A Sea Of Red

Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky


WKU Football Official Site



Tyson Helton
6th Season as WKU Head Coach


2024 Schedule/Results

Aug 31 - @ 5 Alabama ...................... L 0-63
Sep 07 - Eastern Kentucky ............... W 31-0
Sep 14 - @ MTSU .............................. W 49-21
Sep 21 - Toledo ................................ W 26-21
Sep 28 - @ Boston College ............... L 20-21
Oct 10 - UTEP ................................... W 44-17
Oct 16 - @ Sam Houston ................... W 31-14
Oct 30 - Kennesaw State ................... W 31-14
Nov 09 - @ NM State ......................... W 41-28
Nov 16 - Louisiana Tech ..................... L 7-12
Nov 23 - @ Liberty ............................. Noon
Nov 30 - Jax State

Key Players



#10 Caden Veltkamp
6' 6" 236 lbs Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback
In 9 Games: 167-of-239 (68.9%) for 2102 Yards with 19 TDs & 7 INTs + 87 Carries for 166 Yards with 7 TDs



#3 Elijah Young
5' 10" 198 lbs Senior Running Back
Thru 10 Games: 143 Carries for 587 Yards (4.1 YPC) with 3 TDs + 30 Catches for 268 Yards with 1 TD Catch



#0 Kisean Johnson
6' 1" 216 lbs Senior Receiver
Thru 10 Games: 50 Catches for 685 Yards with 5 TDs + 3 Carries for 14 Yards



#0 Hosea Wheeler
6' 3" 300 lbs Redshirt Junior Defensive Tackle
Thru 10 Games: 55 Tackles including 5 for Loss + 1 Forced Fumble/Recovery + 2 Blocked Kicks



#14 Devonte Mathews
5' 9" 195 lbs Senior Defensive Back
Thru 10 Games: 52 Tackles + 2 INTs + 3 Fumble Recoveries

The Hilltoppers dropped one last week as a two touchdown favorite, and a few days later Helton is rumored to be headed to ECU.

We know this end of year spiral all to well.

Hopeful they have packed it in and we get the win, controlling our own destiny for a back to back CUSA Championship.

R i wrote: ↑November 20th, 2024, 8:46 pm The Hilltoppers dropped one last week as a two touchdown favorite, and a few days later Helton is rumored to be headed to ECU.

We know this end of year spiral all to well.

Hopeful they have packed it in and we get the win, controlling our own destiny for a back to back CUSA Championship.

I hadn’t heard that about the coach but that could potentially be great news and as you said we do know about that all to well.

The Athletic ranks the top 10 games to watch each week. While WKU @ Liberty was not top 10, it was honorable mention.

Huge match up. Hoping a few of the students decide to stay an extra day and give up a day of Thanksgiving break.

Helton has been mentioned as a target for ECU, but there are several others. I don’t know that it will be how HCHF was for us when we packed it in, and I would t bank on it. WKU is going to come in eager and motivated to win just because it’s us. Our guys need to find that spark.

Interestingly enought eh two most common names associated with the ECU job are the Helton boys. That could make for an interesting Thanksgiving dinner.

Was Salter expected to walk on Senior Day today?

I can't remember the last time Salter has looked this bad. It had to be sometime during the 2022 season.

We need a passing attack.

Our offense is the toughest opponent we face each week.

Every single passing attempt (other than the interference) has been open and he just hasn't been able to hit his receiver. Fortunately the run game is working well.

I can’t watch but this is a surprising and fantastic first half.

290 yards on the ground in first half. Incredible.

Man, that was a crazy uppercut to the manhood. A literal low blow.

I was just able to turn the game on and I absolutely love those helmets.

We've needed these interceptions all season long. WHERE has this been??!

I figured WKU would keep it close through the air, and they kind of have, but not anywhere close to where I thought they would. Hope Salter gets his passing mojo back before next week though.

What a performance!

It is all in our grasp!

phoenix wrote: ↑November 23rd, 2024, 5:12 pm We've needed these interceptions all season long. WHERE has this been??!

I figured WKU would keep it close through the air, and they kind of have, but not anywhere close to where I thought they would. Hope Salter gets his passing mojo back before next week though.

From the looks of him hobbling off the field after his TD, I just hope he is available next week.

Honestly, I think this is the type of game that everyone was expecting all season. I'm not sure what coach fed these guys before the game, but make sure there's a big case of it on the trip to Texas this week. I mean, only 20 yards in penalties?! Of course, there were some no-calls for both sides in that respect. AND some bad calls for both sides (though Liberty sure seemed to capitalize on those more often).

With the way we ran the ball in bowling green last year, it was really surprising to see them with 2 high safeties all game long this year. Our line and TEs dominated. Billy Lucas has looked really good the last few games. He looks like pre injury 2023 Billy Lucas.

Overall a huge momentum and confidence booster for the team. Everything is in front of us.

The reality is , with our strength of schedule, we had no shot at the CFP this year. It is playing out that way. Boise State has one loss to Oregon. UNLV has two losses to Syracuse and Boise. Army has one loss to Notre Dame. Even with an undefeated season we were very unlikely to get the CFP spot over any of those 3 and there are a few more ahead of us probably.

Coach Chadwell has done a good job of keeping it from unraveling after JSU and KSU losses. Still in the championship hunt.

On to Sam Houston!

If we had gone undefeated we would have had a chance. (see Indiana)

What a great win it was! This was the blueprint of last year minus having CJ on the outside for those third and 6+ plays.
The attitude of the team did seem more interested and engaged.
As bleak as it has seemed at times this season, the ceiling for this season is still in hand.
Hoping for 3 straight games of significance!