On Dec. 21, 2022, I watched my first-ever Hilltopper Football game as a student, where WKU dissected South Alabama 44-23 with 677 yards of total offense.
Three years later, my last Hilltopper football game as a student was a 27-16 win over Southern Miss in the 2025 New Orleans Bowl. 422 yards of total offense to help WKU earn its eighth bowl win since 2009.
But true to the theme this season, it wasn’t complete football for four quarters. I was tempted to call Scooby-Doo and the rest of Mystery Inc. to handle the “Big Scare in the Big Easy,” as Southern Mississippi controlled the game, leading 13-6 after the first half. The Golden Eagles allowed just 84 total yards, one third-down conversion, and 2.5 yards per play in the first half.
The Hilltoppers came out ready to alligator wrestle in the second half. The offense totaled 338 yards, averaging 8.7 yards per play and converting eight of nine third-down conversions. The WKU defense, already keeping the Hilltoppers in the game, held the Golden Eagles to three points and 112 yards of total offense in the second half. WKU turned the ball over two more times, but their overwhelming offense gave them the win in the bayou.
With the injury to redshirt freshman quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr., senior quarterback Maverick McIvor returned to lead the Hilltoppers to the comeback win. The last time we saw him prior to this point was the devastating home loss to FIU, where he threw three interceptions. McIvor returned and brought the dual threat look that Tisdale Jr. brought once he stepped in for the injured McIvor.
“When your time is called, you have to be ready to play,” McIvor said. “Unfortunately, Rodney went down, someone who played good for us this season, but going through all these weeks of prep, when your number is called, you have to stay ready and when you’re number is called, it’s time for you to go out there and play good.”
The Hilltoppers avoided their second straight bowl loss after dropping the Boca Raton Bowl to James Madison last year, but what’s notable to me are the similarities and differences between the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Last year’s team rattled off seven wins heading into mid-November after a week one loss to FBS powerhouse Alabama and a heartbreaker to ACC product Boston College. Following the loss to BC, the Hilltoppers rattled off four straight conference wins, all by at least two scores.
Then the loss to LA Tech happened on Homecoming weekend, and WKU was truly never the same. Three more losses followed, including a blowout loss in the Conference Championship to Jacksonville State and the aforementioned bowl game loss, sank the once-promising season.
With losses like Upton Stout, Elijah Young and Caden Veltkamp, Helton rounded up playmaking transfers, with standouts like senior linebacker Jaylen Wester and senior wide receiver Matthew Henry, both players who I believe will be playing on Sundays.
Despite the losses entering the season, the Hilltoppers made the best of the situation by securing a nine-win season and a bowl game win. This season further proves the point that Helton has the ability to turn a roster into a winning team, and should continue to maintain his job, barring he takes a job elsewhere. Helton’s 57-36 overall record and 5-2 bowl-game record have cemented him as a long-term fixture for the Hilltoppers.
