WKU Football: WKU headed to First Responder Bowl. Will Face Western Michigan in Dallas

WKU Football had a bounceback season in 2019 going 8–4 for first-year coach Tyson Helton. On Sunday, we found out that WKU will be heading…

WKU Football had a bounceback season in 2019 going 8–4 for first-year coach Tyson Helton. On Sunday, we found out that WKU will be heading to the First Responder Bowl in Dallas to face the Western Michigan Broncos.

The game is set for 11:30 a.m. CT on December 30th and will be broadcast on ESPN. While not an ideal destination it is doable for WKU fans as Dallas has multiple airports that should be easy to get flights to from Nashville or Louisville. The 10 hour drive also isn’t awful. The game is played at SMU’s Ford Stadium.

Western Michigan went 7–5 this season under 3rd-year coach Tim Lester. While not the sexiest opponent they do give WKU a solid chance to get win #9. The Broncos beat bowl teams Central Michigan, Miami & Georgia State this season and closed out the year winning four of their last six games. They are a good but not great team and are a favorable match-up for the Hilltoppers

Besides the game itself, the biggest benefit will be the additional practice time that Tyson Helton and staff will get with the team. WKU has legitimate Conference Title aspirations next season

With the game being after the early signing period. They can work on finishing the recruiting class and then have plenty of time for bowl practice.

Overall it’s great to have another game to look forward to and we’ll all be happy to see Ty Storey, Lucky Jackson, Ta’corian Darden and all of the seniors get one last game in Hilltopper uniforms. Let’s hope they can come away from the game with a win so Tyson Helton can finish off the best debut season of the FBS era (9–4 with a win). We’ll be providing tons of coverage over the next couple of weeks, after a year away from bowling, it’s cool that WKU will close the decade going bowling for the 6th time.

What are your thoughts on the First Responder Bowl? Are you going to travel to Dallas? How does WKU measure up with Western Michigan ? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.