Jim Mashek

HILLTOPPERS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK FROM TOUGH LOSS AT JAX STATE; GOLDEN EAGLES MOVING FORWARD WITH NEW COACH BLAKE ANDERSON

NEW ORLEANS — Tyson Helton met with four members of the media before the Western Kentucky football team departed for New Orleans for its seventh consecutive bowl game appearance, in a familiar haunt against a familiar opponent.

The Hilltoppers, who finished regular-season play with an 8-4 record, will square off with a team in transition — former Conference USA rival Southern Miss — in Tuesday evening’s R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl inside the cavernous Caesars Superdome.

The Golden Eagles, who will be playing under new head coach Blake Anderson for the first time, check in at 7-5 overall after closing regular-season play with consecutive defeats at the hands of Texas State, South Alabama and Troy University. Shortly after the Troy loss, a 28-18 loss at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, first-year USM head coach Charles Huff accepted an offer to coach the Memphis Tigers, who complete in the American Athletic Conference.

The game will kick off at 4:30 p.m. CST, and will be televised by ESPN.

Anderson, who compiled a solid 74-53 record in 10 seasons at Arkansas State and Utah State, joined Huff’s staff last January and helped the Golden Eagles score 30 points or more in half of their games over the last four months.

So while there may be some unknowns, for the Hilltoppers’ second New Orleans Bowl appearance in four years, Helton and the WKU coaching staff have a feel for what the Golden Eagles like to do with the ball in their hands.

“Any time you’re at a place, and then the head coach leaves … and you get to be the guy, that says a lot about who you are,” Helton said. “(Anderson) has been a very good coach. Very successful. So in my eyes, you’re just preparing for a really good Southern Miss team … I don’t see anything different, in that way.

“Now, bowl games take on their own shape. Everybody has a lot more time to prepare, and overthink things, and all that. So, generally, you have to think about what they might do differently …

“But you have more time, too, to prepare for those things.”

It’s been nearly an entire month since the Hilltoppers finished regular-season play with a disappointing 37-34 loss to Jacksonville State. WKU bolted to a 21-7 in the first half, on that fateful day in Jacksonville, Alabama, but the Tops could only manage two field goals in the second half, and the Gamecocks amassed 314 yards rushing to earn the home-field advantage for the Conference USA championship game.

“We always turn the page, no matter what happens,” Helton said. “That’s history … We’re going to have a ‘championship mentality’ for this game. There’s a lot of parity in (Conference USA) …

“I think bowl games are magical, in some ways. It’s a celebration of your season. You’ll remember this game for the rest of your life. Bowls mean a lot to us.”

Helton was asked if senior WKU quarterback Maverick McIvor, who started the first seven games of the season, would get significant playing time against the Golden Eagles, in that it’s his final game with the Hilltoppers. McIvor yielded to redshirt freshman Rodney Tisdale, Jr., for a mid-week C-USA game at Louisiana Tech, and Tisdale turned in a spectacular performance.

Tisdale rolled to his right before firing a pinpoint pass just past the end zone that was caught by the Hilltoppers’ Moussa Barry, for a two-point conversion that sent WKU to a thrilling 28-27 victory. The Tops thumped their next two opponents, beating New Mexico State and Middle Tennessee State in back-to-back home games at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium, again claiming bowl eligibility under Helton’s watch.

McIvor put up some strong numbers in the formative stages of the season, being named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week three times as the Hilltoppers bolted to a solid 5-2 start. Helton declined to offer specifics but indicated Tisdale and McIvor both will be ready to play against the Golden Eagles.

“(McIvor) is always ready. We always prepare the whole (quarterback) room,” Helton said. “Both quarterbacks are going to prepare as though they’re going to stop the game.”

WKU running back La ‘Vell Wright, a 220-pound bruiser who leads the Tops with 10 rushing touchdowns, has chosen to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal and will not play Tuesday against the Golden Eagles. Western Kentucky announced its three captains for the bowl game, choosing offensive lineman Marshall Jackson, linebacker Jaylen Wester and punter Cole Maynard. Maynard was chosen to the Associated Press All-America team last week.