WKU Football: Grading the Hilltoppers’ 28-23 Senior Night Win Over Sam Houston State
The Tops made it through to bowl eligibility, albeit barely. Who stepped up and who disappointed on Senior Night?
Ya know what? I’ll take it.
I know everybody’s been up in arms all year about the disappointment of not having a dream season (thanks to five losses to teams with three or less current losses) but, now that I have come back to crushing reality, bowl eligibility is an achievement, and it matters.
Also, imagine the alternative! That’s something WKU is not used to. Perhaps we may have become a teensie bit unthankful. (Ed. note - and what better time to re-assess what it is we’re thankful for than this week!)
Moving on from the big picture and getting into the game a little bit, WKU and Sam Houston were fairly nip and tuck. No team led by more than eight points at any time in the ball game, and scoreboard wise, it is fair to say WKU controlled the direction of the game most of the way.
Austin Reed had five turnovers, all of which were his fault. Despite that remarkable fact, WKU was able to squeeze out a victory, and the defense 100% deserves the credit for dealing with the crappy hands they were dealt throughout the night.
There was plenty of controversy within the fan base and a lot of speculation, so I’ll try to articulate that as much as possible. However, I’m sure no matter what, someone is going to look at these and think I’m crazy.
It is what it is.
Grading the Keys to Victory
Make it Pretty: F
I mean sweet presence of the Almighty, what a fail! That was the ugliest piece of crap performance I’ve ever seen. Western literally made it about as ugly as they could have. Special teams blunders, interceptions, fumbles, overthrows by the QB, weird play calls, you name it.
To quote the douchebag DS from Special Forces: “CATASTROPHIC FAIL!”
Make it Ugly: C-
What this was about was simply seeing some fight, some moxy from the Tops. As much as WKU should have won by, the Tops crapped their pants and still came away with a hard fought victory. Despite themselves, despite Reed somehow surviving his fifth turnover of the night, they responded. Austin Reed responded. Dalvin Smith and Malachi Corley responded. The defense definitely responded time and again.
However, on the negative side, too, there was still the lull, the lack of enthusiasm, the acting-like-your-dog-just-died sideline body language. The infighting. That part I didn’t like, and it’s a huge blight in the effort column. This team is yet to find itself after game 11, and that’s an absolute shame.
Win 3rd and 4th Down: D+
I’ll give a little credit, because WKU got stops at the end that were extremely important to the outcome of the game. However, if you look at the stats, WKU couldn’t convert a third down to save its life, and they couldn’t get SHSU to get off the field more than half of the time, with the Bearkats going 9-of-17 on third down.
Also, how about not kicking the field goal on 4th-and-medium to go up eight? If you miss, the other team gets the ball. If you don’t get the first down (which they didn’t), the other team gets the ball. There was no loss and little to gain besides time of possession in that moment. WKU could have gone up eight points with little consequence and didn’t do it. Yay for the most important, but most everything else was bad on both sides of the ball.
Don’t let Sam Houston Have a Great Day on the Ground: B+
Actually in hindsight, this may have saved the day for the Tops. Sam Houston could not successfully run the ball at will. They only mustered 86 net rushing yards, something that they have pretty much done to total that amount or so all season. WKU has been historically awful against the run this season, so to hold Sam Houston anywhere under 100 yards is an excellent achievement. Perhaps more importantly, the explosive plays were non-existent with no play going longer than 14 yards via the ground game.
The lone reason for this not being an “A” is the two touchdowns. That obviously impacted the game, and the ease of one of the touchdowns after a 39-yard interception return was incredibly deflating.
Do It for the Boys: B
Well, the Tops certainly didn’t “cover the spread or double that margin” as I said in reference to this key, but I will say this: They probably took great pleasure in watching everyone celebrate with them after they were booed not minutes before. Willie Taggart used to tell the team - which was dealing with criticism early on in his tenure - “F*** the fans,” meaning ignore their crap and get to work.
Frankly, Austin Reed showed some real guts finding a way to be effective after such a craptastic performance. It may not have been his dream senior night by any stretch, but dadgumit, when it came time to make something happen, he made it happen. Give the man some credit on that front.
Position Grades
Quarterback: F
Sorry, but there’s no other grade for that performance. Five turnovers? I mean, I do appreciate the guts to fight through that and throw for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns, but the mistakes were aplenty, and it was more than just the interceptions. There were several more moments where SHSU could have come down with another two or three picks. There were also times Reed wouldn’t run for the obvious first down, he wouldn’t put it in a spot where his wide open receiver could catch up to the ball and go in for what was probably a battle to the pylon.
Reed made some good reads and just missed, but on all of his turnovers, they were all mistakes of some kind. A few were overthrown, a few were into thick coverage, and a few, he just didn’t see a defender (some of these five turnovers overlap). On the fumble, he tossed the ball behind Dalvin Smith, who bobbled and fumbled, and the defense recovered.
Running Back: C-
Sam Houston is one of those defenses that can be versatile enough to stifle your run game as well as make your life hell through the air. That’s what happened in this one. SHSU’s defensive line was able to contain WKU’s running backs, who have been doing well recently, to less than three yards per carry. Even Elijah Young, one of WKU’s hottest offensive players, could not muster four yards per carry.
