WKU Football: Tops Pull Off Miracle Comeback in Bowl Game, Dalvin Smith and Veltkamp Hilltopper Heroes

WKU Football dug itself a 28-0 hole, but the Tops fought back to stun Old Dominion 38-35 in overtime Monday.

WKU Football has won its seventh bowl game in ten years, but there was nothing routine about it. With myriad players sitting out due to pending transfer and injury, WKU was a slight underdog to a 6-6 Old Dominion team that had barely scraped into bowl eligibility with six close wins. Western likely would have been a solid favorite if at full strength.

As could be expected, WKU did about as bad as possibly imaginable early on, turning it over several times (five total times for the game) and digging a 28-0 hole. Western would bench starter Turner Helton, who had started in place of two-year starter and NFL prospect Austin Reed.

As WKU’s final hope for salvaging the day, third string quarterback Caden Veltkamp would enter the game, and he would absolutely go berzerk in one of the most legendary “How is that possible?” type of performances in WKU history. Caden, a local prospect and the WKU Strength Coach’s son, went 40-for-52 for 383 yards and five touchdowns and only one interception. WKU would cut the lead to 28-14 on some absolutely insane one handed catches by Dalvin Smith. With 10:24 left in the third, WKU was back in it.

However, ODU would battle back and respond with a touchdown of its own with 3:04 remaining in the third to extend its lead back to 21.

That would set the stage for the capping off of one of the greatest comebacks in college football bowl history (fourth largest comeback ever and the only one to ever have a team come back from three touchdowns down in the fourth quarter), as WKU would come from 35-14 down in the fourth. A 37 yard touchdown reception by Elijah Young (with a ridiculous hurdle of course), a third touchdown by Dalvin Smith, and a fourth-and-goal touchdown from the 15 yard line by K.D. Hutchinson with 19 seconds remaining would tie it up heading into extra time.

In overtime, WKU would block a field goal attempt after ODU had a first-and-goal frome the WKU 1 yard line. However, a penalty and the Tops taking advantage of an opportunity yielded an opportunity to hold ODU to an attempt for three points. Instead of forcing WKU to at least score a field goal, ODU allowed WKU to bust through and block the field goal attempt.

The breakout Veltkamp helped WKU convert a first down, made some reasonable plays, and the Tops nailed a chip shot on the third down to win 38-35 over ODU in Charlotte.

Despite it all, WKU found a way to get it done. What didn’t go wrong in this game? Down a starting QB, three linemen, some defensive linemen, a punter, and some other defensive starters, the Tops were already in an uphill battle. Once the game started, the guy that was supposed to carry the torch for the offense, Turner Helton, was benched. Superstar receiver Malachi Corley went down with an upper leg tweak, opting to protect his body and call it a day instead of risking his NFL prospects.

Despite it all, this ragtag bunch of Hilltopper leftovers found a way to overcome a quality opponent and got it done in Charlotte.

What Went Right

At first, it seemed like it was going to be a game where we’d be talking about how nothing went right. But the number one thing that did go right, was the Hilltoppers perseverance. Overcoming the adversity of being down 28-0 was a testament to the heart, passion, and pure grit this team has. The fight, the will to win, the will to turn the game around never left the team. How did that happen?

The offense improved greatly with Veltkamp commanding the offense. 40/52, 383 yards, 5 TDs, 1 int (that was a prayer heave before halftime, not even really a bad int). and 53 rushing yards to go along with it. He led his team in passing and rushing yards. He accounted for 91.9% of WKU’s offensive yards. Perhaps Western found out its QB for next year could already be on the roster.

Dalvin Smith showed out again in a bowl game. I’m kicking myself for not betting him as an anytime TD scorer. I feel like we should’ve seen this coming. 9 catches, 77 yards, 3 Touchdowns. If this was futbol, and not football, we’d all be screaming hat trick.

The defense actually did not do that bad despite giving up 35 points. Most of the points were scored off of turnovers. When the Tops needed the defense to get stops in the second half to bolster the comeback, they did. Along with getting two field goal blocks, including one in overtime that set up the Hilltoppers for a game winning field goal. Down the stretch, I’d say the defense did pretty solid in contributing to the win.

What Went Wrong

Simple: Getting down early. We found out that Turner Helton probably isn’t ready to start for at QB. He had a bad interception and a bad fumble. He looked a little scared, and was the opposite of impressive. It didn’t help he was benched and the guy he was benched in favor of came out and absolutely balled out.

The defense to start the game was also lackadaisical. Giving up a 78 yard run on the first drive to a QB who has only ran for 160 yards over the course of the season is disgusting to watch as a fan. It looked like a missed assignment. We just didn’t really look prepared to start this game.

5 turnovers. That’s five turnovers. 1 by Veltkamp, 2 by Helton, and 2 by Burt, Jr. It just wasn’t a good look for a team when they can’t protect the football. And almost all the turnovers resulted in points for the Monarchs. If it weren’t for a missed field goal before half off an interception, and the defense blocking a field goal attempt after a fumble with 2 minutes left, the Hilltoppers probably would have lost the game because of their turnovers.

Topper Tidbits

• The obvious questions exiting the bowl game surround the break out star of the game: Does WKU try to keep Caden Veltkamp? Is Veltkamp already committed elsewhere? Does he decide to stay? Is he considered the odds-on favorite to be the starter heading into next season?

• Dalvin Smith continues his incredible success in bowl games. Last season, he was the go-to receiver. This season, he made two SC Top 10 worthy one handed catches (one of them was #2) and caught another later in the game to bring the Tops within one score. If Dalvin Smith comes back next season, can he be the guy?

• Heading into the offseason, WKU once again has several players already in the transfer portal. All of the “superstar” players are graduating or heading to the draft early (Corley). Kendrick Simpkins would be the only Topper superstar weapon that is not definitely gone, and he has announced his entrance into the transfer portal, although he did play Monday.

• Perhaps the biggest off-the-field story was Austin Reed choosing not to play in the Famous Toastery Bowl. There was very little information from WKU or Reed himself, so speculation went rampant as to why he would sit out. After hearing everything and Tyson Helton commenting after, Austin had several nagging injuries that he needed to nurse before the East-West Shrine Game.

• Despite an injury riddled season in which every position group had at least one injury, WKU was able to salvage an eight win season.

• Malachi Corley was the lone representative for WKU on the Conference USA All-Conference First Team. However, eight other Hilltoppers found themselves on the second team or honorable mention.

• Tyson Helton’s magic number seems to be eight (or nine). In only one of his five years at WKU, he has not managed at least eight wins. Very consistent, I’m sure WKU fans sooner rather than later want to see a WKU team get over that ten win mark and win a conference championship.

• WKU improves to 7-1 against ODU all-time.

• Despite the 35 points surrendered, five turnovers perhaps skewed perception of WKU’s defense. After giving up 28 in the first half, WKU’s defense played its role in the comeback, only allowing seven points after halftime, and holding ODU to 319 total yards, its second lowest total of the entire season.

  • A defense that struggled most of the year giving up yardage, WKU’s defense significantly tightened up in its last three games, producing the top three yardage performances of the season.

• WKU’s 398 passing yards against Old Dominion were the most passing yards produced by the Tops all season. The 471 total yards were the second highest overall total for the offense.