WKU Football is set to head to Sam Houston Wednesday to take on the Bearkats in what could prove to be the Hilltoppers most crucial game of the year so far.
The Hilltoppers and Bearkats both figure to be in contention for the Conference USA title and this matchup will have big stakes in deciding who gets to the conference championship.
“We’ve got a veteran group, love our team, they get the big picture,” Head Coach Tyson Helton said. “I think they’re excited to play this game, they have a lot of respect for the opponent that they are about to play.”
Both WKU and Sam Houston currently sit 2-0 in conference play and have handily defeated each of their opponents.
WKU has outscored C-USA opponents 93-38 on the season and Sam Houston has outscored C-USA opponents 72-32.
The Hilltoppers will head to Huntsville, Texas on short rest following a Thursday game last week. Wednesday’s matchup will be WKU’s second of three midweek contests in October.
“I think we’ve been on track,” Helton said. “Guys have been good, nobody has felt rushed or like hey there is a quick turnaround.”
WKU is coming off a bounce-back victory over UTEP after dropping their previous game at Boston College in heartbreaking fashion.
The Hilltoppers receiving group is coming off a huge week against UTEP and will look to put together another strong week at Sam Houston.
Last week redshirt sophomore Easton Messer had 106 yards, senior Kisean Johnson had 82 yards, graduate Michael Mathison had three touchdowns and redshirt senior Dalvin Smith had a touchdown.
Helton sees room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball despite allowing only 17 points last week.
“I feel like we got tested last week in some of those scenarios against UTEP,” Helton said. “We turned a 60-yard touchdown loose defensively. I think that was a learning lesson, we didn’t take good angles defensively.”
The Hilltoppers will face off against a much more explosive offense this week against Sam Houston. The Bearkats have scored over 30 points in all but one of their games this season.
Sam Houston enters the game as 2.5 point favorites, according to ESPN, after winning four straight.
Wednesday’s matchup will be nationally televised on ESPN2 and will kickoff at 6 p.m. CT.
