But in the blink of an eye, what seemed to be WKU’s first down-to-the-wire conference contest turned into yet another comfortable C-USA win.

How?

15 Minutes of Seamless Football

Hosea Wheeler field goal block.

Caden Veltkamp to K.D. Hutchinson, 74-yard touchdown. 

Sam Houston fumble recovered by WKU.

Veltkamp 19-yard rushing touchdown. 

Sam Houston turnover on downs. 

This was the sequence in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. With tensions high and their backs against the wall, the Hilltoppers played almost perfect football to make a three-point lead a 17-point lead in a matter of moments. 

I say almost perfect because nothing in sports can ever be truly perfect, but man, this was close. 

“The first half was a total back and forth like I expected and then slowly but surely in the second half we were able to make some big plays,” Head Coach Tyson Helton said. 

With a high-stress situation in an already high-stress game, teams can crumble or team’s can live up to the challenge. 

The Hilltoppers end their season with Liberty and Jacksonville State, two top teams in C-USA that are sure to give WKU a tough time. But outside of Boston College, when WKU has had their backs against the wall this season, WKU has shown they can live up to the challenge.

Defense

I’ve mentioned WKU’s defense in this column a lot recently, but I feel like yet again they were too good to leave out. 

Aside from a few big plays – which have really been the only glaring downfall this season – that resulted in touchdowns, WKU held the Bearkats offense to only 14 points. They averaged 31 points per game beforehand. 

The defense has yet to allow over 21 points a game in Conference USA play. WKU has only allowed over 21 to one opponent this entire year, Alabama.

“I like it that way. Defense wins championships,” Helton said. “Anytime our backs are against the wall, anythings happening, they go out there, create turnovers and get stops.” 

The Bye Week

If you told me before the season that WKU would be 5-2 heading into the second bye week I wouldn’t be surprised.

Outside of the two Power 4 games, WKU’s schedule lined up to where a 5-2 mark seemed very possible.

But if you told me that WKU would be 5-2 with a stellar defense and a good – and improving – offense under Caden Veltkamp, I’d be ecstatic. 

Around the exact same time last season, the Hilltoppers were watching a Jacksonville State kick sail through the uprights, handing WKU their first conference loss of the year. While that loss did not totally derail the year, a loss against Liberty the next week seemed to throw the C-USA championship hopes off the tracks. 

This year, the Hilltoppers have their entire season ahead of them after their first big conference test. WKU has not made a C-USA championship since 2021 and has not won a C-USA championship in the Helton era.

Maybe it’s the immaturity of a young college journalist who wants to see his tuition payments go to something exciting, but this year feels different.

Sports Reporter Jake McMahon can be reached at michael.mcmahon480@topper.wku.edu

The Hilltoppers found themselves in a tight 17-14 contest through three quarters before scoring two touchdowns in just over two minutes and putting the nail in the coffin on a pivotal road win. 

“I thought it was a great team win tonight,” Head Coach Tyson Helton said. “I mean, this is a tough place to go on the road and get a win like we did. The first half was a total back and forth battle, like I expected, and then slowly but surely in the second half we were able to make some big plays.”

WKU took advantage of a few big miscues by the Bearkats throughout the game. Sam Houston missed a kick, had a kick blocked, fumbled a snap and threw an interception. The miscues led to 14 Hilltopper points.

The win brings the Hilltoppers to 3-0 in conference play and 5-2 overall. 

Veltkamp put together another strong performance, throwing for 281 yards and accounting for four total touchdowns. Additionally, it was Veltkamp’s first start of the year without a turnover.

Senior Elijah Young was productive in both the rushing and receiving game for the Hilltoppers. Young went for 97 yards on the ground and 61 yards and a touchdown receiving.

Redshirt sophomore K.D. Hutchinson led the receiving corps with 88 yards and a touchdown.

The Hilltopper defense was once again very good aside from a couple big plays by the opposition. In addition to a blocked field goal, the Hilltoppers came up with their 11th and 12th turnovers of the season. 

First Half

WKU received the opening kickoff and put together an extremely efficient touchdown drive. Veltkamp went 4-5 on the drive for 57 yards and capped off the drive with a 17-yard touchdown to redshirt junior River Helms.

The Hilltoppers quickly got the ball back after forcing a punt, but quickly were forced to punt it back to Sam Houston after a three-and-out. 

Sam Houston was forced to punt their next drive, despite moving past midfield, after being set back by an offensive pass interference. 

