Hilltoppers Finds Another Way To Lose

I will admit that I have exiled myself from blogging about Hilltopper football after watching the North Texas debacle. A performance like that causes a fan to be uninspired to talk about a team that shows no effort against a team that is beatable, its North Texas not Nebraska!

However, after showing an inspired effort and guts in their one point overtime victory over Arkansas State, I made my way to L.T. Smith Stadium for the home finale against Middle Tennessee. For the first three quarter I was impressed with the play of WKU, they put together a complete game as Bobby Rainey ran wild and the defense played lights out. Even special teams were playing decent, blocking a couple of punts to set up scores. That made up for Middle's Eric Russell 97 yard kickoff return touchdown and that Casey Tinius extra point that was blocked.

The positive outlook changed on one play in the 4th quarter with the Hilltoppers leading 26-13, 4th down and one yard away from the end zone. Coach Taggart decides to put this game away and go for the touchdown, I liked the call until I saw Kawaun Jakes fumble the snap and the Blue Raiders' Rod Isaac scoop and score for a 99 yard touchdown. The Hilltopper lead is cut to 26-20. All of a sudden, I had flashbacks to the Louisiana-Monroe game. Sound familiar:

- The offense stalls on their next possession

- MTSU puts together a 10 play, 77 yard drive capped off with a Ben Cunningham 6 yard touchdown run. 27-26 MTSU with the lead.

- The offense puts together a drive and sets up Casey Tinius for a 34 yard field goal with 2:26 remaining, only to have Blue Raiders defensive lineman Jarrett Crittenton block the attempt. Game over.

Notes: The Good, The Bad, The Horrible

- Bobby Rainey had a monster game with 45 rushes for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns.

- Kawaun Jakes was once again inconsistent, going 9-22 for only 98 yards and the goal line fumble.

- The defense held MTSU to 208 total yards and allowed only one touchdown.

- Special teams were good and terrible. Back to back blocked punts helped set up early touchdowns for the Hilltoppers. However, a kickoff return for a touchdown and causing the Blue Raiders to block an extra point and field goal attempt cost WKU big time.

- I have a feeling that special teams will be emphasized in practice this week.

Hilltoppers Epic Collapse In The Fourth

As the old saying goes, "winners know how to win." In the case of the Hilltoppers, losers know how to lose, especially when they have a lead. The losing streak now stands at 26 in a row after allowing Louisiana Monroe to score 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lose 35-30.

RECAP

- The first quarter saw the Hilltoppers come out swinging with an Antonio Andrews reverse pass that connected with Marcus Vasquez for 37 yards. That led to a 25 yard field goal by Casey Tinius for 3-0 WKU lead.

- The defense was playing solid in first half and the Tops were winning the field position battle. With 14:56 to go in the second quarter, Kawaun Jakes hooked up with Marcus Vasquez for a 13 yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 10-0.

- A botched punt by Louisiana Monroe lead to an incomplete pass on fourth down as the punter tried to save face. WKU took over on the Warhawks 25 yard line which lead to a Bobby Rainey 4 yard touchdown run. The Hilltoppers take a 17-0 lead with 6:35 remaining in the second.

- The Warhawks finally put together a solid drive that ended with a Jyruss Edwards 33 yard touchdown run on a fourth and one conversion. It is a 17-7 Hilltopper lead going into halftime.

- Late in the third quarter Louisiana Monroe gets desperate and attempts a fake punt pass on fourth down that falls incomplete. Once again, the Hilltoppers have great field position taking over on the Warhawks 31 yard line. Throw in an unsportsmanlike penalty and a pass interference penalty on Louisiana Monroe and the Tops are setting pretty on the 2 yard line. Bobby Rainey scores from 2 yards out and with 1:21 to go in the third WKU leads 24-7.

THE 4TH QUARTER MELTDOWN

- Unfortunately for the WKU defense they forgot that there are four quarters in football because their defense got soft and allowed Louisiana Monroe quarterback Kolton Browning to channel his inner Joe Montana. When Browning wasn't hitting receivers in the middle of the field, he was taking off and picking up first downs with his legs.

- Kolton Browning connects with Luther Ambrose on a 22 yard touchdown reception with 14:20 left in the fourth quarter. WKU 24, ULM 14.

- After a stalled drive by the Hilltoppers, the Warhawks convert two fourth down plays that lead to a Frank Gooden 2 yard touchdown run. WKU 24, ULM 21.

- Three and out by the WKU offense and ULM takes the ball and drives right down the field and score on a Jyruss Edwards six yard touchdown run. ULM 28, WKU 24 with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter.

- The Hilltopper offense responded with no sense of urgency as they huddled after every play on the drive allowing precious seconds to tick away. In the end the clock did not matter as Kawaun Jakes dropped back and threw a pick to ULM's Robert Nelson who took it to the house for a 65 yard touchdown return.

- As Nelson crossed the goal line the boo birds rained down on L.T. Smith Stadium as fans were frustrated with the offensive effort. ULM 35, WKU 24.

- WKU finally puts together a drive as Jakes hooked up with Willie McNeal for a 13 yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion fails and it’s a 35-30 Louisiana Monroe lead.

