WKU drops C-USA title game to Jacksonville State
JACKSONVILLE, AL. – Friday night presented the WKU football team with an opportunity to achieve a feat that hadn’t been done since 2016: win the Conference USA Championship.
Unfortunately, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks had other intentions when welcoming the Tops to their home field at AmFirst Stadium.
The matchup started in favor of the Hilltoppers, who received the football to begin the night and saw the away team drive the ball down the field close enough so that three-time C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week Lucas Carneiro could extend his consecutive field goals made streak to 16 with a 54-yarder.
The long kick tied Carneiro’s personal best, tied the second best in WKU history, and marked a 6-6 clip from over 50 yards this season.
However, the momentum provided by the initial 3-0 lead didn’t last long, with the Gamecocks scoring a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Quarterback Tyler Huff sustained an injury last Saturday in Bowling Green and was seen as questionable to play in Friday’s championship leading up to kickoff, but his performance in the first half showed no sign of pain.
The senior saw five games throughout the regular season with over 100 rushing yards, but it took under 30 minutes in the championship for Huff to eclipse that mark, and then some.
He had 127 rushing yards at the break, with 111 passing yards and two passing touchdowns to go alongside.
Gamecocks running back Tre Stewart was also active in the 28-point first half for Jax State, hitting the ground for 61 yards and two rushing touchdowns, and wide receiver Cam Vaughn got involved as well, reeling in four catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
WKU would get on the scoreboard once more before halftime, with Carneiro nailing his 17th straight field goal from 44-yards, but then Coach Tyson Helton and his team went into the locker room down 28-3.
The second half saw the Gamecocks continue to move the football and add to their lead, with Huff picking up a rushing touchdown just five minutes into the third quarter, Garrison Rippa nailing a 27-yard field goal later in the third, Tre Stewart picking up his third rushing touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Logan Smothers joining in with a rushing touchdown of his own towards the end of regulation.
The Hilltoppers would score their lone touchdown of the game in the third on a 25-yard pass from Caden Veltkamp to Kisean Johnson, but outside of that play, the offense struggled to move the football on the night, only producing six points in each half.
Jacksonville State knocks off WKU 52-12 to take their first ever C-USA championship, just their second year as an FBS program, while the Tops are still on the hunt for their first conference championship since 2016.
Next up for both teams is the waiting game ahead of bowl game placement, with those games expected to be announced over the course of the upcoming weekend.
