WKU Football: Tops Slaughter UTEP On Senior Night, 40–16
WKU (2–9) made a statement against a struggling UTEP (1–10) squad that threw five interceptions as the Tops get a much needed big win at…
WKU (2–9) made a statement against a struggling UTEP (1–10) squad that threw five interceptions as the Tops get a much needed big win at their final home game and second win of the season, 40–16.
The first quarter started as good as anyone could’ve dreamed about as the Tops came out swinging and scored 27 points in the first quarter alone.
The loss against Maine still made most of us skeptical that WKU could hold on but the Tops were able to keep that momentum and hold UTEP to only 50 yards in the first half and forced five interceptions, one being a pick-six, to lead 40–0 at the half.
Steven Duncan, overall, looked pretty good tonight with 214 yards on 19-of-31 passing with two touchdowns and only one interception. He also added 54 yards on the ground as well. Senior D’Andre Ferby lead the Tops in rushing his last home game with 69 (nice) yards and two touchdowns. WKU finished with 422 total yards of offense.
The second half offensively was kind of typical for this year because the Tops didn’t score at all in the third or fourth quarter. The defense did its job despite UTEP getting two touchdowns (and the two-point conversions to go with them) as the Miners collected 392 total yards.
This game is one that should’ve happened long before now but I think it showed just how bad UTEP truly is.
The Tops also showed they had some gas left in the tank here at the end of the year but sadly, it’s a little too late. Their final game of the season will be at Louisiana Tech next week which won’t be an easy place to play so we’ll see if the Tops can win out or if this game was a fluke.
This win may also help WKU head coach Mike Sanford. Earlier this week, the Bowling Green Daily News reported that Sanford would likely be fired if he lost the last two games but it was still unsure what would happen if they were to split the games.
One thing that was clear is that the majority of the fan base is done with football season. The announced attendance was 6,222 people which is the lowest attended game since the David Elson years.
There will be several basketball games this year that will have over 6,200 people and with declining attendance with a poor yearly average, it will be interesting to see what will happen once the season is over regarding Sanford.
As nice as it feels to win again, UTEP is one of the worst teams in the entire country so a win in a game like this shouldn’t be a major determining factor as to whether he comes back next season or not.
With their second win of the season, I’m not sure what team we’ll see against a strong (7–4) La Tech team to close the year. Pulling a win there and ending the season on a high note will almost ease some of the pain we’ve all experienced this year but even then, (3–9) doesn’t look or sound that good.
Final Stats
