Know the Opponent | WKU - BleedTechBlue: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Football & Basketball Recruiting

Tyson Helton is 35-23 in 4+ seasons as the head coach in Bowling Green. He's been to a bowl game each of his first four years. What were the expectations for the Hilltoppers entering the season? How would you evaluate their play on the field?

Entering this season, the expectations were set to a higher bar than previous seasons. Wide receiver Malachi Corley was garnering a lot of steam as a potential early day two draft pick, quarterback Austin Reed had just led the nation in passing yards in 2022, and the Tops hired a long time assistant to the legendary Mike Leach. Needless to say, expectations peaked.

So far, the offense has played very conservatively, but just like the defense, just came off their best (non-FCS) game of the season. Corley is on track to potentially eclipse 1,000 yards and 90 receptions, Reed is working the pocket and firing off the ball with a high level of efficiency, and the defense is producing turnovers and staying fresh. While the program isn’t playing to its respective abilities, fans can’t be too disappointed - especially with a 1-0 start in conference play.

Austin Reed is a stud at quarterback. What makes him such a special QB week in and week out?

Reed will be a professional quarterback when it’s all said and done. While he’s not on track to lead the nation in passing categories again, he is a gamer. Reed has been dealt a new and conservative offensive scheme under a first-time offensive coordinator, a suffering run game, and poor play from offensive tackles all season. Rather than collapsing, Reed has been able to extend plays with his feet, show off his next-level vision as a passer, and really spread out the football. 11 players have five receptions or more - a testament to Reed’s vision and efficiency.

Malachi Corley is the go-to-guy at WR. There's no doubt about that. Who are some other names to watch at the skill positions on offense?

Wide receiver Easton Messer is the next most exciting player in the Hilltoppers receiving corps. So far in his 2023 campaign, the redshirt freshman has been a trusted target for Reed, hauling in 22 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns.

While the running game has been weak, they seem to have a philosophy they’re sticking to and it’s one that I can agree with: a revolving door of running backs. More specifically, L.T. Sanders, Markese Stepp, Davion Ervin-Poindexter, and Elijah Young. This group has combined for 386 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Both Sanders and Young are coming off of season-highs this past week, and I expect the room to perform to that standard moving through C-USA play.

Receivers Moussa Barry, Dalvin Smith, Blue Smith, and Jimmy Holiday are all ramping up their roles and one would expect that they’ll continue to have staple seasons for this offense.

Defensively, WKU has really struggled in 2023. Where has the unit been vulnerable? What are they looking to clean up going forward?

The defense has been very concerning in the air and on the ground. In total defense, Western sits at 125th. They’re 122nd in run defense and 114th in pass defense. Both of these are improvements compared to last week, as the unit just came off of their next-highest defensive outing according to Pro Football Focus, who graded their performance against MTSU as better than its performance against Houston Christian. This is encouraging.

Regardless, the defense is still the vulnerable point of the defense. Having allowed 1,026 yards, 5.03 yards per carry, and nine touchdowns across five weeks (205 rushing yards allowed per game) is not what you want to see. The defense fielded fresh legs and made adjustments to hold MTSU to 121 rushing yards. If the defense can keep this up, winning will come easier for the Hilltoppers.

How do you see this game playing out on Thursday night?

LA Tech has threats on the ground between Tyre Shelton, Keith Willis Jr, Charvis Thornton and Keldric Moody. Quarterback Jack Turner seems to be the likely starter with Hank Bachmeier out, but the Hilltoppers should still key Upton Stout on Smoke Harris and do their best to prevent Cyrus Allen, Nate Jones, and Tru Edwards from doing their jobs.

If the defense can post performances similar to theirs against USF and MTSU, the likely outcome is a Hilltoppers victory. 34-27 is a comfortable score prediction.

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