2010 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Preview

2009 Results: 0-12, No Bowl

Head Coach: Willie Taggart (1st year @ WKU)

Home Venue: LT Smith Stadium (22,133), Bowling Green, Kentucky

It was a tough season for the Hilltoppers as they debuted as a full time D-1A school. Surprisingly, former coach Dave Elson didn’t get much of a chance to show he could compete at this level and Stanford RB coach Willie Taggart was named as his replacement. Can the Hilltoppers win their first game as a full member of the Sun Belt this season?

OFFENSE

The good news for WKU is that their offense averaged over 20 points per game last fall while starting a freshman under center. Even better, nine starters are back from that group so the Hilltoppers should be fairly solid scoring points. Now a sophomore, quarterback Kawaun Jakes is a dual threat after he passed for over 1,500 yards and 9 touchdowns while rushing for 356 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2009. With a season under his belt, he should be improved this fall.

Another reason for optimism is his offensive line, which returns four starters, three of whom are upperclassmen. Improving their blocking will be a key for WKU to have success this season because they have a gamebreaker at tailback in junior Bobby Rainey, who rushed for 939 yards and 6 touchdowns last year. Expect the Hilltoppers to lean on their ground game as they don’t have a lot of production at the receiver position.

In all, there is a good amount of experience on hand for WKU. Another season of development for Jakes combined with a stronger offensive line should result in the Hilltoppers matching or topping last year’s scoring totals. However, this is still a below average offense.

DEFENSE

Perhaps the biggest reason for Western Kentucky’s goose egg in the win column last year was the play of their defense, which was gouged to the tune of 39.6 points per game, second worst in the country! However, there is some good news and it has nothing to do with saving money on car insurance. The Hilltoppers bring back nine starters from last year’s team and have transitioned to a 4-3 defense after allowing an average of 245 yards per game on the ground last fall.

The 4-3 switch was a great idea because the entire two deep up front is back from 2009. That means that there are plenty of able-bodied linemen ready to go and WKU should definitely field a stouter run defense with all of their starting linebackers returning as well.

Where there is major concern is in the secondary, which allowed a D-1A-worst 67.8 completion percent! After being gouged for 27 passing TDs last fall, this group can’t be any worst, right? With an improved pass rush up front, the secondary should have more time to work. However, they’re still the weakest link in what is going to be one of the country’s more porous defenses for the 2nd consecutive season.

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SCHEDULE

WKU has broken their schedule up into two distinct parts. The first month features trips to Nebraska, Kentucky and South Florida while Big Ten cellar dweller Indiana makes a visit to southwestern Kentucky. However, a Big Ten cellar dweller generally beats up on a Sun Belt cellar dweller, so the Hilltoppers are probably looking at a 0-4 start.

If WKU is going to win a Sun Belt game this season, it is likely to happen in the first three weeks of the season when expected bottom half finishers UL-Monroe and Louisiana start off the schedule. Unfortunately, with only five home games it is hard to peg any game that the Hilltoppers should be favored in. But when you’re the newest team in D-1A football, there are no easy games and this is a difficult schedule for the Hilltoppers.

OUTLOOK

Western Kentucky should definitely be a better team this season after earning the unfortunate distinction as the only winless team in the country in 2009. However, they have a daunting opening schedule against four BCS conference opponents and there is no realistic hope for a postseason berth as the talent level is still too low to expect more than a win or two in conference. However, the Hilltoppers should win at least one game this season and end their 20 game losing streak.

PREDICTED RESULT: 1-11 (1-7 Sun Belt)