The following WKU drive stalled around midfield as well, forcing another punt.

The Bearkats responded with their first scoring drive of the game, opening the second quarter with a 37-yard passing touchdown.

WKU followed with a scoring drive of their own that ended with a 51-yard field goal to make it 10-7.

Sam Houston responded with another big play touchdown on a 50-yard pass. The four play, 73-yard drive made it 14-10. 

WKU answered with a longer touchdown drive that went 75 yards in 13 plays. Young concluded the drive with an 11-yard receiving touchdown to make it 17-14. 

Following a Sam Houston punt, WKU ran the clock out to halftime, despite moving into Sam Houston territory. 

The Hilltoppers did not use their final timeout with their last drive of the half. Time ran out on WKU after a reception at the Sam Houston 18-yard-line.

Second Half

Sam Houston began the second half with a 10-play drive that ultimately ended with a missed field goal.

WKU’s first drive of the second half resulted in a punt despite moving the ball past midfield.

The Bearkats were quickly forced to punt again on their next drive after their starting quarterback Hunter Watson went out with an injury.

WKU followed with another quick punt, giving the Bearkats the back with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.

The next Sam Houston drive began with a 31-yard pass play. The drive ended with no points however as redshirt junior Hosea Wheeler blocked a field goal attempt.

Hutchinson proceeded to give the Hilltoppers a 24-14 lead on the third play of the next drive with a 74-yard receiving touchdown. 

The Bearkats fumbled a snap on their next drive, giving WKU the ball back at the Sam Houston 24-yard line.

Veltkamp proceeded to rush it in from 19 yards out to give the Hilltoppers a 31-14 lead.

Sam Houston drove into Hilltopper territory with their next drive before turning it over on downs.

After a punt by WKU, redshirt junior Upton Stout ended any chance of a comeback with an interception.

The Hilltoppers will have another bye week next week before returning home to face Kennesaw State on Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. CT.

“This is the time of the year where you need these wins, when you go on the road,” Helton said.“It says a lot about our football team, and we get to recover a little bit, we get a bye so that’s good. We got some bumps and bruises guys need to heal but sitting in a good position.”

Sports Reporter Camden Bush can be reached at camden.bush770@topper.wku.edu.

In their first year in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Sam Houston went 3-9. Five of those nine losses, however, came within one score including their 28-23 road loss to the Hilltoppers in late November. Foster said the tagline for the Bearkats throughout the offseason was “we lost five games on five plays.”

In their second year in FBS, the Bearkats have quickly turned the corner starting 5-1. 

He said that all of the change for the Bearkats can be credited to the work Sam Houston did on endurance and stamina over the offseason.

“They’ve really boiled it down from doing stuff in the weight room and trying to win the day on each play and find those five plays,” Foster said. “Ultimately, it’s paid off for them this year.”

On the field, Sam Houston has done most of their damage with the run game. The Bearkats have the 11th best rushing offense in FBS, averaging 228.8 rushing yards a game. A lot of the Sam Houston rushing success has come from quarterback Hunter Watson who leads the Bearkats in rushing with 370 yards. 

“Watson in there at quarterback has been key for that running game,” Foster said.

He also said that the Bearkats have “four running backs that could be starters on this team.”

“That’s just been pivotal, because even in late games, they could flip to somebody else who could have probably started the game,” Foster said.

Jay Ducker and DJ McKinney have been the two standout backs for Sam Houston this season. The duo is tied with 348 total yards. Ducker has five rushing touchdowns to McKinney’s two. 

While he complemented Watson and the Bearkats’ ability to run the ball, he said that Watson “does make some mistakes” including some in the passing game.

“If Western can stop the run game and force him to throw, it could get a little interesting,” Foster said. “But also, I have all the faith in the world that Hunter Watson can complete passes.”

Watson has thrown for 859 yards on the season with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. 

Defensively, Foster said the Bearkat secondary has stepped up, allowing 208 passing yards a game which is good for third best in Conference-USA. Defensive backs Isaiah Cash and Caleb Weaver are key guys Foster mentioned on the secondary. Cash and Weaver rank first and third in C-USA respectively for pass breakups per game.

Although they have been successful so far this season, he said that this secondary could face a challenge against the air attacking WKU offense. 

“They [Sam Houston] played Hawaii and Hawaii’s a team that’s going to throw it a lot and that secondary really stuck up. But it feels like this Western Kentucky team is more complete on that offensive end,” Foster said. “I could see maybe where these secondary guys are going to be really tested in this one.”

On the stat sheet, WKU and Sam Houston have been similar. Both teams are averaging around 30 points a game and allowing 23 points per game. With the similarities between the two, Foster said he expects the Wednesday night contest is “going to be a really good game that goes down to the end.”

“You got two teams fighting for [a] Conference USA title spot,” Foster said. “I think it’s going to be one of those that goes down to the final play.”

The Hilltoppers and Bearkats both figure to be in contention for the Conference USA title and this matchup will have big stakes in deciding who gets to the conference championship. 

“We’ve got a veteran group, love our team, they get the big picture,” Head Coach Tyson Helton said. “I think they’re excited to play this game, they have a lot of respect for the opponent that they are about to play.”

Both WKU and Sam Houston currently sit 2-0 in conference play and have handily defeated each of their opponents.

WKU has outscored C-USA opponents 93-38 on the season and Sam Houston has outscored C-USA opponents 72-32.

The Hilltoppers will head to Huntsville, Texas on short rest following a Thursday game last week. Wednesday’s matchup will be WKU’s second of three midweek contests in October. 

“I think we’ve been on track,” Helton said. “Guys have been good, nobody has felt rushed or like hey there is a quick turnaround.”

WKU is coming off a bounce-back victory over UTEP after dropping their previous game at Boston College in heartbreaking fashion. 

The Hilltoppers receiving group is coming off a huge week against UTEP and will look to put together another strong week at Sam Houston.

Last week redshirt sophomore Easton Messer had 106 yards, senior Kisean Johnson had 82 yards, graduate Michael Mathison had three touchdowns and redshirt senior Dalvin Smith had a touchdown. 

Helton sees room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball despite allowing only 17 points last week.

“I feel like we got tested last week in some of those scenarios against UTEP,” Helton said. “We turned a 60-yard touchdown loose defensively. I think that was a learning lesson, we didn’t take good angles defensively.”

The Hilltoppers will face off against a much more explosive offense this week against Sam Houston. The Bearkats have scored over 30 points in all but one of their games this season. 

Sam Houston enters the game as 2.5 point favorites, according to ESPN, after winning four straight. 

Wednesday’s matchup will be nationally televised on ESPN2 and will kickoff at 6 p.m. CT. 

Let me rephrase.

In his opening statement after WKU football’s blowout 44-17 win against conference opponent UTEP, Helton said the Hilltoppers “need to get a lot better and need to get a lot better real fast in every area.”

“This is the time of year you gotta be really critical of yourself. I’m not getting down on anybody. I think you’ll pull anybody in this room [and] they’ll say the same thing,” Helton said. 

If a coach ever says there is nothing more that needs to be improved with his squad than he’s in the wrong profession. But when your coach says there is a lot of work that needs to be done after a 27-point conference win, you got to be pretty darn excited about what this team will look like when they get better.

Here are my thoughts about WKU’s 44-17 win against UTEP. 

Defense Still rolling

For the first time in a few weeks my pessimistic self snuck back into the picture following a 76-yard touchdown on UTEP’s second offensive drive.

“They’re back,” he said. “The big-play prone Western defense is back like they had never left.”

After the two-play, 80-yard drive, UTEP’s offensive possessions for the rest of the first half went as follows:

Five plays, 24 yards gained, interception.

Three plays, seven yards gained, punt.

Three plays, 12 yards lost, punt.

Six plays, 22 yards gained, turnover on downs. 

WKU continued their domination in the second half, allowing only a field goal in the final 30 minutes of the game. 

“I think we played well. We obviously got things we need to clean up,” Defensive tackle Dallas Walker said. “Going into practice this week we are going to focus on all the little things that we missed out there today. I think we just did a good job flying to the ball and playing with good effort.”

Hanging on for dear life, that same pessimistic self yells that this UTEP team was one of, if not the worst offense WKU has played. But no, there are no stats that will deter me from enjoying this current WKU defense. You play who’s on your schedule, and WKU’s defense continued a great stretch of performances Thursday night. 

WKU gave up only 178 yards through the air and allowed only 3.7 yards per carry. The defense also forced an interception and three turnovers on downs.

The Big Red People Eaters tied season highs in tackles for loss with eight and sacks with three. 

Thursday’s game marked the first time WKU has held three straight opponents to 21 points or less since Oct. 30, 2021. That team went the last seven regular season games without allowing over 21 points. 

Balanced offense

It’s weird to me that I’m talking about a WKU offense and the first thing I’m going to mention is the run game, but UTEP came into Thursday’s contest with one of the worst run defenses in the country and the Hilltoppers exposed it. 

WKU finished the game with 218 total rushing yards. Six Hilltoppers ran for 16 yards or more as it wasn’t just the backs getting it done. The Hilltoppers got the receivers involved with a few end-arounds to pick up those yards with the running game. It was exciting, fun and led to an offense that “at times was really explosive,” Helton said.  

The fun-to-watch offense carried itself into the passing game. Quarterback Caden Veltkamp had his best start as a Hilltopper throwing for 264 yards, three touchdowns and an interception off a deflection. He also found plenty of his weapons in the game, completing passes to seven Hilltoppers. Receivers Easton Messer and Kisean Johnson both went for over 80 yards. 

Helton was right during the postgame, noting that the offense was sloppy at times. The offense allowed three sacks, went 6-14 on third down and Veltkamp’s interception did come inside the redzone. 

But Helton was also right that there were “a lot of really really good things.” Things that will have to be really really good for WKU to compete for a conference title. 

What’s Next

“This is the time of year you gotta be really critical of yourself. I’m not getting down on anybody, I think you’ll pull anybody into this room [and] they’ll say the same thing,” Helton said. “We are extremely happy to get this win, everybody’s excited, but when we come to work tomorrow we got to turn that page and get back to work for Sam Houston.”

If you would have told me before the season that on Oct. 16, WKU would be traveling to face a top-2 team in Conference USA, I would have bet my house that it would be Liberty. My second best guess would be Jacksonville State or the slightly less probable solution that WKU thought a mid-season Red and White game was an excellent idea.

Never did I think next Wednesday’s bout against Sam Houston would hold this much importance. 

But in an incredible story Sam Houston has turned their three-win season from last year into a 5-1 start. 

The Bearkats host the number three offense in defense in C-USA and have outscored their opponents 191-143.

It’s No. 3 against No. 2 in C-USA and it’s two teams who look prime to compete for a conference title in December. 

Buckle up. 

“Good conference win tonight. A lot of things we can build off of for sure,” Head Coach Tyson Helton said. “We’re very happy to win this game, but we need to get a lot better and we need to get a lot better real fast in every area.”

The passing and rushing attack were both on full display for the Hilltoppers as they went for 218 yards on the ground and 264 yards through the air.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Caden Veltkamp put together an impressive statline, throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Graduate Michael Mathison helped both the rushing and passing attack with two receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

Redshirt sophomore Easton Messer led the Hilltoppers in receiving with 106 yards.

The Hilltoppers had success running the ball with different players throughout the contest. WKU gained 218 yards on the ground overall and six different players rushed for at least 16 yards.

Senior Elijah Young led the way on the ground with 63 yards. Redshirt junior George Hart III was close behind with 55 yards on only three carries

 WKU’s defense was solid in the contest aside from a couple explosive plays. UTEP’s two touchdowns came on a 76-yard pass play and a 100-yard kickoff return. 

Fourth downs played a big role in the game as WKU went 4-4 on fourth down while UTEP went 0-3.

First Half

The Hilltoppers received the opening kickoff but were quickly forced to punt after just one first down. After being under pressure most of the drive, Veltkamp was sacked to end the drive.

UTEP responded with a very similar drive, punting after recording only one first down.

The next WKU drive began with a 42-yard gain on a double end-around. Veltkamp concluded the drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior Dalvin Smith, giving WKU a 7-0 lead.

UTEP answered quickly with a 76-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the following drive to tie it at 7-7.

WKU put together another efficient drive, going 61 yards before being picked off right outside the end zone at the UTEP 3-yard-line.

The Hilltopper defense quickly responded with an interception of their own. Redshirt junior Demarko Williams returned the pick 38 yards to the UTEP 12-yard-line.

Mathison took a jet sweep 12 yards to the end zone the following play to give WKU a 14-7 lead.

UTEP went three-and-out the next drive, giving the Hilltoppers the ball at their own 42-yard-line after a short punt.

WKU efficiently moved the ball into the red zone before ultimately stalling out thanks to a sack. The drive ended with a 25-yard field goal, giving the Hilltoppers a 17-7 lead.

The Hilltoppers got the ball back on the UTEP 43-yard-line after a 14-yard sack that forced the Miners to punt from their own 1-yard-line.

WKU answered with a 10-play touchdown drive that ended with a three-yard rushing touchdown by Veltkamp, making it a 24-7 game. The drive featured two successful fourth-down conversions by the Hilltopper offense.

UTEP proceeded to turn it over on downs at their own 47-yard-line, giving WKU good field position again.

The Hilltoppers then bled down the clock, ending the half with a 42-yard field goal to make it 27-7.

Second Half

UTEP began the second half by returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, making it 27-14.

WKU punted the following drive after earning only one first down. 

The Miners responded with a 10-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a field goal. The 42-yard field goal made it 27-17.

WKU answered with a three-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, making it 34-17. Mathison concluded the drive with a 14-yard receiving touchdown after a 57-yard completion to Messer.

UTEP proceeded to drive past midfield before ultimately turning it over on downs the next drive.

The Hilltoppers responded with a 52-yard drive that ended with Mathison’s third touchdown of the day on a three-yard completion. The touchdown gave WKU a 41-17 lead.

The Miners turned over the ball on downs in Hillttopper territory once again on the following drive. 

WKU responded by driving into UTEP territory and finished the drive with a 54-yard field goal to make it 44-17. The field goal was the second-longest in program history

UTEP proceeded to bleed the rest of the clock, resulting in a 44-17 WKU victory.

WKU will look to advance to 3-0 in Conference USA play Wednesday, Oct. 16 at Sam Houston. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 pm CT. 

“We got a quick turnaround coming up with Sam Houston so we got to turn this page and get going with them,” Helton said.

The Miners head into Thursday after a tough start to the season. UTEP is 0-5 and 0-2 in Conference USA play. Perez-Navarro said the reason for the slow start is that UTEP is “trying to rebuild with figures that are still adapting to the FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision] world.”

“[Head Coach] Scotty Walden, it’s his first gig as an FBS coach. He came from Austin Peay… that’s an FCS school. He still needs to adapt,” Perez-Navarro said. 

He also said key players for the Miners, such as wide receiver Trey Goodman and “Miner back” Kam Thomas, who both made the move to UTEP from Austin Peay along with Walden, are guys that have not fully adapted to the FBS level. 

Perez-Navarro said a solution to UTEP’s problems would be getting the “offense in a rhythm.” The Miners are averaging only 15.8 points per game, a mark that sits at 125th in FBS and last in C-USA. UTEP sits at 113th in FBS in total yards per game, averaging 322 yards per contest. 

On the other side of the ball, the Miner defense is allowing 32.6 points and a staggering 239 rushing yards a game, a mark that is fourth worst in FBS. However, Perez-Navarro said the overwhelming offensive struggle is something that has skewed the stats of a UTEP defense that has looked “phenomenal” in his eyes. 

“Those yards, they aren’t a direct representation of the on the field product,” he said. “I think the main story here is that the defense has just gassed itself out because they haven’t been given enough adequate time and rest.”

Perez-Navarro blamed some of the offensive struggles on the lack of a true starting quarterback. Cade McConnell and Skyler Locklear have both started for UTEP this year. Locklear has thrown for 710 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions on 104 attempts. McConnell has thrown for 444 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 64 attempts. 

McConell started for the Miners last week against Sam Houston and went for 204 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Locklear did not play against the Bearkats. 

“When you’re flip flopping back and forth between quarterbacks, obviously, it’s a situation which no coach likes to be in. It’s a hard situation to adjust your offense too,” Perez-Navarro said.

Perez-Navarro said that he would not be surprised if UTEP kept the game close. For the Miners to pull off the upset against the Hilltoppers, he said the UTEP defense would have to stay energized, the Miner offense would have to turn red zone opportunities into points and Walden would have to manage the clock better than he did in UTEP’s close loss against FCS Southern Utah. 

“I see a UTEP team that is getting better every week,” Head Coach Tyson Helton said. “They work extremely hard and are well coached, I know their head coach. He does a great job getting those guys ready to play. We need to play our best game.”

WKU welcomes the Miners with a “Red Out” game in which the Hilltoppers will be repping new Big Red uniforms.

The contest will be WKU’s first midweek game of the season. Coming off a bye week the Hilltoppers will be on extra rest despite the Thursday game.

WKU and redshirt sophomore Caden Veltkamp will attempt to right the ship after a second half collapse at Boston College last game.

The Hilltoppers held a 20-7 lead in the third quarter before ultimately falling 21-20.

Veltkamp has had two interceptions each of his last two games but faces a UTEP team that has only recorded one interception all season.

Despite back-to-back weeks with multiple turnovers, Veltkamp’s season stats still look strong and the Hilltoppers have played in two tight contests.

On the season, Veltkamp has thrown for 883 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in three games.

After TJ Finley began the season as WKU’s starting quarterback, Veltkamp took over after Finley went down with an injury at MTSU.

Veltkamp will remain the starter for at least a few more weeks as Helton said Finley is still rehabbing and is “probably a couple weeks out from knowing kind of when to anticipate him being back.”

On the other side of the ball, the Hilltoppers defense has been a key to their success since the Alabama game. 

Over the last four games, WKU has allowed 15.8 points per game and forced eight turnovers.

The Hilltoppers will look to improve to 2-0 in conference play and 4-2 overall against UTEP in a game in which they are 19.5 point favorites, according to ESPN.

WKU and UTEP will face off at Smith Stadium at 7 p.m. CT on Oct. 10. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

WKU football released their uniforms for next Thursdays red-out game against UTEP with a X post Wednesday, featuring the beloved mascot’s eyes on red helmets. The headgear will be paired with red uniforms and red pants.

Last year’s position-specific Big Red helmets garnered over 11 million social media impressions according to a press release from WKU football. According to the press release, this is the first time the Hilltopers will wear red helmets since the mid-2000’s.

Kickoff for WKU’s game against UTEP is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be the first in a month-long stretch of weekday games.

WKU football took Boston College to the wire Saturday, but ultimately fell short, 21-20, in nauseating fashion.

Here are my thoughts on WKU’s loss at Boston College, if you can bear to relive it. 

Defense Continues to Shine

After an amazing performance at home against Toledo, I was concerned a tough road game against Boston College would stunt any momentum the WKU defense gathered against the Rockets.

But I’ll be the first to say – and I’ll say it loudly – that I was wrong. 

The Hilltoppers held the run-heavy Eagles to 111 yards rushing, the second lowest mark BC has had all year. And while BC was victim to a last minute quarterback change, WKU held backup Grayson James to 168 yards through the air. 

This performance is the first time WKU has allowed 21 points or less in back-to-back games since Nov. 12, 2022, a game that saw WKU beat Rice 45-10. 

As quarterback Caden Veltkamp continues to settle into his new role, it’s vital that the defense continues to play at this level, especially headed into Conference USA play. 

Veltkamp looked better but still hasn’t fully settled as a starter

It’s been two games of Veltkamp at the helm and I’d say his starts have been a bit underwhelming. 

I am weary to say that the redshirt sophomore quarterback has been seemingly disappointing as the starter because of the very high expectations he set coming off the bench. Veltkamp threw for a combined 781 yards and 10 touchdowns in last year’s bowl game against Old Dominion and this year’s game against MTSU. 

In his two outings as a starter, he has thrown for 474 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps the most troubling stat is the four interceptions in the two games. 

However, I am doing my best to take this with a grain of salt. 

Even with the underwhelming play, WKU was a hypothetical score away from a 2-0 start under his reign and a hypothetical score away from being 2-0 against two really solid squads. 

With a bye week and 0-4 UTEP on the horizon, this feels like the perfect stretch for Veltkamp to settle into the starter role headed into conference play. 

Accept the Moral Victories

I know the old cliche of “no moral victories” in sports, but  WKU can and should be proud as they leave Chestnut Hill. 

WKU went into a packed parents weekend environment against a Power 4 team and almost escaped the hostility with a win. 

WKU’s last power conference games were a 63-10 loss to Ohio State and a 63-0 loss against Alabama. I know the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide aren’t exactly comparable to the Eagles – no shade to BC – but to go into a tough environment against a tough team and play a tough game is a feat that had been foreign to Hilltopper teams in the past. 

What’s Next

Unfortunately, the sting from this one may stick with Hilltopper faithful for a bit longer than usual. WKU won’t play another game until Thursday, Oct. 10 when they take on the UTEP Miners.

At the moment, UTEP sits at 0-4 and in last place in C-USA. 

Sports editor Jake McMahon can be reached at michael.mcmahon480@topper.wku.edu