Hilltoppers to close regular season at home against Jax State

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football will close out the regular season and celebrate senior day against Jax State on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

GAME INFO
Jax State (8-3 overall, 7-0 CUSA) at WKU (7-4 overall, 5-2 CUSA)
Saturday, Nov. 30 | 3 p.m. CT | Houchens-Smith Stadium
Watch: ESPNU (PxP: Matt Schumacker | Analyst: Dustin Fox)
Listen: SAM 100.7 FM/Varsity Network (PxP: Randy Lee | Analyst: Terry Obee | Reporter: Jared Holland)
Social: @WKUFootball | @WKUSports
Live Stats: wkusports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Game Notes: WKU | CUSA

AT THE GAME
Purchase tickets to Saturday’s game against Jax State HERE.
Ticket booths at Houchens-Smith Stadium will open starting at 12 p.m. CT. Gates will open 90 minutes prior to kickoff.
For the full WKU Football Gameday Guide, click HERE.
Saturday will be WKU Football’s senior day. The Hilltoppers are expected to recognize 27 seniors prior to the game.
Fans are encouraged to wear red to support the Hilltoppers.
Topper Walk, a tradition where the team arrives at PS1 and walks down Avenue of Champions to Feix Field led by the band and spirit groups, will begin at 12:40 p.m. CT.
The Topper Tailgate Show, a live pregame radio show that fans can watch and listen to from the tailgate area, will begin two hours prior to kickoff at 1 p.m. CT on South Lawn.
The full 2024 WKU Football promotional schedule can be found HERE.

ABOUT THE TOPS
WKU Football lost to Liberty 38-21 on Saturday, Nov. 23, at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, to fall to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in CUSA play. The Hilltoppers scored first in the second quarter, but the Flames put up 21 unanswered points before halftime and WKU never caught back up in the loss.
The Hilltoppers are still in the hunt for a berth in the CUSA Championship game entering the final week of the regular season. While Jax State has already locked up hosting duties for the league’s title game, WKU could play in its first CUSA Championship game since 2021 with a win over the Gamecocks on Saturday and a Sam Houston victory over Liberty on Friday. Jax State is unbeaten in league play at 7-0, while WKU, Liberty and Sam Houston are all 5-2 entering the week.
WKU became bowl eligible for the sixth time in six seasons under Tyson Helton with its 31-14 win over Kennesaw State. The win marked the first time WKU has become bowl eligible before November under Helton and the first time the program has become bowl eligible before November since 2016. WKU became bowl eligible in October three times before – in 2012, 2015 and 2016. WKU is one of only 16 programs that played in a bowl game each of the five seasons from 2019-23, and one of only seven programs to win a bowl game each year from 2021-23.
WKU is 16-6 under Tyson Helton in games played in November, including a 15-5 record against CUSA competition. This is the first season in which the Hilltoppers have lost multiple games in November under Helton.
WKU plans to recognize 26 seniors prior to Saturday’s game against Jax State. That group includes offensive lineman Blake Austin, linebacker Sebastian Benjamin, tight end Trevor Borland, offensive lineman/tight end Colten Cable, receiver Bryce Childress, defensive end Zach Edwards, linebacker Nathan Griffin, linebacker Kylan Guidry, defensive back Anthony Johnson Jr., receiver Kisean Johnson, offensive lineman Quantavious Leslie, linebacker Devon Lynch, defensive back Devonte’ Mathews, receiver Michael Mathison, linebacker Chandler Matthews, offensive lineman Michael Moment, offensive lineman Mike Ondelacy, receiver Dalvin Smith, kicker Riley Stephens, defensive back Upton Stout, defensive back Keyshawn Swanson, offensive lineman Travon Taylor, defensive lineman Terrion Thompson, offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins, linebacker Keondre Williams, long snapper Drew Wilson and running back Elijah Young. The Hilltoppers have gone 13-2 on senior day in its FBS Era (since 2009), with wins in 13 straight games. WKU defeated Sam Houston 28-23 on senior day last season.

QUOTABLE
“Big home game this week against Jacksonville State. A lot to play for. Any time you get an opportunity to go out there at home in front of your fan base in November and try to get this big win, then see where we lie with everything else. Big week, Thanksgiving week, all those things. A lot going on. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready for this game and a good Jacksonville State team, so our kids will be excited to play.” – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on Saturday’s game against Jax State.
“They play fast. They hit. They rally to the ball. They’ve got good pass rushers. All the things that equal forcing the offense to create turnovers. Teams that have a lot of turnovers usually fly around, they play hard and they’ve got guys that get after the quarterback. They create a lot of things, so it’ll be a big challenge for us, which is something that’s always, but I think it’ll be huge in this ballgame.” – WKU Football Offensive Coordinator Will Friend, on facing Jax State’s defense.
“They’re really talented. I think Coach Rich Rod does a great job and obviously Coach Tricket – the O-line coach – they’ve been together doing this, I don’t know how long together, but my guess is somewhere between 25-40 years. I know Coach Tricket has got to be 48 or 49, 50 for him, so they do an excellent job. Obviously the proof is in the pudding. They’ve won a lot of football games this year and obviously the last two years in our conference. Their quarterback, Tyler Huff, is a phenomenal player. He does a great job of running the scheme they want him to. The backs, they have three or four that are really, really good, and obviously Tre Stewart kind of being the star in there and one of the leading rushers in the league, that’s kind of where it starts for them. They know who they are, they know who they want to be – downhill runners – and enough of kind of the split-zone read and those type of things to kind of be able to create problems. I think they do an excellent job. The receivers are good, they hit home runs. They’ve done a great job of being able to run past people throughout the season and then you see their O-line and their tight ends and they play together really, really well. I think there’s a lot of things that we have to be able to hit on. We’re trying to put it all together from yesterday’s work and today and then getting the opportunity to go out there with the players today and tomorrow to start implementing those things that they do. They’ve done a great job and my hat’s off to Jacksonville State, their staff and their players.” – WKU Defensive Coordinator Tyson Summers, on facing Jax State’s offense.

SERIES INFORMATION
Saturday’s game will be the seventh all-time between WKU and Jax State. The Hilltoppers lead the series 4-2 and are 3-0 in games against the Gamecocks in Bowling Green. Last year’s meeting – the first as CUSA foes – marked the first time the two programs had played since 2003. The Gamecocks won that meeting last season 20-17 in Jacksonville, Alabama. This week’s matchup will mark only the second time the two teams have played outside of the month of October.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
Jax State is in its second season as an FBS program and a member of CUSA. In Jax State’s first season as an FBS program, it went 9-4 and beat Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl.
The Gamecocks are 8-3 overall and 7-0 in CUSA play this season. The three losses came in their first three games against Coastal Carolina, at then-No. 22 Louisville and at Eastern Michigan. Since then, they’ve reeled off eight consecutive wins.
Rich Rodriguez is in his third season as Jax State’s head coach. He has gone 26-9 with the Gamecocks and 188-128-2 during his 27-year head coaching career.
Jax State has the top scoring offense in CUSA at 37.1 points per game. The 37.1 points per game rank 14th nationally. The Gamecocks rank sixth in CUSA defensively with 27.7 points allowed per game this season.