WKU to Celebrate Homecoming Against North Texas

Coach Andy Mac · October 25, 2022

WKU (5-3, 3-1 C-USA) vs. North Texas (4-4, 3-1 C-USA)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 29
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. CT
Location: Bowling Green, Ky. (Houchens-Smith Stadium)
Watch: Stadium
Listen: WKLX (SAM 100.7 FM) and WWKU (ESPN Radio 102.7 FM) in Bowling Green
Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
Game Notes: WKU | North Texas
Game Day Information: Tickets | Gameday Guide | Live Stats

NOTES & QUOTES

It's homecoming week on The Hill! The Hilltoppers will celebrate homecoming against North Texas this year. Last season's homecoming game was against Charlotte and the Hilltoppers game away with a 45-13 victory over the 49ers.

Both of WKU's last two games saw the Hilltoppers enter the matchup with a tied series against their opponent. WKU and Middle Tennessee were tied 35-35-1 entering the 100 Miles of Hate Rivalry. WKU and UAB were tied 4-4 all-time entering Friday night's contest. WKU won both those games to claim the all-time series lead. This week, WKU and North Texas enter Saturday's contest with the series tied at four wins apiece.

Saturday will mark the last meeting between WKU and North Texas for the foreseeable future as the Mean Green prepare to make the transition to the American Athletic Conference next season. The Hilltoppers have played North Texas twice as Conference USA rivals, winning both meetings in 2015 as well as 2016.

Saturday's matchup between the Hilltoppers and Mean Green will go a long way in sorting out the Conference USA standings. WKU and North Texas enter Saturday in a tie for second place in Conference USA with both teams owning a 3-1 record in league play. The winner will move into sole possession of second place and control their own destiny to play in the Conference USA Championship game.

Western Kentucky's win over UAB was its fifth on the season, which puts the Hilltoppers just one win away from becoming bowl eligible this year. It would mark the fourth-consecutive season WKU was eligible for a bowl game, and the 11th time in the past 12 years.

The Hilltoppers are 5-3 through eight games this season, which is one game ahead of where they were through eight games a season ago. The 2021 team was 4-4 through eight games after starting the year 1-4. That team went on to finish 9-5 with an appearance in the Conference USA Championship game and the Boca Raton Bowl, which it won over App State.

"North Texas week. Good to have another home game. Got a really good North Texas team coming in. One of the top offenses in the conference, playing a very solid defense as well. Should be a tremendous challenge, but it's good we get them at home. It's a big conference game for sure. Last week, Coach Latrell does a great job preparing his guys, and I know they had a tough one last week at UTSA. [We] were in the lead for most of the game, it was a back and forth game and UTSA was able to pull it off. So I know [North Texas has] their jaw set trying to come in here and win and so will we and it should make for a great match up and I'm looking forward to it."

-Tyson Helton on the matchup against North Texas

"We take it one game at a time, obviously, but we fully understand that to be in control of your own destiny is a good thing and to try not to look past North Texas. Our main focus is North Texas. They are the same way and are trying to control their destiny as well. The big win against UAB, which was huge, that was a really big confidence builder. They are a really good football team, and I thought the atmosphere was fantastic. The fans showed up and did a great job, and we're going to need that again this week because this game will be probably even harder."

-Helton on the implications of Saturday's game

"Defense wins championships. If you want to win, have a really good defense that produces turnovers. That's why you win, and that's a big box that we checked on several weeks of the season. Again, I think they'll be put to the test again against North Texas. Offensively, did some good things, but there was twice where we got the ball across the fifty and didn't do anything with it. We came away with no points on the board. Both those times we lost yardage. So those are the things we have to correct and fix. Particularly against a team like North Texas."

-Helton on getting the team to play complementary football

LAST TIME OUT

The Hilltoppers came away with a huge victory over UAB, thanks to four forced turnovers by the defense. Kahlef Hailassie was responsible for three of those turnovers, including an interception on UAB's last drive to secure the victory. Quarterback Austin Reed rushed for two touchdowns, and true freshman running back L.T. Sanders rushed for 120 yards.

ABOUT NORTH TEXAS

The Mean Green enter Saturday's contest with a 4-4 record overall and 3-1 mark in Conference USA play. Austin Aune quarterbacks North Texas and has thrown for 2,017 yards and 20 touchdowns. Roderic Burns is his top target with 541 yards and a touchdown. Ayo Adeyi and Oscar Adaway III are a two-headed monster at running back with 559 and 548 yards, respectively. Defensively, KD Davis leads the way with 84 total tackles on the year. Seth Littrell is in his seventh season as head coach at North Texas.

SERIES HISTORY

The all-time series between WKU and North Texas is tied at four wins apiece. WKU has won four-consecutive games in the series.

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Matt from A700 · October 25, 2022

Has it really been six years since we played WKU? Sheesh.

GreenEggs&Ham™ · October 27, 2022

Good information Coach Andy Mac.

I have listened to every Tyson Helton radio show this season and here are my takeaways not covered in CAM's above post.

WKU leads the nation in turnovers gained.
They like to strip the football and give it back to their offense.
WKU doesn't believe they can stop NT's "balanced" offense.
Coach Helton believes WKU needs to score 35 to 40 points to win against. NT.
Helton understands that NT has a bend don't break defense.
Force NT to kick field goals and prevent TD's is one of their defensive strategies.
Coach Tyson has repeatedly mentioned that WKU likes to hit their opponents QB on almost every play.