2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Cure Bowl, L 17–27 vs. Georgia State
Conference Conference USA
Division East Division
2017 record 6–7 (4–4 C-USA)
Head coach Mike Sanford Jr. (1st season)
Offensive coordinator Junior Adams (1st season)
Defensive coordinator Clayton White (1st season)
Home stadium Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
(Capacity: 22,113)
2017 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Florida Atlantic xy$  8 –0     11 –3  
FIU  5 –3     8 –5  
Marshall  4 –4     8 –5  
Western Kentucky  4 –4     6 –7  
Middle Tennessee  4 –4     7 –6  
Old Dominion  3 –5     5 –7  
Charlotte  1 –7     1 –11  
West Division
North Texas xy  7 –1     9 –5  
UAB  6 –2     8 –5  
Southern Miss  6 –2     8 –5  
Louisiana Tech  4 –4     7 –6  
UTSA  3 –5     6 –5  
Rice  1 –7     1 –11  
UTEP  0 –8     0 –12  
Championship: Florida Atlantic 41, North Texas 17
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
As of October 15, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team (WKU) represented Western Kentucky University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers played their home games at the Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Mike Sanford Jr. The Hilltoppers finished the season 6–7, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. They received an invite to the Cure Bowl where they lost to Georgia State.

Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2016 season 11–3, 7–1 in C-USA play to win a share of the East Division title with Old Dominion. Due to their head-to-head victory over Old Dominion, WKU represented the East Division in the Conference USA Championship Game where they defeated Louisiana Tech to be crowned C-USA champions.[1] They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated Memphis.[2]

On December 5, head coach Jeff Brohm resigned to become the head coach at Purdue.[3] He finished at WKU with a record of 30–10, two bowl wins, and two C-USA titles. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt led WKU in the Boca Raton Bowl.[4] On December 14, the school hired Mike Sanford Jr. as head coach.[5]

Preseason

In a preseason media vote, the Hilltoppers were picked to win the East Division again, receiving 20 of 28 first place votes.[6]

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky announced its 2017 football schedule on January 26, 2017. The 2017 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Hilltoppers will host CUSA foes Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, and Middle Tennessee, and will travel to FIU, Marshall, Old Dominion, and UTEP.[7]

The Hilltoppers will host two of the four non-conference opponents, Ball State from the Mid-American Conference and Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio Valley Conference and travel to Illinois of the Big Ten Conference and Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference.

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
September 2 6:00 p.m. Eastern Kentucky* Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass) FloSports W 31–17   18,614
September 9 7:00 p.m. at Illinois* Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL BTN L 7–20   41,923
September 16 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY STADIUM L 22–23   16,223
September 23 6:00 p.m. Ball State* Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY STADIUM W 33–21   17,590
October 7 7:00 p.m. at UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX CUSA.TV W 15–14   20,418
October 14 3:30 p.m. Charlottedagger Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY FloSports W 45–14   16,754
October 20 5:00 p.m. at Old Dominion Foreman Field • Norfolk, VA CBSSN W 35–31   20,118
October 28 3:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY STADIUM L 28–42   12,441
November 4 11:00 a.m. at Vanderbilt* Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN ESPNU L 17–31   26,350
November 11 5:30 p.m. at Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV (Rivalry) STADIUM L 23–30   19,516
November 18 7:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate) CBSSN W 41–38 3OT  12,612
November 24 6:00 p.m. at FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL beIN L 17–41   16,199
December 16 2:30 p.m. vs. Georgia State* Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL (Cure Bowl) CBSSN L 17–27   19,585
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.
Schedule Source:[8]

Game summaries

Eastern Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total
Colonels 0 0 14 3 17
Hilltoppers 0 17 7 7 31
Overall record Last meeting Result
46–35–3 2008 WKU, 37–13

at Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 0 0 7 7
Fighting Illini 3 10 7 0 20
Overall record Last meeting Result
0–1 2014 ILL, 42–34

Louisiana Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 3 10 0 10 23
Hilltoppers 8 7 7 0 22
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–4 2016 WKU, 58–44

Ball State

1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 7 0 7 7 21
Hilltoppers 7 10 0 16 33
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–2 2008 WKU, 24–17

at UTEP

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 8 7 0 15
Miners 0 14 0 0 14
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–0 2014 WKU, 35–27

Charlotte

1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 7 7 0 0 14
Hilltoppers 14 24 0 7 45
Overall record Last meeting Result
First meeting

at Old Dominion

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 14 0 14 35
Monarchs 7 7 17 0 31
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–0 2016 WKU, 59–24

Florida Atlantic

1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 10 10 0 22 42
Hilltoppers 7 14 7 0 28
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–5 2016 WKU, 52–3

at Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 7 3 0 17
Commodores 14 7 7 3 31
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–4 2016 VANDY, 31–30OT

at Marshall

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 0 3 13 23
Thundering Herd 0 13 17 0 30
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–4 2016 WKU, 60–6

Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4OT2OT3OT Total
Blue Raiders 0 3 0 21770 38
Hilltoppers 7 0 3 14773 41
Overall record Last meeting Result
31–34–1 2016 WKU, 44–432OT

at FIU

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 3 7 7 0 17
Panthers 3 10 21 7 41
Overall record Last meeting Result
6–4 2016 WKU, 49–21

vs Georgia State–Cure Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 3 0 7 17
Panthers 10 3 7 7 27
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–0 2013 WKU, 44–28

Coaching staff

Name Title
Mike Sanford Head Coach
Clayton White Defensive Coordinator
Junior Adams Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
Steve Spurrier Jr. Quarterbacks
Mike Sanford Sr. Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs
Geoff Dartt Offensive Line
Jimmy Lindsey Defensive Line
Jami DeBerry Safeties/Recruiting Coordinator
Ryan Mahaffey Tight Ends
Maurice Crum Linebackers

Source[9]

References

  1. ↑ McGuire, Kevin (2016-12-03). "WKU outlasts La Tech in record-setting Conference USA championship game". CollegeFootballTalk. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  2. ↑ DeFranks, Matthew. "Western Kentucky tops Memphis 51-31 in Boca Raton Bowl". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  3. ↑ "Jeff Brohm to leave WKU for Purdue opening". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  4. ↑ "With Sanford waiting, WKU focusing on bowl". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  5. ↑ Stephens, Brad. "WKU hires Mike Sanford as head football coach". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  6. ↑ "C-USA repeat? WKU, La Tech preseason picks for title rematch". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  7. ↑ "Hilltopper Football Announces 2017 Schedule" (Press release). Western Kentucky University Department of Athletics. January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  8. ↑ "2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Western Kentucky University Athletics". www.wkusports.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.