The Tops did get an extra 20 yards from Young through the air, but there wasn’t much else there. This wasn’t the best game from the running backs, but they didn’t put the ball on the ground and they were a viable enough change of pace, and Markese Stepp was able to find a touchdown deep in the red zone.
Wide Receiver: B+
First of all, there was the fumble by Dalvin Smith. That was unfortunate, and it hit his hands, so ultimately it should have been caught. However, it certainly wasn’t really his fault, either. Other than that, the WR’s were pretty effective, especially considering little to no help from TEs and RBs. Corley, Smith, and Craig Burt, Jr., all had touchdowns and nice games overall.
Tight End: F
I’m not sure this is their fault, but four yards receiving and no noticeable impacts elsewhere leaves me with little option but to say the tight ends were a big negative for the Tops on Senior Night. Rivers Helms being hurt is really hurting, because he was finally developing into a trusted weapon for Austin Reed. However, next man up, and the tight ends haven’t done much since Helms went down.
Offensive Line: B
This unit puts up interesting numbers in terms of TFL and sacks. They’ve given up very little in that area. However, it always feels like there was more pressure than ends up being recorded. This O-Line has not been perfect, but Austin Reed’s ability to manipulate a pocket is elite. He almost always avoids the hits and the sacks. Even the one sack was when WKU was nurturing a small lead and trying to run out clock on the opponent. Credit for the stats, but not too much credit, because there were definitely some bodies in the passing and running lanes.
Defensive Line: C+
There wasn’t a lot of statistical production from this unit, but sometimes, you have to create enough of an issue for the other people on the defense to find ways to record the stats. Overall, the defense was good, but the D-Line struggled to make a tangible impact despite the much better performance in comparison to the week before.
Linebackers: A-
WKU’s linebackers were quite impactful on the game Saturday, including sealing the deal with the Desmyn Baker interception with less than 40 seconds remaining. In order for a defense to perform statistically and be the reason a struggling offense still get credit for the victory, linebackers need to do something.
They did something in this one, and consequently, three turnovers forced and way less than 400 yards gained resulted despite the offense handing them the ball five times.
Defensive Backs: B+
First of all, welcome back, Upton Stout. His impact was immediate, simply because it shuffled down all of the role players a spot down where they may be more comfortable instead of having to step up and play roles they’re not ready for. And that’s not going to be a popular thing to be said, but it’s true. If a starter is out, the hierarchy is forever screwed up and everyone is one spot higher with a little more responsibility. WKU DB’s were all over the stat sheet, and Kendrick Simpkins continues to be the TFL specialist. He’s really going to be interesting to some NFL scouts because of his prowess in blitz timing.
Special Teams: B
Everything was great, but a huge blunder where KD Hutchinson fumbled the ball and nearly lost this grade. Otherwise, Cory Munson has taken over punting duties and launched some monsters inside the 20 in a very impressive way. He even had a (probable) touchdown saving tackle. He is also still getting things done on kickoff, as well. Easton Messer was amazing returning kicks. That one blunder dragged it all down, though.
Coaching
Head Coaching: D
Rumor has it Tyson has been calling the plays some lately. Whether that is true or not, for being a Brohm disciple and a great offensive mind, sometimes the creativity is not completely there. Also, decision making. Why go for it on 4th-and-medium in field goal range? Why run three run plays after an interception, but call two pass plays when trying to run the clock down? Also, the major question of the night was whether Austin Reed should be pulled (ed. note - I understand the fans who wondered, or even wanted this, but it wasn’t going to happen on Senior Day). The fact that Reed has not been as productive is ultimately on Tyson Helton, and also, if (rumor has it) he has a few health issues, why has he not been on the sideline when the game was not in jeopardy a few more times this season?
Offensive Coaching: C+
Coaching is about adjustments, and WKU found a way to navigate the end of the game after five turnovers by the far and away best option at QB on this roster. Reed built so much equity for himself that, despite a negative trending season and a horrendous couple of outings, he was still (we assume barely) able to stay on the field. Good for the coaches for not removing him from the game. Reed made his mistakes, and you know what? He came right back and responded when it was time to make a play.
Defensive Coaching: A
Tyson Summers has not necessarily singlehandedly (but very close to it) kept this team in some winning situations. Other games, the Topper defense succumbed to the pressure of holding up the offense drive after drive. Summers isn’t perfect, but he was dealt a disastrous hand this year. Summers dealt with all kinds of injuries on all three levels, but somehow, a vast majority of the games, the defense was the better unit between the offense and the defense.
Overall: D
Ultimately, the Tops are bowl eligible, and that was the goal for this game. No matter how it looked, WKU will almost certainly go bowling. However, this was the absolutely bare minimum against a team that WKU was clearly superior to if the Tops could control the football at all.
This whole game was a mess, and we’ll just leave it at that. You can’t have this type of performance against better teams, and frankly if SHSU didn’t have some guys fall down covering the routes, the Tops would have probably not have won this game.