{"id":5374,"date":"2022-12-22T08:10:12","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T08:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/?p=5374"},"modified":"2022-12-22T20:31:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T20:31:59","slug":"quick-hitter-story-western-kentucky-thrashes-south-alabama-with-44-23-victory-in-new-orleans-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/?p=5374","title":{"rendered":"QUICK HITTER STORY\/Western Kentucky thrashes South Alabama with 44-23 victory in New Orleans Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HILLTOPPERS QB AUSTIN REED IS UNANIMOUS CHOICE FOR MVP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW ORLEANS<\/strong> — They came, they saw, they threw it all over the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Record-setting quarterback Austin Reed turned in another spectacular effort, guiding Western Kentucky to a 44-23 victory over South Alabama on Wednesday night in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hilltoppers could savor their ninth victory in 14 games, which Reed believes will go a long way for Western next season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month before deciding to return to the Hilltoppers for his final year of eligibility. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound quarterback was nothing short of brilliant against South Alabama, which lost for just the third time in 13 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
WKU’s (FROM LEFT) DAVLIN SMITH,
AUSTIN REED, COACH TYSON HELTON
AND MALACHI CORLEY.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed completed 36 of 55 passes for 497 yards and four touchdowns and an interception. He was the media’s unanimous choice as the game’s MVP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was a great night for our football team,” fifth-year WKU coach Tyson Helton said in the postgame press conference. “Austin played his most complete game of the season tonight … This was a special night for our football team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We talked a lot about a championship mentality, and our guys really had their jaw set. They made play after play.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
AUSTIN REED THREW FOUR TOUCHDOWN PASSES.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest play, perhaps, came when Western Kentucky was looking to extend its 14-0 lead in the early moments of the second quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helton went for a little razzle dazzle as Dalvin Smith, a sophomore receiver from Glasgow, took a lateral that LOOKED<\/strong> like a swing pass to the right flat. Smith then stopped a few yards from the sideline and lofted a 25-yard touchdown pass to teammate Jaylen Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was 21-0 and the Jaguars were fading fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was a complete breakdown, for us, defensively,” South Alabama coach Kane Wommack said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
WKU’s DEFENSE WAS EQUAL TO THE TASK
AGAINST SOUTH ALABAMA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed said the Hilltoppers’ performance should serve as a launching point for the 2023 season. Helton has now gone 3-1 in bowl games with WKU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tonight was a perfect example, for why I came back (to WKU),” Reed said. “Those receivers, they all did a good job when their number was called. When we got going with (offensive) ‘tempo,’ we could get some mismatches out there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s just the start of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This game was a total mismatch, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll have a comprehensive look at the game later this morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
WKU HAD A BIG NIGHT ON SPECIAL TEAMS, TOO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
SOUTH ALABAMA WAS A 4.5-POINT FAVORITE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HILLTOPPERS QB AUSTIN REED IS UNANIMOUS CHOICE FOR MVP NEW ORLEANS — They came, they saw, they threw it all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nationalsports","category-wkusports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374","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=5374"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5406,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374\/revisions\/5406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimmashek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}