Hilltoppers Take Down Jax State 34-24 On Homecoming

WKU Athletics Media Release

BOWING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football took the lead in the closing seconds to defeat Jax State 34-24 during a Homecoming game on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The Hilltoppers went ahead with 2 seconds remaining on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brock Glenn to Jyzaiah Rockwell to improve to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA play while handing the Gamecocks (7-3 overall, 5-1 CUSA) their first conference loss of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the WKU defense forced a three-out on the first drive of the game, the Hilltopper offense marched 66 yards down the field over seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. Ajay Allen finished off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter.
• Jax State took advantage of a WKU turnover and connected on a 50-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 7:17 remaining in the opener period.
• WKU fumbled on its next offensive play and Jax State returned it 8 yards for a touchdown to make it a 10-7 Gamecock lead.
• WKU retook the lead, 14-10, with a 4-yard touchdown run from Brock Glenn to cap off a 12-play, 75-yard drive with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
• Jax State went back in front with a 9-yard pass with 12:15 remaining in the second quarter, making it a 17-14 Gamecock lead.
• The Hilltoppers retook the lead again off a 1-yard rush by Glenn to cap off a 16-play, 75-yard drive at the 3:11 mark in the second quarter.
• Jax State drove down 78 yards to score a touchdown making it 24-21 Gamecock lead with 2:37 left in the first half.
• WKU had an opportunity to tie the game before the half after an interception from Jaylen Lewis, but a last-second, 50-yard field goal attempt from Karl Campbell fell short and the Gamecocks took the 24-21 lead into the break.
• After a scoreless third quarter, the Hilltoppers took the lead with 0:02 on the clock on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Glenn to Jyzaiah Rockwell to take a 28-24 lead.
• Dave Herard recovered a fumble for WKU on Jax State’s final play and returned it 2 yards to make the final score 34-24.

NOTABLES

• WKU improves to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA play with the win.
• WKU is now 6-4 all-time against Jax State and 2-3 against the Gamecocks since both have been at the FBS level and members of CUSA.
• WKU is 5-0 in games between the two programs in Bowling Green.
• WKU improves to 61-42 under Head Coach Tyson Helton with the win. The 61 wins are third-most in program history. Helton trails only Jimmy Feix, who had 106 wins in 16 years from 1968-83, and Jack Harbaugh, who had 91 wins in 14 seasons from 1989-02, on WKU’s all-time career wins list.
• The Hilltoppers are now 43-18 under Helton in regular-season CUSA games.
• WKU improved to 3-1 at home this season. The Hilltoppers have won 14 of its last 17 games at Houchens-Smith Stadium to improve to 213-103-4 all-time at the stadium. WKU is now 32-13 in home games under Helton. WKU guaranteed a winning season at home with the victory over the Gamecocks, marking the 43rd time in 59 seasons WKU has had a winning home season at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
• WKU’s team captains for the game were center Alec Johnson, defensive end LaTrevion Thompson and long snapper Nolan Imhoff.
  Announced attendance for the game was 10,112.
• It was the fourth consecutive year the two programs have met during the regular season and the game was decided in the closing seconds. Jax State claimed a 20-17 victory in Jacksonville, Alabama, during the 2023 season with a 41-yard field goal as time expired;
• WKU won 19-17 in the 2024 regular season finale at Houchens-Smith Stadium on a 50-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro with 3 seconds remaining; and the Gamecocks defeated the Hilltoppers 37-34 during the 2025 regular-season finale on a 28-yard field goal as time expired.
• WKU finished with 327 yards of offense in the win – 202 through the air and 125 on the ground.
• Rodney Tisdale Jr. started at quarterback for WKU and threw for 120 yards on 14-16-1 passing.
• Brock Glenn threw for 82 yards and one touchdown on 7-10-0 passing, while adding a team-best 71 yards and two touchdowns on 13 rushing attempts. Glenn now has thrown eight touchdown passes and ran for another eight this season.
• Nine Hilltoppers caught passes in the victory, and five caught multiple passes. Zion Taylor led WKU with career-best six receptions for 52 yards.
• Coleson Arends caught five passes for 30 yards, which were both career highs.
• Rockwell’s touchdown catch was the 10th of his college career and his first with WKU.
• WKU allowed just 210 yards in the win, including just 48 yards rushing. The 210 yards allowed were the second-fewest WKU has allowed this season, behind only the 177 allowed at Sam Houston, and the 48 yards rushing are the fewest yards rushing allowed by
• WKU in a game this season. The Hilltopper defense allowed just 10 yards and no first downs during the first quarter. WKU held Jax State to -6 yards rushing over the first 15 minutes.
• Thirteen different Hilltoppers recorded multiple tackles in the win, led by eight from true freshman linebacker Westen Ard.
• WKU recorded seven tackles for loss and three sacks. LaTrevion Thompson led WKU with two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Justin Brown also had a pair of tackles for loss, and Zeiqui Lawton had one sack and Ard had 0.5 sacks.
• Jaylen Lewis recorded an interception in the win. It was the fifth interception of his college career, his fourth at WKU and his first of the season.
• Dave Herard’s fumble recovery was the fifth of his college career, his fourth at WKU and his first this season.
• Jaylen Wester recorded a forced fumble in the third quarter, which was the eighth forced fumble of his college career, his sixth with WKU and his fourth this season.

QUOTABLES

• “Great win. Our guys battled so hard, and I’m just very proud of our football team. I’m proud for our university, I’m proud for our fans, and it was just a great great night with it being homecoming. We had a lot of former players on the sideline and there were a lot of positive vibes that just carried over to the game. Our guys kept fighting and fighting. It was not always pretty by any means, but our guys competed and came up with a big win. Just happy to stay alive and keep fighting another day.” – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the win against Jax State.
• “Yeah, we called a naked, and we were looking for the flat first. That wasn’t there, and obviously had a little pressure in the backfield, so I was able to get away from that. Then I looked down the field and saw my guy sitting there open, so I gave him a chance, and he made a play. Playmakers make plays. He’s a playmaker.” – WKU Football quarterback Brock Glenn, on the go-ahead touchdown in the win over Jax State.
• “Really, the play wasn’t even designed for me to get the ball. I had a post route. I’m trying to get out of the way. I saw him scrambling, and in my head, I’m thinking, just follow the ball. Just try to get open. Try to make a play. He threw it up. I don’t even think it was really supposed to go to me, and I just reached out and caught the ball.” – WKU Football wide receiver Jyzaiah Rockwell, on the go-ahead touchdown in the win over Jax State.
• “Coach V (Jason Veltkamp), our strength coach, during the summertime when it’s hot and it’s 100-something degrees. We’ve got four quarters and it comes down to the last quarter and you’re out there running and you finna pass out and you hear sudden change, you’ve got to know when the season comes it’s going to be a quick turnaround. That’s what we preach about – sudden changes. It all started in preparation in the summertime with Coach V. We’ve always been driven and ready for that sudden change just in case that moment at that particular time happens.” – WKU Football safety Jaylen Lewis, on being prepared in the win over Jax State.
• “We knew he was a dynamic quarterback coming into the game, so we were really focused on keeping him in the pocket, caging him to make sure he doesn’t have any escape lanes or anything like that.” – WKU Football defensive end LaTrevion Thompson, on slowing Jax State’s offense in the win on Saturday.

NEXT UP

The Hilltoppers will be on the road next week to face Liberty on Saturday, Nov. 21. Kickoff at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.