Jim Mashek

WKU LINEBACKER ANTHONY BRACKENRIDGE: ‘PASS RUSH AND COVERAGE, IT GOES HAND-IN-HAND …’

Western Kentucky defenders Anthony Brackenridge and Avarion Cole were bought up to the press box as Tyson Helton, the Hilltoppers’ eighth-year head coach, was finishing his presser with the assembled media on Saturday night at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The Hilltoppers had just crushed New Mexico State, to the tune of 35-16, and the mood was definitely upbeat at The Houch.

Brackenridge was equal parts philosphical and emphatic in explaining what had just happened, at least from the WKU defense’s perspective.

“Preparation meets opportunity,” Brackenridge said with a wide smile at the podium. “Pass rush, and coverage, it goes hand-in-hand … (The WKU linemen) made our job easier.”

So there you have it.

WKU redshirt freshman Rodney Tisdale Jr., making his first start with the Hilltoppers’ after an amazing effort, in relief, in a mid-week game — on the road, mind you — in the not-so-distanct past. This time, Tisdale was quick to share the wealth after the Tops moved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA play.

It was that sort of night for the HIlltoppers.

“I really have chemistry with all my receivers,” said Tisdale, a second-year WKU football player who hails from Jacksonville, Florida. “They’re my boys …”

The boys went into the Hilltoppers’ final open date of the regular season with some pretty serious momentum heading toward Thanksgiving and the Conference USA championship game.

“(It’s) great to be back home, and get a good conference win,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “Very proud of our football team. They worked extremely hard this week, and a lot of things showed up there tonight. The first thing we said was, ‘Hey, we’ve got to play great defense,’ and we did that.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start, offensively, but I talked to the offense all week, and I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got out there and score in the mid-30s, and I’d be danged if we don’t hit right on the dot in the mid-30s.”

The Hilltoppers played like a contender for the C-USA championship, and the Aggies from Las Cruces, New Mexico, well, they basically just got played.

The Tops’ defense didn’t allow a single touchdown, as NMSU defensive back Stilton McKelvey came up with a ‘scoop-and-score’ TD in the final 90 seconds of the game, a 71-yard fumble return to account for the final margin.

The Aggies dropped to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Conference USA, so November figures to be a pretty long month in Las Cruces.

The Hilltoppers, on the other hand, can take a quick break during an open date and then turn their focus to their ‘100 Miles of Hate’ rivalry with their C-USA neighbors in Murfreesboro, the struggling Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University.

MTSU, which is tied with Sam Houston State for last place in C-USA, gave a solid account of itself on Saturday, falling 24-16 to a stout Kennesaw State team. The Owls and Jacksonville State, WKU’s final regular-season opponent, share first place in the conference standings with 4-0 league records.

Which means Western Kentucky has two C-USA opponents left on the docket, while Kennesaw State and Jax State each have FOUR.

As WKU linebacker Anthony Brackenridge put it, preparation is meeting opportunity.

And the Hilltoppers are quick to take it all in.

“We’re still right in the thick of this,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “Rodney (Tisdale) has a switch … If something bad happens, he comes back and makes plays.”

Like a second-quarter interception that New Mexico State turned into Ryan Hawk’s second field goal of the evening, a 27-yard chip shot that put the Aggies in front, 6-0, midway through the second quarter.

Turns out, the Hilltoppers just needed a challenge on their hands, and the WKU defense was filling the bill.

Before Tisdale started slinging the ball all over the yard, with precision and confidence seldom seen in college freshmen.

After WKU’s imported starter, Maverick McIvor, was held out of the Louisiana Tech game, Tisdale and the Hilltoppers pulled out a 28-27 victory, in overtime, on October 21 in Ruston, Louisiana. Tisdale threw into heavy traffic on a game-winning two-point conversion, finding WKU teammate Moussa Barry just past the goal line, to help put the previous week’s disaster to Florida International — a 25-6 loss in Bowling Green — in the rear-view mirror.

Tisdale and his Hilltoppers receivers were ready to chart a new path against New Mexico State.

Tisdale completed 30 of 38 passes for 301 yards and FOUR touchdowns — two to senior wideout Matthew Henry and one each to Barry and senior WKU tight end Jackson West — as the Hilltoppers controlled the clock before sending the Aggies on a long journey back to New Mexico.

A lot of things can happen between now and Thanksgving, and it seems the Hilltoppers are ready to deal with them. Senior QB Maverick McIvor has been nursing a pectoral injury, WKU coach Tyson Helton confirmed, so the Tops would be wise to consider their options.

Like, McIvor or Tisdale. Or, Tisdale and McIvor. Shoot, redshirt freshman QB Tucker Parks finished the task at hand, sending the WKU Homecoming crowd into the night as a bunch of happy campers.

Again, Helton is keeping his options open.

“The defensive front got after (New Mexico State) pretty good,” Helton said. “All of the defense took turns making plays … We’re evaluating where we’re at. Mav (McIvor) can play. Rodney’s proved good enough to play …

“I’m very pleased with where this team is at … We’re going to be tested.”

MTSU comes to town on November 15. From most, if not all, vantage points, the Hilltoppers figure to be ready for them.