was intercepted and that was ball game.
This is a heartbreaking loss. WKU once again had multiple chances to win this game but fumbled it away and turned it over late. After such high hopes, this team is now 1–4 and has one of the worst defenses I’ve seen a Hilltopper team in a while. It’s hard to beat anyone when you give up over 40+ points a game, even with this high powered offense that is incredible and one of the best in the nation.
The Tops will now get ready to play Old Dominion who took Marshall into overtime today.
Final stats:
