WKU bailed out by defense, special teams in win
Western Kentucky was all sorts of sloppy Saturday at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio. But whether it was talent or an inferior opponent or a little good fortune, the Hilltoppers found a way to overcome in a 31-24 win over Miami University.
A contest filled with penalties and turnovers on a wet and windy day in front of a small crowd still had WKU (2-1) ahead 14-0 in the second quarter and 24-3 at one point in the third. Jeff Brohm’s team may have dodged a bullet and certainly didn’t win any style points in the process.
“It was very ugly,” Brohm said. “But I don’t think it was ugly on defense and special teams – I thought we were very good. Just offensively, struggled. Made needless mistakes, didn’t execute very well, really was very disjointed and pretty much, other than maybe one or two guys, not really anyone played well. Now, they’re effort was there, but it was just not good and that falls on me. We got a lot of work to do.”
Western threw an interception, lost two fumbles, turned the ball over on downs going in at the MU 1 and committed nine penalties for 126 yards. It was held scoreless in the first quarter and to just one offensive touchdown in the first half.
But a win is a win is a win, and now the Tops get to play back at home again – and host Vanderbilt (1-2) out of the Southeastern Conference at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday.
“We’ll accept the win, (Sunday) it’s over with, we go in there and learn from our mistakes and get ready for next week,” WKU senior wide receiver Nicholas Norris said. “We’re not gonna dwell on it too long.”
Quarterback Mike White finished 18 of 30 for 270 yards and two TDs. Norris set new career highs in both receptions (11) and yards (187) and found the end zone once. Freshman Quinton Baker ran for 101 yards on 18 carries and punched in his first career touchdown while starters Anthony Wales and D’Andre Ferby missed the game due to injury.
The team’s defense, however, was the story once again. The RedHawks (0-3) had just 257 total yards after three quarters and 85 yards rushing overall. Quarterback Billy Bahl finished the game 20 of 41 for 339 yards and two scores, but was also sacked seven times.
Miami was 5 of 17 on third down.
“That’s the key thing. We came out firing on all cylinders,” WKU senior linebacker Keith Brown said. “We let some things get behind us, but we came out with the dub.
"We got a big game next week and we just wanna emphasize (finishing) all week in practice. We came out strong, now we just gotta finish.”
The Hilltoppers picked up the slack on special teams as well. Nacarius Fant had the program’s first punt return for a touchdown since 2012 – a 48-yard jaunt in the second quarter – and Kylen Towner racked up 148 yards on two kickoff returns.
Special teams coach Tony Levine called a cross-field lateral on a kick return, and Ryan Nuss made a 26-yard field to help Western’s winning effort. The Hilltoppers started four drives in MU territory and two others on the positive side of their own 35.
“The return scheme was great today. Coach Levine had a great plan, he was fired up going into it,” Brohm said. “We had a lot of things up our sleeve and he wanted to call all of ‘em. We called quite a few of ‘em. Because of that we got it got us some big plays and luckily they came through for us. Otherwise it probably woulda been a different outcome.”
Brohm’s squad avoided its first losing streak since 2014 and returns to Houchens-Smith Stadium where it’s 12-1 under the third-year coach. It’s there WKU – despite being without a few key players – will try to make it two in a row under the struggling Commodores.
Ferby and Wales did not play Saturday due to injuries and may not play against VU. Western Kentucky left tackle Forrest Lamp departed in the second half of Saturday’s win with a possible leg injury – Brohm said postgame it was too early to know the severity of that injury.
“We gotta get some guys back, but if we don’t, we gotta keep chugging along, get guys experience on the field,” he added.
Western Kentucky is now 22-8 under Brohm and 14-3 in its last 17. And while the latest victory won’t turn out to be very memorable, it counts all the same.
“We obviously are happy about the win, but we know at the same time it wasn’t perfect,” Taylor said. “We always know that there’s always room for improvement. Defensive side of the ball looked great, offense we know we can get better in some areas. We’re just gonna look to go in, clean it up and get better next week.”
