American college football season
The 2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season . They were led by head coach Tyson Helton , who was coaching his fourth season with the team. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky .
The team was led on offense by quarterback Austin Reed who joined the team in 2022 via the NCAA transfer portal .[ 1] Through the first two games, Reed had 550 passing yards, ranking third in the nation.[ 2]
The Conference USA media day was held on July 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas . The Hilltoppers were represented by head coach Tyson Helton , tight end Joey Beljan, and defensive end Juwuan Jones.[ 3] The Hilltoppers were predicted to finish third in the conference's preseason poll.[ 4]
Media poll Predicted finish Team 1 UTSA 2 UAB 3 WKU 4 Florida Atlantic 5 North Texas 6 UTEP 7 Charlotte 8 Middle Tennessee 9 Louisiana Tech 10 Rice 11 FIU
Western Kentucky and Conference USA announced the 2022 football schedule on March 30, 2022.[ 5] [ 6]
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance August 27 11:00 a.m. Austin Peay * CBSSN W 38–2713,688 September 3 11:00 p.m. at Hawaii * SPEC PPV W 49–179,346 September 17 11:00 a.m. at Indiana * BTN L 30–33 OT 48,952 September 24 2:30 p.m. FIU Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY CBSSN W 73–015,127 October 1 6:00 p.m. Troy * Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY ESPN+ L 27–3420,168 October 8 5:00 p.m. at UTSA ESPN+ L 28–3122,328 October 15 2:30 p.m. at Middle Tennessee ESPN+ W 35–1714,806 7:00 p.m. UAB Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY CBSSN W 20–1716,334 October 29 2:30 p.m. North Texas Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY Stadium L 13–4017,194 November 5 11:00 a.m. at Charlotte CBSSN W 59–710,857 November 12 1:00 p.m. Rice Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY ESPN+ W 45–1010,127 November 19 3:00 p.m. at Auburn * SECN L 17–4181,824 November 26 11:00 a.m. at Florida Atlantic CBSSN W 32–31 OT 18,376 8:00 p.m. vs. South Alabama * ESPN W 44–2313,456
1 2 3 4 Total Governors 10 7 3 7 27 Hilltoppers 7 14 0 17 38
Statistics APSU WKU First downs 19 19 Total yards 319 388 Rushing yards 163 108 Passing yards 156 280 Turnovers 4 1 Time of possession 32:39 27:31
Team Category Player Statistics Austin Peay Passing Mike DiLiello 15/21, 156 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Josh Samuel 20 rushes, 77 yards Receiving Drae McCray 6 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TD Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 20/34, 280 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing Davion Ervin-Poindexter 15 rushes, 49 yards Receiving Daewood Davis 6 receptions, 124 yards, TD
1 2 3 4 Total Hilltoppers 0 21 7 21 49 Rainbow Warriors 3 7 0 7 17
Statistics WKU HAW First downs 24 20 Total yards 412 360 Rushing yards 141 94 Passing yards 271 266 Turnovers 2 6 Time of possession 25:52 34:08
Team Category Player Statistics Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 22/31, 271 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Kye Robichaux 7 rushes, 49 yards, TD Receiving Daewood Davis 5 receptions, 78 yards Hawaii Passing Brayden Schager 22/33, 230 yards, 4 INT Rushing Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei 13 rushes, 64 yards, TD Receiving Jalen Walthall 3 receptions, 53 yards
1 2 3 4 OT Total Hilltoppers 7 10 7 6 0 30 Hoosiers 3 7 3 17 3 33
Statistics WKU IU First downs 25 28 Total yards 545 484 Rushing yards 216 120 Passing yards 329 364 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 32:21 27:39
Team Category Player Statistics Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 33/43, 329 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Kye Robichaux 14 rushes, 135 yards Receiving Daewood Davis 5 receptions, 77 yards, TD Indiana Passing Connor Bazelak 33/55, 364 yards, 2 TD Rushing Josh Henderson 11 rushes, 65 yards, TD Receiving Cam Camper 8 receptions, 93 yards, TD
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 Hilltoppers 14 28 17 14 73
Statistics FIU WKU First downs 10 32 Total yards 180 688 Rushing yards 56 210 Passing yards 124 478 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 30:32 29:28
Team Category Player Statistics FIU Passing Grayson James 13/23, 85 yards Rushing Lexington Joseph 15 rushes, 31 yards Receiving Nate Jefferson 4 receptions, 27 yards Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 29/35, 381 yards, 5 TD Rushing L. T. Sanders 4 rushes, 73 yards, TD Receiving Malachi Corley 3 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD
1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 10 3 7 14 34 Hilltoppers 7 10 3 7 27
1 2 3 4 Total Hilltoppers 7 7 0 14 28 Roadrunners 7 10 7 7 31
At Middle Tennessee [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Hilltoppers 0 14 14 7 35 Blue Raiders 7 3 0 7 17
1 2 3 4 Total Blazers 7 10 0 0 17 Hilltoppers 0 10 10 0 20
Statistics UAB WKU First downs 14 19 Total yards 327 352 Rushing yards 231 224 Passing yards 96 128 Turnovers 4 1 Time of possession 27:21 32:39
Team Category Player Statistics UAB Passing Dylan Hopkins 2/2, 63 yards, TD Rushing DeWayne McBride 24 rushes, 200 yards Receiving Samario Rudolph 1 reception, 59 yards, TD Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 14/23, 128 yards Rushing L. T. Sanders 16 rushes, 120 yards Receiving Malachi Corley 5 receptions, 77 yards
