TOPPERS ROUTED 63-28 BY WILDCATS

On the third play of the game Bobby Rainey broke free for a 59 yard touchdown run to give the Hilltoppers a 7-0 lead. Then the Wildcats’ offense reeled off five straight touchdown drives, throw in a 50 yard touchdown on a punt return by Randall Cobb and we have a blowout. It is a different week but it is the same story for the Hilltoppers with good offensive run production and an uninspired defensive effort.

Performance Breakdown for the Hilltoppers:

- The offense needs to expand their passing game with Kawaun Jakes accounting for a dismal 97 yards and 1 touchdown through the air. Most of those yards came in garbage time against the Wildcats’ defensive second string in the 4th quarter.

- The return game showed some flash with a Willie McNeal 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter. However, the punt coverage needs to tighten up as they allowed a 50-yard touchdown return to Randall Cobb. On that return it was clear the punt coverage for the Hilltoppers over ran a short punt which allowed Cobb all kinds of daylight to run.

- Speaking of short punts, Hendrix Brakefield averaged a mere 32.3 yards per punt which created a short field opportunities for the Wildcats.

- Getting pressure on the quarterback is something this 4-3 defense has not been able to accomplish so far this year. The defense made Mike Hartline look like a Heisman candidate as he went 16-20 for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns.

- Tackling continues to haunt the Hilltopper defense as Kentucky scored on five straight offensive drives after WKU gained a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

- Another monster day for Bobby Rainey with 184 yards on 22 carries with 2 touchdowns. The Tops had 284 yards of total offense and if my math serves me correctly, Rainey was 64.7% of the offense. He is establishing himself as an early favorite for Sun Belt Player of the Year.

- As impressive as Rainey has been I would like to see other running backs like Keshawn Simpson, Avery Hibbitt, and Braxston Miller step up and make plays. It is going to make opposing defenses easy to game plan WKU if Rainey continues to account for 70% of the production.

WKU vs. Nebraska Preview

College football season is finally here and for the Hilltoppers they have a lot to prove coming off of a winless campaign in their first fully fledged FBS season. The mountain gets harder to climb to kick off the 2010 season with a trip to Lincoln, NE to take on the eighth ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Nebraska is ranked eighth in the country for a reason; they are deep and talented on offense, defense, and special teams. The only big question mark they have coming into the season is the quarterback position, and Coach Pelini is keeping that answer on the down low.

This will be a learning experience for WKU in dealing with the crowd noise at Memorial Stadium and playing a team with superior talent. One advantage for the Hilltoppers is they are under new leadership that is incorporating new offensive and defensive systems which means there is not a lot of game film for the Nebraska coaching staff to break down.

This will be a success for WKU if:

The new 4-3 defense can penetrate the line of scrimmage against a deep and talented Cornhuskers offensive line. Getting quarterback pressures, minimizing long runs, and creating some three and outs will be a major victory for the defense. With Nebraska running wider offensive line splits, which places the defense 4-5 feet further from the quarterback, getting sacks will be a tough task.

The Hilltopper offensive line can hold the Black shirt defense off enough to create some positive running plays and give Kawaun Jakes enough time to run through his progressions on pass attempts. With the depth and talent on the Nebraska defense, I believe Jakes will be running more than he will be passing.

The special teams unit can prevent touchdown returns on kickoffs and punts. This is WKU’s biggest weakness and will be tested often, expect Nebraska returner Niles Paul to break a sweat because his day will be busy.

If the Hilltoppers can gain over 200 yards of offense, hold Nebraska under 50 points, and not allow a big return on special teams will serve as a huge positive for WKU as they kick off a new season under first year head coach Willie Taggart. Getting out of this game healthy and having actual game experience running the West Coast offense and 4-3 defense will give the Hilltoppers the confidence to know they can compete in the Sun Belt Conference this season.

Yes, the losing streak will be 21 in a row but they will be one game closer to ending it.