FOR 253 YARDS AND FOUR TOUCHDOWNS.
FIFTH-RANKED OHIO STATE AWAITS TOPS ON THE HORIZON
Western Kentucky’s football season has gone pretty much the way everyone expected.
So far.
The Hilltoppers have opened the 2023 season with an impressive comeback in Week One, a 41-24 victory over South Florida, and they returned to Houchens-Smith Stadium on Saturday evening to address a more tedious task.
Namely, Western Kentucky University 52, Houston Christian, the NCAA D-1 FCS school formerly known as Houston Baptist University, 22.
Not too many surprises. An interesting WKU defense taking shape. A couple potentially critical injuries, at wide receiver, to address.
And, perhaps most important, two solid outings from WKU senior quarterback Austin Reed, the gunslinger from St. Augustine, Florida.
A 38-YARD TD RECEPTION.
A 24-0 LEAD IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
AND HILLTOPPERS DB KENDRICK SIMPKINS.
The sturdy Toppers QB who dipped his toe in the NCAA Transfer Portal about nine months ago, only to quickly change his mind and stay with the Hilltoppers through their bowl game, an impressive 44-23 victory over a 10-win South Alabama squad in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The Hilltoppers trailed South Florida, a revamped American Athletic Conference squad, in the heat of the day on Labor Day weekend at The Houch. South Florida’s dual threat quarterback, Byrum Brown, riddled the WKU defense for a while before the Tops caught fire and cruised to a 41-24 victory.
Week Two presented a different sort of challenge.
Taking on a team from a smaller school in the Southland Conference, the Huskies from Houston Christian.
The biggest enemy might have been complacency, because HCU is usually tangling against the likes of McNeese State, Lamar University and the Cardinals of Incarnate Word University in San Antonio.
No knock on those Cardinals — they did roll to a 42-6 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday in Greeley, Colorado — but building a top-flight Group of Five football program generally means winning these sorts of games in a walk.
ON A 59-YARD INTERCEPTION RETURN.
That’s what the Hilltoppers accomplished on Saturday night, before a paid crowd of 20,712 at The Houch, as WKU quarterback Austin Reed completed 27 of 33 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns.
“I thought the crowd was outstanding. It was a great atmosphere,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said.
His players were quick to agree.
“It was a good crowd, it’s nice for us to us to feel rewarded,” Reed said.
Reed got good protection for nearly the entire night, and he got the ball to nine different WKU receivers, which could be critical with what the Hilltoppers have on the horizon.
You know, past the Ohio River and into the Buckeye State.
All the way to the Horseshoe, the 103,000-seat Ohio Stadium, the home of the fifth-ranked Buckeyes from Ohio State.
It’s a tall order, no two ways about it.
(They closed the open end of “The Horseshoe” during the stadium’s last expansion, in 2014.)
Ohio State is 2-0, too, after Saturday’s workmanlike 35-7 victory over its own FCS opponent, Youngstown State.
IN A 21-YARD TD RECEPTION
IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
AND TOPPERS CORNER UPTON STOUT.
Helton’s squad gets a chance to step into the spotlight of big-time college football, a road trip to a storied venue as a decided underdog. But an underdog capable of scoring lots of points with Austin Reed at the controls.
“We enjoy these types of games,” said WKU coach Tyson Helton, in his fifth season with the Tops. “We want to be a part of the national conversation. It’s a great opportunity for our football team.”
The Hilltoppers’ players also seem to embrace the challenge.
“I feel like we have a lot to work on,” WKU defensive back Kendrick Simpkins said, “especially with the opponent we have next week.”
Austin Reed was quick to caution the Ohio State game “won’t make or break our season,” perhaps mindful of the missed opportunity at Indiana, last year’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington.
But that’s one Big Ten opponent, and Ohio State is clearly another.
“We’re excited about it, but it’s just the third game on our schedule,” Reed said.
“I think we can compete with anybody in the country,” WKU freshman wide receiver Easton Messer said.
Messer had a sensational 21-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, a leaping grab in the left corner of the end zone, and the 5-foot-9, 195-pound wideout from Louisville Christian Academy led the Hilltoppers with nine receptions for a team-high 116 yards.
WKU BACKUP QB TYLER HELTON DIRECTED
A TD DRIVE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.
Western Kentucky has excellent depth at wide receiver, which is a good thing after WKU redshirt junior Dalvin Smith was injured in the opening moments of the game.
Smith was wearing a boot on his lower left leg after the game, but WKU’s Tyson Helton said it doesn’t appear to be a serious injury. “(Smith) told me it was lower ankle,” Helton said.
The Hilltoppers’ All-Conference USA wideout, Campbellsville’s Malachi Corley, was injured in the first quarter of WKU’s opener against South Florida. Corley was dressed and probably could have played against HCU, but Helton and the Tops were playing it safe with Ohio State looming in the distance.
“We like to say that we’re the best (position) room in the building,” Messer said with a grin.
WKU’s rushing defense gave up large chunks of yardage but the Hilltoppers forced three HCU turnovers, including Upton Stout’s spectacular interception return for a first-quarter touchdown. The score extended the Tops’ lead to 24-0, with Stout making a leaping interception of a Colby Suits pass before crossing the field and covering 53 yards for the TD.
WKU led NCAA FBS squads in takeaways and points off turnovers last year, and the Tops have had defensive touchdowns in each other their first two games.
“That’s how we’re built (on defense),” Helton said. “There’s two things we care about, and that’s creating turnovers and make (the opponent) kick field goals.”
WKU senior running back Markese Stepp led the Tops with 48 yards rushing, and Reed scored on a 3-yard run in the opening moments of the second half. Reed made a couple plays with his legs against South Florida, too, and was sporting a bruise on his arm that prompted the curiosity of a reporter after the game.
“You turn into a dual threat,” said the sturdy, 6-foot-2, 220-pound quarterback, “and those things happen.”
The Hilltoppers get their chance to make something happen against Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.
HAS HAD A PROMISING START FOR THE TOPS.
THE HUSKIES ON A 38-YARD TD RECEPTION.
GAMES ARE ON THE ROAD.