1 2 3 4 Total Mean Green 17 3 0 20 40 Hilltoppers 7 6 0 0 13
Statistics UNT WKU First downs 25 23 Total yards 541 466 Rushing yards 196 146 Passing yards 345 320 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 29:05 30:55
Team Category Player Statistics North Texas Passing Austin Aune 20/28, 322 yards, 3 TD Rushing Ayo Adeyi 10 rushes, 72 yards, TD Receiving Damon Ward Jr. 4 receptions, 101 yards, TD Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 29/49, 320 yards, TD, INT Rushing L. T. Sanders 13 rushes, 76 yards Receiving Malachi Corley 8 receptions, 97 yards
Western Kentucky vs Charlotte 1 2 3 4 Total • Hilltoppers 21 14 7 17 59 49ers 0 0 7 0 7
Date: November 5Location: Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NCGame start: 12:02 pm EDT Elapsed time: 3:17Game attendance: 10,857Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Cloudy• Wind: S 9 MPH Referee: Rodney BurnettTV announcers (CBSSN ): Carter Blackburn, Robert Turbin Scoring summary 1 14:32 WKU Jaylen HALL 46 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 7–0 1 11:55 WKU Daewood DAVIS 7 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 14–0 1 6:52 WKU Malachi CORLEY 64 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 21–0 2 13:00 WKU Joshua SIMON 17 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 28–0 2 1:02 WKU Joey BELJAN 14 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 35–0 3 10:32 CHAR Elijah SPENCER 14 Yd pass from Chris REYNOLDS (Antonio ZITA Kick) WKU 35–7 3 9:58 WKU Michael MATHISON 19 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 42–7 4 9:06 WKU Brayden NARVESON 40 Yd Field Goal WKU 45–7 4 7:50 WKU Anthony BRACKENRIDGE 42 Yd Interception Return (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 52–7 4 0:45 WKU Dalvin SMITH 5 Yd pass from Darius OCEAN (Brayden NARVESON Kick) WKU 59–7
Statistics WKU CHAR First downs 25 22 Total yards 592 384 Rushing yards 131 161 Passing yards 461 223 Turnovers 0 3 Time of possession 20:26 39:34
Team Category Player Statistics Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 23–38, 409 yards, 6 TD Rushing Davion Ervin-Poindexter 3 rushes, 49 yards Receiving Malachi Corley 6 receptions, 162 yards, 1 TD Charlotte Passing Chris Reynolds 17–27, 196 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing James Martin III 16 rushes, 85 yards Receiving Grant DuBose 7 receptions, 88 yards
1 2 3 4 Total Hilltoppers 7 17 7 14 45 Owls 0 7 3 0 10
Game Twelve – Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7−4) at Auburn Tigers (4−6)
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Hilltoppers 0 17 0 0 17 Tigers 10 7 10 14 41
at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama
Date : Saturday, November 19, 2022Game time : 3:01 p.m. CST Game weather : Cloudy • Temperature : 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind : 6 mph NWGame attendance : 81,824Referee : Scott WalkerTV announcers (SEC Network) : Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst), Andraya Carter (sideline reporter)
Statistics WKU AUB First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp –att –int Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics Western Kentucky Passing Austin Reed 26/55, 289 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Markese Stepp 7 carries, 33 yards Receiving Malachi Corley 12 receptions, 99 yards Auburn Passing Jarquez Hunter 1/1, 20 yards, 1 TD Rushing Tank Bigsby 18 carries, 110 yards, 2 TD Receiving Koy Moore 2 receptions, 31 yards, 1 TD
At Florida Atlantic [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 OT Total Owls 0 7 10 7 7 31 Hilltoppers 0 7 10 7 8 32
South Alabama (New Orleans Bowl)[ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Hilltoppers 14 17 10 3 44 Jaguars 0 3 14 6 23
^ "Reed throws four TD passes, Western Kentucky rolls in opener" . My San Antonio . August 27, 2022. ^ "Football Player Passing Stats 2022" . ESPN.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022 . ^ "2022 Ryan C-USA Kickoff Set for July 27 in Arlington" . Conference USA . June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022 . ^ "C-USA Announces Media's Predicted Order of Finish for 2022" . Conference USA. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022 . ^ Nick Bromberg (March 30, 2022). "Conference USA releases revised 2022 football schedule without teams leaving for Sun Belt" . Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved May 11, 2022 . ^ "Hilltoppers announce revised 2022 football schedule" . Bowling Green Daily News . March 30, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022 . ^ "GAME NOTES: Charlotte vs. WKU" . Charlotte49ers.com . November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 . ^ "Watts Breaks Sacks Record; Niners Suffer Home Loss" . Retrieved November 23, 2022 . ^ "Scoring Summary Report 2022 Charlotte Football, Western Kentucky vs Charlotte (Nov 5, 2022 at Charlotte NC)" . November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 . ^ "Western Kentucky vs Charlotte– Game Summary" . ESPN . November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 . ^ Bailey, Hunter (November 5, 2022). "Charlotte 49ers football loses to Western Kentucky at home" . The Charlotte Observer . Retrieved November 23, 2022 .
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