WKU FB: Hilltoppers Claim 35-16 Homecoming Win Over New Mexico State

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football overcame a slow start to pick up a 35-16 Homecoming win over New Mexico State on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The Hilltoppers scored all 35 points over the final three quarters – led by a four-touchdown performance from redshirt freshman quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. – and held the Aggies to just 176 yards of offense in the game to improve to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• New Mexico State scored the only points of the first quarter with a 32-yard field goal with 1:00 left in the frame.
• The Aggies added to the lead with a 27-yard field goal with 7:15 to play in the first half.
• WKU got on the board and took a 7-6 lead with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Rodney Tisdale Jr. to Matthew Henry with 3:39 to play in the first half.
• The Hilltoppers added to the lead with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tisdale to Moussa Barry with 1:14 to play in the first half. WKU took the 14-6 lead into halftime.
• New Mexico State recorded the first points of the second half with a 50-yard field goal to make it 14-9 at the 9:49 mark of the third quarter.
• The Hilltoppers extended the lead to 21-9 with a 5-yard touchdown run from La’Vell Wright with 5:41 to go in the third quarter. Avarion Cole helped set up the score with the first interception of his WKU career.
• WKU went ahead 28-9 with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tisdale to Henry with 2:40 to play in the third quarter.
• Jackson West recorded a 6-yard touchdown reception from Tisdale with 11:12 remaining to make it a 35-9 lead.
• The Aggies added a 71-yard fumble return for a touchdown to close out the scoring in WKU’s 35-16 win.

• WKU improved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA play this season with the win.
• WKU is now 4-1 in home games this season. WKU has now won 10 of its last 12 games at Houchens-Smith Stadium. WKU is now 28-12 in home games under Head Coach Tyson Helton.
• The Hilltoppers are now 2-1 all-time against New Mexico State. All three meetings have come in the last three seasons, and WKU has won back-to-back games in the series.
• WKU improved to 18-6 under Head Coach Tyson Helton in games played during the month of November. The Hilltoppers are 17-5 against CUSA foes under Helton in November.
• WKU improved to 57-34-3 all-time in Homecoming games. Saturday’s win marked WKU’s first Homecoming win since the 2021 season.
• WKU’s team captains for the game were tight end Jackson West, cornerback Jaavan Mack and kicker Jack Cassidy.
• Announced attendance for the game was 15,023.
• WKU put up 429 yards of offense in the win, with 301 yards through the air and 128 yards on the ground. Of the 429 yards, 384 came over the final three quarters. It marks the fourth game this season the Hilltoppers have posted over 400 yards of offense and the fourth time the team has thrown for over 400 yards in a game this season.
• Rodney Tisdale Jr. threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns on 30-38-1 passing in the win, while adding 28 yards on 12 rushing attempts. It marked career highs for Tisdale in passing attempts, completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns.
• Ten different WKU players recorded receptions in the win, and six different WKU players recorded multiple receptions. K.D. Hutchinson had seven receptions for 83 yards, and Matthew Henry had seven receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
• Henry’s seven receptions match his WKU career high set in the season opener against Sam Houston. Saturday marked the first multi-touchdown game of Henry’s WKU career, and he now has five touchdown receptions and six touchdowns overall this season.
• Moussa Barry’s touchdown reception was his first this season and the third of his WKU career.
• Jackson West’s touchdown reception was the first of his college career. West tallied 26 yards on three receptions against the Aggies, after posting the first three receptions of his college career – for 25 yards – in WKU’s previous game at Louisiana Tech.
• La’Vell Wright led WKU’s rushing attack with 44 yards and a touchdown on six carries. The touchdown was his sixth rushing touchdown this season and seventh touchdown overall. The seven touchdowns lead the team.
• The 176 yards allowed are the fewest by WKU in a single game this season. It was the second game this season the WKU defense has not allowed a touchdown. The Aggies tallied only 110 yards passing – with the longest passing play allowed by the Hilltoppers being 13 yards – and 66 yards rushing. The 66 rushing yards allowed are the fewest in a single game by the Hilltoppers this season.
• Fourteen different Hilltoppers recorded multiple tackles in the win, led by nine from linebacker Anthony Brackenridge.
• WKU recorded five tackles for loss and three sacks in the victory. Jalen Emery and Dominic Oliver each had one sack, and Jaylen Wester and Koron Hayward each had 0.5 sacks. Emery led the team with two tackles for loss. WKU’s three sacks are tied for the most in a single game this season, also posting three in the win over North Alabama on Aug. 30.
• Avarion Cole recorded his first interception of the season and the team’s seventh overall. It marked the first interception for Cole at WKU and at the FBS level – he had five interceptions over two seasons at North Carolina A&T from 2022-24.
• WKU recorded 11 pass breakups, with a team-best two coming from Cole.

• “Great to be back home and get a good conference win. Very proud of our football team. They worked extremely hard this week and a lot of things showed up there tonight. The first thing was we said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to play great defense,’ and we did that. We got off to a little bit of a slow start offensively, but I talked to the offense all week and I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to go out there and score in the mid-30s,’ and I’d be danged if we don’t hit right on the dot in the mid-30s. The defense did such a fantastic job of just continuing to give us momentum, big stops, creating turnovers, and then the offense caught fire and started to score, which was great to see. A lot of big plays out there, which was good, so we’re still right in the thick of this thing and we’ll keep that momentum going and try to get better in the bye week. Got a bye week coming up, so we’ll try to get better and get ready for a big game against Middle Tennessee.” – WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton, on the win over New Mexico State.
• “It boosted my confidence a lot. I already had confidence going into the first game when we played LA Tech, but going into those games, we always have confidence. The team had confidence in me. Mav (Maverick McIvor) had confidence in me – he’s been a great teacher of the game to me and I’m just grateful to have him.” – WKU Football quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr., on gaining confidence through his first two starts.
• “I’m looking to get in the box every game, but everything happens for a reason and God’s got a plan for me. Just coming into the game, I was just like, ‘Really, I don’t have a name for myself,’ so I’ve really just got to put my name back out there on the map. I just had to come out there with a championship mindset and just dominate.” – WKU Football wide receiver Matthew Henry, on scoring two touchdowns in the win over New Mexico State.
• “Going into this conference play, it’s always a big game going into conference week. Preparation means opportunity.” – WKU Football linebacker Anthony Brackenridge, on the win over New Mexico State.
• “All week, the coaches were talking about hunt and not being hunted. I feel like we did that today.” – WKU Football safety Avarion Cole, on the win over New Mexico State.

• The Hilltoppers will be off next weekend, before closing out the regular-season home slate with a Senior Day matchup against Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT at Houchens-Smith Stadium. Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE.