WKU Football: Tops turn in another Disappointing effort in Loss 37–14 to UAB
WKU Football’s season from hell rolled on as they traveled to UAB and were dominated in the second half as they fell 37–14 in Birmingham.
WKU Football’s season from hell rolled on as they traveled to UAB and were dominated in the second half as they fell 37–14 in Birmingham.
Kevaris Thomas got the start for the Hilltoppers and performed relatively well in the first half (130 yards & 2 touchdowns) as UAB barely outgained WKU 193–186. Three first-half turnovers turned a close game into a 14–24 halftime deficit.
The second half only got worse as the offense continually stalled out and the Hilltopper special teams allowed a blocked punt to be returned for a touchdown putting the Blazers up 17 and the rout was on.
WKU’s offense wouldn’t gain a first down again until their last drive in the second half. Thomas would turn the ball over on downs inside the UAB 30 with 2:28 remaining. UAB would run out the clock to hand WKU a 14–37 Loss as the Hilltoppers fell to 1–4 (1–2 in CUSA).
Here are some thoughts on yet another disappointing performance for the Hilltoppers:
Thomas has a long way to go. He did show moments but the same issues that plagued Pigrome (3 & Outs, minimal running game) also hampered Thomas in the second half. I look for Helton to stick with Thomas next week but it looks like there are no good answers at quarterback right now.
Jakairi Moses had another solid effort (41 yards on 6 carries) but couldn’t get the ball in the second half as WKU repeatedly passed the ball. Not getting a consistent rushing attack is towards the top of WKU’s laundry list of problems.
The defense held Spencer Brown to just 22 yards on 13 carries and only gave up a respectable 358 yards of total offense. They got burned repeatedly by poor field position. The unit has proven that they can supplement an average offense but they’re not the dominant unit we thought we were getting at the beginning of the season.
Overall the start of the 2020 season has been an undisputed failure for Tyson Helton and staff. A senior-laden preseason conference contender has been thoroughly embarrassed in back-to-back weeks and has a long way to go to show that they can not only become competitive but actually win games. The bright spots have been few thus far and this teams back is against the wall with several challenging games remaining (BYU, FAU, Charlotte). The only thing we can hope is this team gets better week to week at this point.
WKU (1–4, 1–2 in CUSA) hosts Chattanooga (0–0) next Saturday in a game that should help the team get right, with WKU’s recent track record against FCS teams that isn’t a given. They’ve now got 7 games left to turn around what has been a massive disappointment thus far.
Here are your final stats from yet another loss:
