{"id":22219,"date":"2026-09-03T18:16:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/?p=22219"},"modified":"2026-09-04T01:28:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T01:28:29","slug":"mining-for-gold-wku-football-opens-the-2026-season-against-nevada-wolf-pack-in-reno-on-saturday-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/?p=22219","title":{"rendered":"MINING FOR GOLD\/WKU football opens the 2026 season against Nevada Wolf Pack in Reno on Saturday night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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HILLTOPPERS TO OPEN THE SEASON WITH THREE CONSECUTIVE ROAD TRIPS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Consistency has been a calling card for Western Kentucky University football during the Tyson Helton Era, which began in 2019, and has concluded each year with a trip to a bowl game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hilltoppers are still looking for their first Conference USA championship since back-to-back titles in 2015 and ’16, under former WKU coach Jeff Brohm — now at the University of Louisville — but they’ve won four of their last five bowl games, while winning nine games three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helton has proven to be an adept navigator of the NCAA Transfer Portal, too, and the Hilltoppers will have 65 first-year players on their roster when they make the long trip to Reno, Nevada, to tangle with the University of Nevada on Saturday night at Mackay Stadium. The Tops also return 24 lettermen from last year’s 9-4 squad, including seven starters, including redshirt sophomore quarterback Rodney Tisdale, Jr., wideout\/kick returner K.D. Hutchinson and hard-hitting safety Jaylen Lewis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kickoff for Saturday’s opening game is at 9:30 p.m., Central Daylight Time. The game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network and radio coverage from Randy Lee, “The Voice of the Hilltoppers,” and his crew will begin one hour earlier. Radio coverage can be heard on 100.7 FM and on the Varsity App.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will be the first of three consecutive road trips to open a challenging season, including back-to-back games on the road against two Power Five programs — Georgia, on September 12, and defending national champion Indiana, on September 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helton has compiled a solid 57-36 overall record since 2019, his debut season, including a 40-15 mark in Conference USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RODNEY TISDALE, JR., GIVES THE HILLTOPPERS
VALUABLE EXPERIENCE AT QUARTERBACK.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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WKU WILL HAVE PLENTY
OF NEW FACES ON DEFENSE<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The ninth-year WKU head coach met with the media on Monday, at Houchens-Smith Stadium, to outline his plans for the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It should be a great Week One test (at Nevada) … I think our team is ready to compete,” Helton said. “The Week One game is always tough … This football team likes to work. We have some depth, in certain areas. They’ve jelled together, but the big thing is they like to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The veteran players, they know how to prepare. It’s just trying to get everyone on the same page. We’re going to have a lot of challenging road games this year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, Helton confirmed that redshirt freshman Rodney Tisdale, Jr., will be his starting quarterback against Nevada. Tisdale got the nod over Florida State transfer Brock Glenn, after starting six games last season, including the Hilltoppers’ 27-16 victory over Southern Miss in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Rodney will be the starter. All the quarterbacks, they competed well, in camp,” Helton said. “I want the starter to feel comfortable as the starter … Once I make a decision, it’s his car to drive.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tisdale took over at midseason last year, when senior transfer Maverick McIvor was sidelined with a pectoral injury. Tisdale had an impressive debut in a midweek game at Louisiana Tech, which has since left Conference USA for the Sun Belt Conference. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound QB from Jacksonville, Florida, completed 24 of 31 passes for 227 yards and a score in that game, and he found K.D. Hutchinson in the end zone, on a rollout pass to his right, for the decisive points on a two-point conversion, lifting the Tops to a dramatic 28-27 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tisdale believes the Hilltoppers’ offense is ready for the task at hand, speaking to Bowling Green Daily News sports editor Jeff Nations earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Obviously, my job’s not done,” Tisdale said. “There’s still a couple things I’ve got to learn myself. Brock (Glenn, the FSU transfer) is behind me, 100 percent of the way. He’s got my back through it all. So as long as we build together and keep that strong relationship, and that strong bond in the QB room, it’s gonna be all right for everybody.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday night’s game will mark the second meeting between the Tops and Nevada. The Hilltoppers struck for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to zap the Wolf Pack, 31-16, last year at WKU’s Houchens-Smith Stadium. WKU opened as a 4.5-point favorite over the Wolf Pack, but the line has dropped to 1.5 points in the last 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A victory over Nevada would be a psychological boost for the Hilltoppers, if nothing else, with Georgia and Indiana looming next on the schedule. WKU used 21 fourth-quarter points to knock off the Wolf Pack, 31-16, last year in Bowling Green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TYSON HELTON HAS TAKEN THE HILLTOPPERS
TO BOWL GAMES IN SEVEN CONSECUTIVE SEASONS.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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JAYLEN LEWIS PLAYED AT ARKANSAS AND
TEMPLE BEFORE JOINING THE TOPS IN 2025.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Tisdale completed 139 of 212 passes (66 percent) for 1,432 yards and nine touchdowns last season, adding 108 yards rushing, and two touchdowns on the ground. Senior wideout K.D. Hutchinson, a 5-foot-8 slot receiver from Valley, Alabama, had a team-high 66 receptions for 618 yards and three touchdowns. The Tops have a first-year offensive coordinator in Bodie Reeder, who succeeds Rick Bowie, who now holds the same position at Texas-San Antonio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hilltoppers return one starter on the offensive line, senior tackle Karsten Upchurch, who played JUCO ball at East Mississippi before moving on to Mississippi State and then WKU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Big men lead the way,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “You’ll see some true freshmen playing out there … Your depth is going to be important, in the heat, in these early games.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE HILLTOPPERS WILL NOT PLAY AT HOME
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 26, WHEN THEY’LL
PLAY HOST TO FCS MERCYHURST (PA.)
AT HOUCHENS-SMITH STADIUM.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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PIPER SEEMS HIP TO THE FACT
THAT FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE …<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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HILLTOPPERS TO OPEN THE SEASON WITH THREE CONSECUTIVE ROAD TRIPS Consistency has been a calling card for Western Kentucky University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nationalsports","category-potpourri","category-wkusports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22219"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22232,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22219\/revisions\/22232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}