2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Famous Toastery Bowl champion
Famous Toastery Bowl, W 38–35 OT vs. Old Dominion
Conference	Conference USA
Record	8–5 (5–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Tyson Helton (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Drew Hollingshead (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Tyson Summers (2nd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and competed members of Conference USA. They were led by fifth-year head coach Tyson Helton. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team drew an average home attendance of 15,710 in 2023.

2023 Conference USA football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 25 Liberty y$	8	–	0	13	–	1
New Mexico State y	7	–	1	10	–	5
Jacksonville State*	6	–	2	9	–	4
Western Kentucky	5	–	3	8	–	5
Middle Tennessee	3	–	5	4	–	8
UTEP	2	–	6	3	–	9
Sam Houston*	2	–	6	3	–	9
Louisiana Tech	2	–	6	3	–	9
FIU	1	–	7	4	–	8
Championship: Liberty 49, New Mexico State 35
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Western Kentucky and Conference USA announced the 2023 football schedule on January 10, 2023.^[1]^[2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	11:00 a.m.	South Florida*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 41–24	15,438
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Houston Christian*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	W 52–22	20,712
September 16	3:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	FOX	L 10–63	100,217
September 23	11:00 a.m.	at Troy*	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	ESPNU	L 24–27	26,124
September 28	6:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate)	CBSSN	W 31–10	14,712
October 5	7:00 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	ESPN	W 35–28	13,014
October 17	6:30 p.m.	at Jacksonville State	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPNU	L 17–20	17,977
October 24	6:30 p.m.	Liberty	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPNU	L 29–42^[3]	16,036
November 4	8:00 p.m.	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN+	W 21–13	11,111
November 11	2:30 p.m.	New Mexico State	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	L 29–38	16,319
November 18	2:30 p.m.	Sam Houston	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	W 28–23	11,041
November 25	2:00 p.m.	at FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Westchester, FL	ESPN+	W 41–28	12,724
December 18	1:30 p.m.	vs. Old Dominion*	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC (Famous Toastery Bowl)	ESPN	W 38–35 ^OT	5,632
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

at No. 6 Ohio State

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (2–0) at No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	7	0	0	10
No. 6 Buckeyes	7	35	7	14	63

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 16
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: N at 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h)
Game attendance: 100,217
Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst), and Allison Williams (sideline reporter)
Box score, Recap

Game information

First quarter

(11:32) OSU – TreVeyon Henderson 21-yard run, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:20; Ohio State 7–0)
(1:07) WKU – Lucas Carneiro 43-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 31 yards, 4:32; Ohio State 7–3)

Second quarter

(10:53) OSU – TreVeyon Henderson 7-yard run, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 12 plays, 82 yards, 5:07; Ohio State 14–3)
(8:10) WKU – Malachi Corley 2-yard pass from Austin Reed, Lucas Carneiro kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:43; Ohio State 14–10)
(8:00) OSU – Marvin Harrison Jr. 75-yard pass from Kyle McCord, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:10; Ohio State 21–10)
(4:13) OSU – Chip Trayanum 40-yard run, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 1 play, 40 yards, 0:07; Ohio State 28–10)
(1:55) OSU – Emeka Egbuka 15-yard pass from Kyle McCord, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 4 plays, 48 yards, 1:25; Ohio State 35–10)
(0:08) OSU – Emeka Egbuka 14-yard pass from Kyle McCord, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 3 plays, 58 yards, 0:20; Ohio State 42–10)

Third quarter

(4:38) OSU – Tyleik Williams 0-yard fumble return, Jayden Fielding kick (Ohio State 49–10)

Fourth quarter

(12:37) OSU – Carnell Tate 28-yard pass from Devin Brown, Jayden Fielding kick (Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 3:23; Ohio State 56–10)
(5:26) OSU – Jermaine Mathews Jr. 58-yard interception return, Jayden Fielding kick (Ohio State 63–10)

