WKU Football: Tops Show Grit in 20–17 Victory Over MTSU
After a slow start to the season, WKU headed down I-65 looking to get their season back on track. They would show some grit as they…
After a slow start to the season, WKU headed down I-65 looking to get their season back on track. They would show some grit as they rallied from a 10–3 deficit controlling most of the second half to leave Murfreesboro with their first win of the season in a 20–17 victory over their arch-rival.
The first half was sloppy and uneven as both teams struggled throughout the half. WKU opened up the scoring as Brayden Narveson drilled a 47-yard field goal to open the second quarter.
After he was bottled up early, Asher O’Hara began to impose his will, leading the Blue Raiders on a 14 play 75-yard touchdown drive. WKU’s offense struggled to move and hold onto the ball as Gaej Walker would fumble on the ensuing drive. MTSU tacked on a field goal to extend the lead to 7 with 3 minutes remaining in the half.
The Hilltoppers responded with their best drive of the half as Pigrome led a hurry-up drive going 75 yards in 13 plays connecting with Xavier Lane on a 6-yard touchdown pass to tie it up at 10 going into the locker room.
The third quarter was another slog as each team traded punts before Narveson would hit a 53-yard field goal to make it 13–10 heading into the fourth quarter.
WKU’s defense got back to back stops as the Hilltoppers took over at their own 20 with 12:43 remaining. The Hilltopper offense would respond with a game-sealing drive that took 13 plays and 6:39 off the clock.
Jakairi Moses was given the ball 5 times on that crucial drive gaining 36 yards and opening up the passing game for Pigrome. Piggy would make it a two-score game on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Simon to make it 20–10.
Asher O’Hara wouldn’t go away quietly into the Murfreesboro night. The dual-threat wizard engineered a 12-play 75-yard touchdown drive to cut the Hilltopper lead to 3 with 2:07 remaining.
The Hilltoppers recovered the Middle onside kick and would take it over with 2:05 remaining. Tyrrell Pigrome gained a first down on two runs causing Middle to burn their final timeout with 1:57 remaining.
The Hilltoppers would then take knees to seal a 20–17 win over their arch-rival moving them to 1–2 on the season (1–0 in Conference USA).
Here are some thoughts on WKU’s first win of the season.
the WKU defense wasn’t lights out but they were miles ahead of where they were during the first two weeks of the season. The gave up 319 yards and sacked O’Hara 3 times. They were much better on third down forcing the Blue Raiders to go only 7 of 16 on the night. All these added up their best performance of the season that was much closer to the defense we leaned upon last year.
Piggy struggled early but once again found his groove as the game progressed. Starting with the last drive of the first half, he found a rhythm and kept the offense moving (326 yards of total offense). He still hasn’t thrown an interception yet (two touchdown passes) and you can tell the coaching staff is starting to figure out how to use him. The last touchdown drive should buy him a little more time with the fan base but it will probably take a complete game of high-level play for fans to quit calling for his benching.
Brayden Narveson has been a revelation at kicker. When Helton brought on the Iowa State transfer, we all assumed it was to back up Cory Munson. Instead, Narveson has taken the job and ran with it, replacing the talented but inconsistent Munson. He nailed two long field goals today and with WKU’s struggles to put up points he will be called on repeatedly moving forward.
Helton and Ellis called several deep passes tonight that the offense just didn’t execute. When they can consistently hit two or three of those a game, this offense will take another step forward.
Xavier Lane finally is starting to live up to the hype that he brought on campus as a 3-star recruit for Jeff Brohm. The 5th year senior hauled in 7 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. With the departures of Pearson and Sloane (along with Burt’s injury) he can follow the Lucky Jackson path of a last year redemption. Stay tuned.
Dayton Wade also took Pearson’s role as the go-to slot receiver, he hauled in 7 catches for 66 yards and was repeatedly used on screens and short passes. if he continues to develop he will be another long term weapon in this offense.
The Offensive line played terribly for most of the first half but really came on as the game progressed. 138 yards rushing isn’t much to write home about but it was a huge step forward and they repeatedly pushed the Blue Raiders off the ball as the game progressed.
Asher O’Hara is a gamer who almost single handily propelled MTSU to victory. He kept several plays alive with his legs that repeatedly frustrated WKU’s active defensive line. I’ll be very happy with he runs out of eligibility in Murfreesboro.
You’ve got to feel good for Moses who’s dealt with two big injuries that have derailed a promising freshman season. You could tell he was running with purpose on the final drive. Hopefully, he can build on the impressive performance.
Today was the debut of junior college running back, C.J. Jones. He transferred from Blinn College after initially starting at Texas A&M (3-star recruit). He finished with 9 rushes for 40 yards and now gives WKU three viable options for carries in the backfield.
Gaej Walker continues to struggle in 2020. He only got 15 yards on 5 carries and was benched after the fumble. Hopefully, the coaching staff can get him back on track.
WKU is just one victory away from tying the series with Middle Tennessee. They’ve now won 5 of 6 in the series.
Next week’s home game against Marshall (2–0)is a chance to instantly erase the early season struggles and make a statement that WKU is a conference title contender again. Let’s hope the progress shown tonight translates to another huge game next weekend.
Here are your final stats from today’s crucial victory.
