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)
Defensive coordinator	Tyson Summers (2nd season)
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.

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 Jacksonville State

Pregame line	Over/under
WKU –7.5	59.5

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

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Kentucky	10	7	0	0	17
Jacksonville State	0	10	0	10	20

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

Date: October 17, 2023
Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
Game weather: Clear, 62 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 17,977
Referee: Ed Ardito
TV announcers (ESPNU): Dave Neal (play-by-play) & Derek Mason (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

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

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, 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, INT
	Rushing	Zion Webb	28 carries, 146 yards, 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

[1]

[2]

[3]

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