WKU Football dropped their first game in Conference USA play Saturday to Louisiana Tech.
While the story of a 12-7 game is pretty easy to deduce by looking at the score, the story of WKU’s loss can also be told through a three-minute-long press conference with running back Elijah Young and linebacker Darius Thomas.
When Young and Thomas walked in, a room full of media members talking about the snooze-fest of a game we had just witnessed went silent. The room always goes silent no matter the circumstance, but this time was different.
You could see the deflation in the pair as soon as they sat. Young sat in a crouched position and leaned up close to the mic. Thomas sat way back in his chair with his hands tucked away in the front pocket of his hoodie. Both slumped just like the WKU offense had done minutes prior.
Young was asked three questions in the early part of the presser, all revolving around what the offense didn’t do well and what it has to do to improve. Young responded to the three questions with just 54 total words.
“It just wasn’t going our way. We just wasn’t locked in right there,” Young said.
Just as I thought Young finished his response to the third question asked of him – a response shorter than the rest with just 14 words – he paused, nodded his head and summed up the main cause of the Hilltopper woes, not only on offense, but by the team as a whole.
“Mistakes.”
Following WKU’s best drive of the game – a 97-yard touchdown drive that gave the Hilltoppers a 7-3 lead – the WKU defense walked off the field and took a seat on the bleachers after forcing a LA Tech punt. On the punt, however, WKU roughed the punter, giving the Bulldogs 15 yards and a free first down. LA Tech proceeded to put three points on the board on the drive, cutting the WKU lead down to one.
That’s a three-point mistake.
In the third quarter, WKU looked like they would add another touchdown to the tally, driving the ball inside the Bulldog 10-yard line. Wide receiver Kisean Johnson was wide open on a play that would have seemingly ended the drive with a touchdown, but Veltkamp missed him with a pass that went way over Johnson’s head.
A seven-point mistake.
On the same drive, WKU was tasked with a huge decision – a fourth-and-1 at the opponent’s 7-yard line, down 9-7. A chip shot field goal would give WKU the lead but one yard would have kept touchdown hopes alive. Head Coach Tyson Helton went with the latter.
“I felt like it was going to take more than the field goal,” Helton said.
And I agree with Helton. I thought going for it was the right call. However, a quarterback draw fell short. Turnover on downs.
Another mistake leaving points on the board.
Those three stand out as the biggest in a plethora of mistakes the Hilltoppers made against the Bulldogs.
Mistakes are what made the game against New Mexico State a week prior concerning. Helton has used the phrase “what you do in November they remember” on multiple occasions, but right now what I’m remembering from this month is mistake-ridden football that has WKU in a tough position to finish out the year.
The good news? WKU still controls their destiny as a host of the C-USA championship game. If the Hilltoppers win out, Friday, Dec. 6 will see a conference championship game at Houchens Smith Stadium.
The bad news? WKU has to win two really tough games: One on the road against Liberty and one at home against conference-undefeated Jacksonville State.
I think the Hilltoppers will be fine. Liberty has shown to be weaker than usual this season and Jacksonville State has had a rough go of it this month with a few almost-losses to LA Tech and FIU. However, mistakes have to be cleaned up if WKU wants to contend for a conference title.
Sports Reporter Jake McMahon can be reached at [email protected]
