Either the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are gluttons for punishment or they live to tackle college football’s biggest challenges.
Last week, Western Kentucky flew to No. 2 Georgia and was handed a 70-20 defeat. On Saturday, after a 200-mile bus ride north from campus, the Hilltoppers (0-2) will take their best shot at No. 4 Indiana (2-0) in Bloomington, Ind.
Per Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton, the answer is not that his guys are gluttons. He’s looking for another trip to Indiana like the Hilltoppers’ last one, when the Hoosiers had to rally from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit on Sept. 17, 2022, to earn a 33-30 overtime victory.
“What a great place to play,” Helton said. “Great atmosphere. Great alumni base. Great environment. Everything you want college football to be. So (there’s) the excitement piece, and you get an opportunity to try to go shock the world again. That’s why you play the game. Those are the things I think about the most — not the past, but what we can do now.
“We’ve had competitive games in the past and want to go up there and have another competitive game.”
Alas, the defending national champions don’t bother with many competitive games these days. The Hoosiers strolled through their first two home games against North Texas and Howard by a combined 107-16 score.
After witnessing last Saturday’s 55-0 win over FCS Howard that was truncated to 55 minutes due to the blowout, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti had some rare compliments for his crew.
“Walked out of there feeling a lot better about things,” Cignetti said. “I thought the defense took a major step forward. Flew around, swarmed the ball, dominated the line of scrimmage. Got the shutout, scored a touchdown, didn’t let the opponent cross the 50.”
Indiana’s defense surrendered just four first downs and 57 total yards to Howard. The only time the Bison ran plays on Indiana’s side of the field was after a muffed punt.
The offense, meanwhile, scored touchdowns on seven of its eight drives in the first three quarters before Cignetti turned to third- and fourth-stringers to bring it home.
Fifth-year quarterback Josh Hoover would rank as the nation’s leader in passer rating (285.1), but he doesn’t have enough pass attempts to qualify. In the first two games, he has thrown just 27 passes and completed 19 for 376 yards and eight touchdowns.
“I think he’d be the first to tell you (Howard) wasn’t his best game,” Cignetti said. “There were three or four reads that ought to be pretty basic that he didn’t make that we can make. But he really made some good plays, too.”
Particularly when he throws the ball in Charlie Becker’s direction. Becker has caught seven passes this season — and five have finished with him in the end zone.
Western Kentucky, which owns five straight winning seasons and has ended each of its last seven years with a bowl game, will try to sort out its quarterback issues against Indiana’s mighty defense.
Incumbent Rodney Tisdale Jr., Conference USA’s Freshman of the Year last season, has completed 30 of 54 passes for 234 yards and one interception. Tisdale left last week’s game due to injury and his backup, Florida State transfer Brock Glenn, threw for one touchdown and rushed for two more.
Those scores came after Georgia built up a 49-0 lead, but they still happened. Early in the week, Helton declined to speculate on which one will start.
“Going into the season, it always felt like we needed both of them,” Helton said. “Both would probably play. We’ve done that in the first two games. Both guys got dinged up a little bit. Nothing bad at all. Both of them will be ready to play.”
Running back Ajay Allen, who’s on his fourth school in five years, leads the ground game with 121 yards and two scores. Cameron Flowers and freshman Jonathan Stafford Jr. have caught eight passes apiece.
