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.

Jerry Claiborne Bowl, Hopkinsville, KY 8/28

I decided to make a road trip from Bowling Green to the Stadium of Champions in Hopkinsville to catch the Jerry Claiborne Bowl that included Franklin (TN) and Clarksville (TN) taking on the local schools, Hopkinsville and Christian County.

In the opener, the Franklin Rebels matched up against the Hopkinsville Tigers and it was a mismatch from the beginning. The Rebels dominated the game by using their running game to carve up the defense with pass plays. Throw in a defensive fumble return for a touchdown and a blocked punt and you have a final score of 42-0 in favor of Franklin.

The Franklin Rebel band made quite an impression on me by performing such hits as 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" and Ludacris' "Yous a Hoe" during Hopkinsville offensive drives. I did bust out with laughter on the sideline during "Yous a Hoe" as the band chanted "Hoe" in unison, wasn't expected that one!

In the nightcap, Christian County was able to run away from Clarksville late in the fourth quarter. My Flip Camcorder ran out of juice in the second quarter so I was unable to provide footage in the second half. So, from the stands I saw the Wildcats take advantage of a Christian County botched punt attempt, threw a 10 yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 13-7 midway through the third quarter. The Colonels pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a final score of 26-13.

Greenwood vs. Logan Co. 8/27 Highlights

The final score was 45-0 and as you check out the highlights you will see why.

Greenwood vs. Portland (TN) 8/20 Highlights

Greenwood vs. Portland (TN) Highlights: Domination by the Greenwood Gators

WKU Camp Notes 8/23

Camp Notes 8/23

Upon arrival at L.T. Smith Stadium the Hilltoppers were working on special team drills, focusing on kickoff coverage and blocking assignments. Backup kicker Monte Merrick was kicking field goals during drills as projected starter Casey Tinius was on the sideline still nursing his groin injury. Merrick's confidence seems to be building as camp moves forward and his reps increases, he was showing off some leg strength during kicks today but was still inaccurate at times.

During offensive and defensive situational drills there was an emphasis on the running game but the defense dominated the line of scrimmage the majority of the time. The offense was able to break off a hand full of big runs during the battle, but overall the defense won the war.

On the day when Kawaun Jakes was named the starting quarterback he was very shaky during 7 on 7 drills in the red zone toward the end of practice. Lots of passes were thrown over receiver's heads and some into the numbers of the secondary. Not a good day for the newly named starter.

A quarterback that was impressive during the same 7 on 7 drills was freshman Brandon Doughty who made some great reads and threw 4 touchdown passes. He showed great touch and accuracy on his throws as he carved up the defense. As I have posted before, Doughty has the best arm of the quarterbacks and if he takes this year to polish his game and study the offense next year will be a better quarterback competition.

Another player that has been impressive in practice of late is freshman tight end, Jim Murphree. Listed at 6'5" and 222 lbs. he is a great compliment to Jack Doyle. Murphree has a great set of hands and great instincts to get open during his route running. I look for him to be a solid player this year in dual tight end packages.

I will also give myself props for avoiding a parking ticket by campus authorities today. Go Tops!

Western Kentucky Football Camp Update 8/20

To update the quarterback competition over the last few days, Kawaun Jakes is looking more comfortable controlling the offense with short range passes and his ability to make plays with his speed. In Tuesday’s practice Jakes connected with Quinterrance Cooper on a 65 yard pass play down the sideline to end the practice session. Impressive speed from Cooper.

Matt Pelesasa has been very limited with reps in practice the last two days with a sore arm, coaches are using precaution and letting his arm recover. He is expected to back at full strength in today’s evening practice session.

With Pelesasa resting his arm, that means freshman Brandon Doughty has been getting more playing time with the offensive units. He has been showing off his mid range passing ability, hitting a lot of receivers in stride in the 20-30 yard range. If Doughty continues to develop his game, the quarterback competition will be even more difficult to predict this time next season.

Bobby Rainey has been wearing a yellow jersey in practice which means whoever tackles or touches him with their pinky will get an ear full of coach and run a screw up lap around the field. He was icing his left shoulder yesterday after landing awkwardly during a pass catch attempt. He was expected back full strength during evening practice.

The secondary is struggling with defending the pass attack of the West Coast Offense, especially during Wednesday’s practice session. Kicker Chris Tinius has been nursing a groin injury and has been performing conditioning drills and stretching during practice sessions.

Western Kentucky Football - Two A Days Begin

Two a days begin today and with a morning practice session and with almost a week of practice behind them the Tops are making strides in being more efficient on both sides of the ball. The quarterback competition looks to be more of a two way race now as Pelesasa and Jakes are getting the majority of the reps.

Freshman Brandon Doughty has the biggest arm of all three but is inaccurate at times, especially out of the pocket, as he threw a couple of groundballs to receivers in the morning session.

Pelesasa seems to be getting more confident in running the offense and made some good throws this morning. Although he did severely overthrow a very wide open (6’6” tight end) Jack Doyle in the end zone on a ball that Manute Bol with a jet pack would not have hops to catch!

On goal line drills from the three yard line the offense and defense were battling it out with each other with the offense winning the war when the dust settled. Both sides of the ball were rowdy after big plays were made with each side chanting at one another, making the goal line plays very competitive. When the offense would pump the ball in the end zone the Hilltopper Fight Song would ignite from all the offensive players.

Coach Taggart and his staff are working well together in creating an environment of encouragement, excitement, and discipline. You will often see a coach sprinting through the sea of pads and helmets after the whistle has blown to praise a player for a great effort and rewarding them with multiple taps on the helmet. They are also not afraid to get in a player’s face when need be. There seems to be a good vibe amongst the players and coaches during the flow of practice.

Wide receiver Willie McNeal did not help himself in winning the punt return job today by letting a punt bounce over his head, then jumping to swat the ball with one hand, touching it which makes it a live ball, then chasing after it and fumbling it some more. Yeah, the ball won that battle which resulted in Mr. McNeal getting yelled at and running a penalty lap around the field. Hopefully this will serve as a reminder for him to practice his shot blocking on a basketball court.

In other news, a player (not sure who) was stopped midway in his trot to the Gatorade break and was forced to return to the sidelines by coaches in order to show more hustle to the Gatorade break! How awesome is that? Which got me thinking, a Gatorade break for them is like recess. In grade school, I don’t recall ever walking to recess, I always ran because the faster I got there, the more time I had to play duck, duck, goose or annoy some girl I had a crush on. Most of the time the girl would annoy me.