- The Warhawks recover the onside kick and this epic collapse is over!

NOTES

- I have feeling that the coaching staff will practice on hurry up offensive drills throughout the next week. With 3:35 left in the game and needing a touchdown to win, the offense huddled up after every play that allowed 15-20 seconds to tick off the clock.

- Will we see Matt Pelesasa under center next weekend? Kawaun Jakes finished 13-21 for 131 yards with two touchdowns. That crucial interception late in the game will not help boost the coaching staff's confidence in his play during pressure situations.

- Bobby Rainey continues to be the bright spot for this offense, rushing for 174 yards on 32 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

- The defensive unit put in a great effort, for three quarters. It seems like they installed the prevent defense for the entire fourth quarter and allowed a red shirt freshman quarterback to pick them apart.

- The security staff lined up by the stands late in the third quarter anticipating the Hilltopper fans storming the field after breaking the streak. If you are looking for excuses as to why we lost you could point to the security staff for early crowd control alignment, they obviously failed to scout this game and realize who was playing.

We're Getting Closer...USF 24, WKU 12

RECAP

- The defense put together their best effort so far this year only allowing 283 yards of total offense to USF. We were able to sack QB B.J. Daniels three times and only allowed 57 yards through the air.

- Congratulations to safety Kiante Young for hauling in the Hilltoppers first interception in seven games. We have gone seven games without a defensive interception? When breaking negative streaks it is important to start off slowly.

- Although USF failed to move the ball through the air, they exploited our weakness in the run defense gaining 226 yards on the ground. Running back Demetris Murray led the way for the Bulls with 15 carries for 115 yards.

- Special teams allowed another big punt return of 67 yards by USF's Terrence Mitchell to set up a touchdown run by Daniels.

- Punter Hendrix Brakefield had a good game averaging 43.3 yards per punt on four attempts for the Hilltoppers. He has stepped up his game since the beginning of the season.

- Speaking of the kicking game, Casey Tinius had a game to forget missing on his field goal attempts (47, 50, and 45) and an extra point attempt. I know those are long field goal attempts but leaving points off the board after the offense puts together a good drive is a momentum killer.

- The Hilltoppers offense out gained South Florida 314 to 283 yards on the night that included Bobby Rainey being held to only 64 yards on 21 carries.

- Dreams do come true as Kawaun Jakes passed for 221 yards on 19-37 through the air. The coaching staff established the passing game early realizing the Bulls game plan was to stop Bobby Rainey.

- Tight end Jack Doyle had a career game with 7 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown. He was involved early and often in the offense and scored on a 25 yard touchdown pass late in the fourth.

CONCLUSION

- Overall the offense showed their ability to move the ball throughout the entire ball game. WKU put together good drives early but could not capitalize due to missed field goals by Casey Tinius.

- The defense gave their best effort tonight by getting three sacks, an interception, and allowing USF punter Justin Brockhaus-Kahn to make a couple of cameo appearances.

- The Hilltoppers get a well deserved week off after a tough four game stretch to open the season. Now it is time for Sun Belt Conference play and victory is just around the corner but maybe a couple of blocks up!

END THE STREAK AND GO TOPS!

The Streak Continues: Indiana 38, WKU 21

THE RECAP:

- Defense, Defense, Defense...where are you? I miss you!

- Pass defense was terrible again as the Hoosiers had two receivers with at least eight receptions in Demarlo Belcher and Terrance Turner.

- The 4-3 defense is still not getting any pressure on the quarterback, we only had one sack on the day and Hoosier QB Ben Chappell passed for a career high 366 yards because he had enough time to set up a tent in the pocket.

- The Hoosiers are probably in the top ten in third down conversion percentage after going a scorching 10-12 on third downs, only punting once.

- I noticed the WKU defense taking bad angles, especially in the secondary, which is contributing to our tackling woes.

- Bobby Rainey had 21 rushes for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Great players show consistency, can't wait to see him against Sun Belt competition.

- Like last week, we jumped off to a great start with a 10 play 91 yard drive where Rainey gained 62 of his yards and capped it off with a trip to the end zone.

- After the great start the offense sputtered, managing only 197 yards after the initial drive.

- Kawaun Jakes had his best game so far, completing 13 of 20 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. Still want to see a more vertical passing strategy early in the game but was happy to see Jack Doyle utilized, albeit late in the game.

- Wide Receiver Marcus Vasquez made a highlight reel catch for a 31 yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. I was amazed at how he was able to get his foot down in the field of play the way his body was contorted.

- Many complaints about concessions during the game and after missing the whole second quarter standing in line for a drink, I was one of the complainers. Total lack of concessions preparation by the staff, especially on a hot day where there were four people in my section that suffered from heat exhaustion and needed medical attention.

- Please WKU lets supply more water to your fans, have vendors sell drinks in the stands, and have more concession stands set up that only sell drinks. Lines were way too long and it was ridiculous to be running out of bottled water in the first half when people are laying on the ground suffering from the heat!

- The losing streak is at 23 now and next week the Tops are at South Florida, where the streak will grow to 24 unfortunately. With each game comes more experience, more confidence in the ability to compete, and the hope that there will be one game where it will all come together. Soon I hope, very soon.

END THE STREAK

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.