WKU Football released its 2022 schedule Tuesday afternoon, with more road games than home games on the slate. 

The Hilltoppers will play five non-conference games and eight Conference USA games, six of those games are against programs that are bowl-eligible in 2021. Their schedule is road-heavy with 7 of their 13 games played away from Houchens-Smith Stadium. 

WKU will host Austin Peay on Saturday, Aug. 27 to start its season before traveling to Manoa, Hawaii, to play the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, Sept. 3. 

WKU will travel to Indiana on Saturday, Sep. 17, following its bye week. The Hilltoppers put up a strong performance in 2021, losing to the Hoosiers 33-31 in Bowling Green. Houchens-Smith set a record-breaking crowd of 25,171 for the game. 

The Hilltoppers will open C-USA play with Florida International on Saturday, Sep. 24. WKU beat FIU in 2021 34-19 with the help of 27 consecutive points and seven sacks. WKU will stay in Bowling Green to play Troy in back-to-back home games on Saturday, Oct. 1. 

WKU head coach Tyson Helton’s squad will travel to face conference-foe UTSA on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Hilltoppers played the Roadrunners twice in the 2021 season. WKU fell 52-46 during the regular season and 41-49 for the Conference USA Championship game. 

The Hilltoppers will face their 100 Miles of Hate rival Middle Tennessee for two consecutive away games on Saturday, Oct. 15. They forced six interceptions on the Blue Raiders in 2021, a new program FBS record. 

WKU hosts Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 22. The Hilltoppers dominated the Thundering Herd 53-21 in the 2021 regular season for the East Division C-USA Championship. It was the first Division title for the Hilltoppers since 2016. 

The Hilltoppers face the Rice Owls on Saturday, Oct. 29, at Houchens-Smith Stadium. WKU claimed a victory against the Owls last season 42-21. 

WKU will travel to play Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Hilltoppers trounced the Owls 52-17 in the 2021 regular season. WKU hosts Old Dominion on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Hilltoppers defeated the Monarchs 43-20 in 2021. 

The Hilltoppers will travel to Auburn, Ala., to face SEC opponent Auburn on Saturday, Nov. 19. This will be the third meeting between these programs with Auburn winning both previous games in decisive fashion. 

WKU will travel to play Charlotte on Saturday, Nov. 26, for its season finale. The Hilltoppers defeated the 49ers 45-13 in 2021. 

Sports Reporter Piper McCoun can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @piper_mccoun.