Hilltoppers turn the tables in second half, win 2025 New Orleans Bowl
NEW ORLEANS – Tuesday night, WKU football took part in its seventh straight bowl game appearance, facing off with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the 2025 New Orleans Bowl, and following a second-half comeback, the Tops leave ‘The Big Easy’ with a 27-16 win and a new piece of hardware.
It’s WKU’s first bowl game victory since winning the Famous Toastery Bowl back in 2023, and the program’s eighth bowl win in 14 seasons.
The first half was anything but normal for WKU, as the Tops produced a season-low of just 84 total yards of offense, something that the team had reached through one quarter in all but one matchup in 2025 (New Mexico State).
A large role in that slim number for WKU was the run defense of the Golden Eagles, where the first two quarters saw just 16 rushing yards on 13 attempts from the ground.
Despite the slow start, the Tops were only trailing 13-6 going into the second half behind two John Cannon field goals, and that’s where the game was flipped on its head.
Amidst many injuries that occurred in play, WKU starting quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. was subbed out for senior Maverick McIvor, and with the San Angelo, Texas native under center, the offense was rejuvenated.
The Tops would put up 338 yards in quarters three and four, led by McIvor, propelling the team to outscore Southern Miss 21-3 in that span.
McIvor would have 199 yards through the air and 48 on the ground, with his most impactful run being the Tops’ first touchdown of the game, an 11-yard run midway through the third quarter.
The run attack would provide all three second-half scores after being shut down in the first 30 minutes, as McIvor, George Hart III and Marvis Parrish crossed the goal line to put the Tops up by multiple scores.
Parrish’s 54-yard score in the fourth quarter marked the longest rushing touchdown of the season for WKU and the first career rushing touchdown for the true freshman.
WKU did have more turnovers on the night, but the only one for Southern Miss was the interception with under two minutes to play by defensive back Jaylen Lewis, which sealed the outcome, as WKU ran out the clock from there to claim the New Orleans Bowl trophy.
The Hilltoppers round out the 2025 season with a 9-4 record, which is the most the program has gotten since 2022 and the fourth time they’ve reached that mark in seven seasons under Tyson Helton.
