Jim Mashek

LENGTHY WEATHER DELAY REJUVENATES HILLTOPPERS IN COMEBACK; DEVONTE MATHEWS PRESERVES WIN WITH TWO LATE INTERCEPTIONS

The Toledo Rockets were rockin’ Houchens-Smith Stadium for the game’s first 37 minutes, when lightning appeared in the distance.

Officials didn’t stop play immediately, but Western Kentucky’s football team retreated to its locker room for a 75-minute weather delay while fans took cover, milled about or left the stadium.

Mostly the last option.

The Hilltoppers returned to the field with a different mindset, or so it seemed, and the WKU defense delivered a critical safety in the final minute of the third quarter, when senior linebacker Devon Lynch tackled the Rockets’ Connor Walendzak in the end zone, trimming the Toledo lead to 21-12.

It still looked like a steep climb for the home team.

WKU’s defense was just getting started.

Former South Warren High School star Caden Veltkamp, making his first start as the WKU quarterback, started moving his team downfield, and the Hilltoppers quickly made it a competitive game. Then, they struck for a comeback for the ages.

Veltkamp had two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns before losing a fumble on a play reversed by video replay. The Hilltoppers had to protect a five-point lead, and they unleashed a relentless pass rush with the game on the line.

Then, with 13 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock, WKU senior Devonte’ Mathews came up with his second interception in the game’s final three minutes, preserving an amazing 26-21 victory over the previously unbeaten Rockets before what was left of a crowd of 19,127 on Saturday night at The Houch.

The game took four hours and 20 minutes to complete.

“Coming out of the weather delay, the (WKU) defense was just ‘lights out,'” Hilltoppers coach Tyson Helton said.

It was an unlikely victory, to be sure, as ESPN Analytics put the Rockets’ win probability at 87.3 percent during the weather delay. WKU improved to 3-1 overall, heading into a high-profile matchup against the ACC’s Boston College (3-1) on Saturday morning in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Rockets are also 3-1 on the year, heading into Mid-American Conference play against Miami (Ohio).

“Last week (in a 41-17 victory over Mississippi State), we did a really good job of staying (in the moment) for 60 minutes and not self-inflicting,” Toledo coach Jason Candle told Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade. “And I thought a couple times, today, we self-inflicted in some tough moments.”

The impressive WKU upset — Toledo was a 2.5-point favorite, on the road — also snapped the Rockets’ regular-season winning streak at 14 games.

Toledo controlled the clock, and the line of scrimmage, throughout the first half and well into the second. Junior Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason was passing sparingly but effectively, and the Rockets’ big offensive line was setting the tone for the game.

A game that turned on a dime, when thunder, lightning and some rain forced a safety measure for everyone.

“When you come out, after (the weather delay), the stadium was almost empty,” WKU quarterback Caden Veltkamp said. “It was almost like we were going to practice …

“I’m thankful for the (WKU) defense. They bailed us out.”

Veltkamp, who had a dazzling performance off the bench in last week’s 49-21 rout of Conference USA rival Middle Tennessee State, couldn’t stop talking about the Hilltoppers’ defense. And for good reason.

“I cannot say enough about our defense,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “Every single time, they responded. They were tested, big time, tonight and they stepped up to the plate.”

The HIlltoppers’ defense delivered when Devon Lynch recorded a safety with 39 seconds left in the third quarter, and Veltkamp followed with a deep ball to WKU’s Easton Messer that went for a touchdown until a block in the back pushed the Tops back to the Toledo 16-yard line. From there, Veltkamp hit WKU teammate Kisean Johnson for a 9-yard completion to the left sideline before finding the end zone himself on a quarterback draw play from seven yards out.

Lucas Carneiro’s PAT made it 21-19, with 10:43 left in the game, and the Hilltoppers kicked it into another gear the rest of the way.

“We wanted to go toward spreading it out and letting guys make plays,” Messer said. “Kisean (Johnson) had the long one that (Veltkamp) threw to him, we kind of looked at it and said, ‘I think we can win these one-on-one matchups.'”

Toledo QB Tucker Gleason had found tight end Anthony Torres for two touchdown passes in the game’s first three quarters, but the Hilltoppers’ pass rush was the great equalizer down the stretch.

And the Hilltoppers’ offense got a heads-up play from star tight end River Helms, who recovered a teammate’s fumble at the WKU 26-yard line before the Tops’ final touchdown.

Veltkamp found WKU running back Elijah Young on the left sideline for a 14-yard completion before scoring on a 2-yard run to give the Hilltoppers their first lead of the game with 5:16 left.

“The (WKU) offensive line battled the whole game … I could have walked into the end zone,” Veltkamp said.

Then it was Devonte’ Mathews time to complete the task at hand.

Mathews, a 5-foot-9, 195-pound safety from Phenix City, Alabama, joined the Hilltoppers via the NCAA Transfer Portal after spending the 2023 season at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Mathews intercepted Gleason’s fourth-down pass to deny the Rockets, before Veltkamp’s fumble gave Toledo one last opportunity.

Mathews made a similar play at the goal line to put the issue to rest, and the Hilltoppers flooded the field before celebrating with the WKU band and the Tops’ die-hards who stuck it out after the weather delay.

“I just read the quarterback’s eyes, then you go and make a play,” Mathews said. “I just had to get a foot (inbounds), win the game.”

The Hilltoppers also had a significant advantage in their special-teams play. Junior WKU punter Cole Maynard was particularly effective, punting five times for an average of 53 yards per kick.

Fanduel.com has made WKU an 11.5-point underdog for Saturday’s game at Boston College.