Statistics	WKU	OSU
First downs	15	24
Plays–yards	72–284	60–562
Rushes–yards	33–80	33–204
Passing yards	204	358
Passing: comp–att–int	22–39–2	22–27–1
Time of possession	32:34	27:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	21/37, 207 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	7 carries, 26 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	8 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD
Ohio State	Passing	Kyle McCord	19/23, 318 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	13 carries, 88 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Marvin Harrison Jr.	5 receptions, 126 yards, 1 TD

at Jacksonville State

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4–2) at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	10	7	0	0	17
Gamecocks	0	10	0	10	20

at Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, Alabama

Date: October 17
Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Clear, 62 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 17,977
Referee: Ed Ardito
TV announcers (ESPNU): Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Derek Mason (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

(8:52) WKU – Dalvin Smith 10-yard pass from Austin Reed, Lucas Carneiro kick (Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 2:20; Western Kentucky 7–0)
(1:55) WKU – Lucas Carneiro 28-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 79 yards, 5:01; Western Kentucky 10–10)

Second quarter

(12:45) JVST – Zion Webb 10-yard run, Alen Karajic kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:14; Western Kentucky 10–7)
(8:36) WKU – River Helms 3-yard pass from Austin Reed, Lucas Carneiro kick (Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 2:09; Western Kentucky 17–7)
(5:35) JVST – Alen Karajic 23-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 3:01; Western Kentucky 17–10)

Third quarter

No scoring plays

Fourth quarter

(4:40) JVST – Anwar Lewis 26-yard run, Alen Karajic kick (Drive: 11 plays, 91 yards, 3:39; Tied 17–17)
(0:00) JVST – Alen Karajic 41-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 2:32; Jacksonville State 20–17)

Statistics	WKU	JVST
First downs	16	27
Total yards	72–339	95–484
Rushing yards	24–89	55–262
Passing yards	250	222
Passing: comp–att–int	24–48–1	23–40–1
Time of possession	26:56	33:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	24/48, 250 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Elijah Young	10 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	K. D. Hutchinson	4 receptions, 52 yards
Jacksonville State	Passing	Zion Webb	22/39, 218 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Zion Webb	28 carries, 146 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	P. J. Wells	5 receptions, 53 yards

Roster

2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`2`	Davion Ervin-Poindexter	Sr
RB	`3`	Elijah Young	Jr
WR	`4`	Michael Mathison	Sr
WR	`5`	Blue Smith	Sr
WR	`6`	Jimmy Holiday	So
RB	`7`	L.T. Sanders	So
WR	`8`	Easton Messer	Fr
WR	`9`	Josh Sterns	So
QB	`10`	Caden Veltkamp	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`3`	JaQues Evans	Jr
DB	`4`	Anthony Johnson Jr.	Jr
DB	`5`	Rome Weber	Sr
DB	`6`	T.J. Springer	Jr
DB	`7`	Takulve Williams	Sr
LB	`10`	Desmyn Baker	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Tops announce 2023 football schedule". The Daily News. January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
^ Whaley, Will (January 10, 2023). "WKU announces 2023 football schedule". WBKO. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
^ Nations, Jeff (October 26, 2023). "Liberty's punishing ground game helps Flames pull away in second half". Bowling Green Daily News. pp. 1B, 3B.

This college football 2020s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Tops announce 2023 football schedule". The Daily News. January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

[2] Whaley, Will (January 10, 2023). "WKU announces 2023 football schedule". WBKO. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

[3] Nations, Jeff (October 26, 2023). "Liberty's punishing ground game helps Flames pull away in second half". Bowling Green Daily News. pp. 1B, 3B.

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2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football

Famous Toastery Bowl champion
Famous Toastery Bowl, W 38–35 ^OT vs. Old Dominion
Conference	Conference USA
Record	8–5 (5–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Tyson Helton (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Drew Hollingshead (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Tyson Summers (2nd season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →