Jim Mashek

BULLDOGS RATED AS 3.5-POINT FAVORITES; ROAD VICTORY WOULD BRING BOWL ELIGIBILITY FOR THE TOPS

The time has come for Western Kentucky University football to play on a weeknight for the final time in regular-season play this season.

Traditionalists, of course, will welcome that development, but seventh-year WKU coach Tyson Helton embraces the opportunity to play during prime time, even if the television exposure is on a second-tier sports programming network, and the abrupt schedule change can result in an uneven performance under the stadium’s bright lights.

The Hilltoppers have played just one football game since their 27-24 victory over Conference USA newcomer Delaware on October 2 in Newark, Delaware. Helton’s squad returned to WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium last Tuesday, for a home game featuring a pregame concert on the South Lawn, and the HIlltoppers got rocked to the tune of 25-6 against a big, physical Florida International University squad.

Helton’s squad traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana, on Monday afternoon, and they’ll resume Conference USA play on Tuesday night against Louisiana Tech University, in its final season in C-USA before the Bulldogs cast their lot with the more geographically based Sun Belt Conference.

Oddsmakers have installed Louisiana Tech as a 3.5-point favorite.

The Hilltoppers stand in third place in the C-USA standings, a half game ahead of Louisiana Tech with a 3-1 league record. Overall, WKU is 5-2, while the Bulldogs check in at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in C-USA play.

“They’re kind of like we are,” Helton said. “I think both us have quality football teams. Both of us had rough losses (in their last games) … Both of us are looking to try to get a big win.

“If you want to make a run, you have to go on the road and be ready for a dogfight, against a very good football team.”

Louisiana Tech led a gigantic egg in its last game, a 35-7 loss to Kennesaw State on October 9 in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Bulldogs have had time to stew over that defeat, much like the Hilltoppers could after the FIU disaster. More important, from Helton and the Hilltoppers’ perspective, a victory over LA Tech would bring bowl eligibility to his WKU program, and that’s become an early objective to bigger goals for the Tops over the years.

“It’s the last of our mid-week games,” Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie said last week in a press conference in Ruston, Louisiana. “We’re looking forward to having a great crowd. It’s not ideal, being on a Tuesday night, but the schedule’s been out for awhile …

“We’ve had great support, in these first three home games.”

That represents three of the Bulldogs’ four victories, all by double digits, against the likes of FCS Southeastern Louisiana, former C-USA member Southern MIss and New Mexico State, which is bolting Conference USA for the more logical league — at least geographically speaking — in the rebuilt, completely revamped Pacific 12 Conference, after the 2025-26 academic year.

“I think our student section has been tremendous,” Cumbie said. “Our players really feed off it. Each game, it’s gotten bigger and bigger, and it’s gotten louder and louder, so if you’re looking for something to do, on a Tuesday night, as a college student, to support your peers … They put in a lot of time, and effort, and they’re representing Louisiana Tech football.”

WKU’s Tyson Helton likes the unique challenge of playing on weeknights, when only a handful of college football teams, primarily from Conference USA, are actually playing games. The Hilltoppers will square off with Louisiana Tech on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., with the game to be televised by CBS Sports Network.

“We’re just anxious to get back out there,” Helton said.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign — for the Hilltoppers, at least — is the problems LA Tech’s defense has had against the passing game. In their last outing, Kennesaw State’s Dexter Williams II completed 27 of 36 passes for 290 and FOUR touchdowns, while the Bulldogs were taking a 35-7 drubbing on October 9 in Kennesaw, Georgia.

WKU’s graduate transfer quarterback, Maverick McIvor, has been named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week three times, in double-digit victories over the likes of Sam Houston State, North Alabama and Nevada.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound McIvor has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,863 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted five times in six games, but he’s able to move the pocket and locate secondary receivers when the Hilltoppers’ offense can find their groove.

In the 25-6 thumping at the hands of Florida International, however, McIvor was intercepted three times before giving way to backup Rodney Tisdale Junior in the fourth quarter.

It was a bitter defeat for the Hilltoppers, but sophomore tight end Noah Myers expects his teammate to return to the field as a man on a mission.

“Mav’s a great quarterback, he makes smart decisions,” Myers said. “One game doesn’t define anyone … We’re going to come out to practice with our jaws set …

“I’m glad we got humbled. It was a reality check.”

WKU returns to The Houch for its Homecoming game against New Mexico State on November 1, with pre-game activities beginning Wednesday. After an open date, the Tops will play their final home game of the season against longtime rival Middle Tennessee State University, on November 15, before they take a road trip to tangle with tradition-rich LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

No one has to tell WKU’s Tyson Helton about their itinerary for the remaining six weeks of regular-season play. The C-USA team with the best conference record will play host to the championship game in December. The Hilltoppers are right in the thick of it, for that distinction, right now, but a loss at Louisiana Tech would be a devastating hit.

“We’ve got to keep working hard,” Helton said. “Obviously, we’ve got to be able to run the ball.”

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at LA Tech’s Joe Aillet Stadium, with a capacity of about 28,000 fans.

Hopes for a conference championship, in all likelihood, might rest with this game for the Hilltoppers. They haven’t won a C-USA championship since the Jeff Brohm Era. Brohm’s Louisville squad upset the ninth-ranked Miami Hurricanes, 27-24, last week in Miami Gardens, Florida.