Rock. Bottom.
Western Kentucky football hit a new low Saturday night, losing to Indiana State 44-16 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
Click here for more photos from Saturday’s game.
The Sycamores (2-1), who hadn’t beaten a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) since 2001, ran roughshod over WKU (0-3). The Sycamores had 436 yards of total offense and 209 yards of rushing in a commanding victory - their first win in Bowling Green since 1994.
“To put it all in a nutshell, we’re not fundamentally sound right now,” WKU second-year coach Willie Taggart said. “That’s what’s getting us beat. I just told (the team), we’re not going to put our head down and call it the year. We don’t work that way, that’s not the way I’m molded. We’re going to roll our sleeves up and keep working. We know we have a good football team. We have to do things winning football teams do.”
The Hilltoppers have now lost 17 straight at home, and this one may have been the worst and most unexpected of all. Indiana State, which has had one winning season since 1996, dominated in all facets of the game, and WKU trailed 34-3 at one point.
ISU coach Trent Miles wasn’t surprised by the win, he said.
“This in no way is to disrespect what they’re doing here at Western Kentucky, but I love our football team and I know the type of potential they have,” Miles said. “And I know where we’ve been and I know what (WKU is) going through and I know where we’re going. Our kids expect to win. Not that (the Hilltoppers) don’t. Our kids have been there. They’ve had a taste of winning and their expectation level is extremely high. We’re not shocked. We’re disappointed if we don’t perform this way.”
Junior Kawaun Jakes didn’t start at quarterback but came in when redshirt freshman Brandon Doughty was knocked out of the game on the team’s first offensive series.
Jakes played well up until one critical mistake that changed the course of the game and perhaps the course of the program.
On third-and-six at the ISU 24, Jakes dropped back and threw right into the hands of Indiana State’s Larry Carter. Carter took it back all the way to the WKU 25 and Cory Little hit a 43-yard field goal, making it 17-3 to end the first half.
“(Jakes) was a little late with the throw,” Taggart said. “He held it a little long and (Carter) came off and stepped right into there and picked it off.”
The second half started off as badly as the first half ended. An Antonio Andrews fumble led to Ronnie Fouch’s 27-yard lob to Justin Hilton down the left sideline, making it 24-3.
The Tops went three-and-out and ISU added another Little field goal from 42 yards out, making it 27-3. Jakes fumbled away WKU’s next possession and Fouch hit tight end Alex Jones from 6 yards out for a 34-3 Sycamores lead.
“The keys were to stop the run like we did early, and we established the run and were able to put points on the board,” Miles said. “Our kids, they came in and battled and we cut out a lot of the mistakes that we made last week.”
Western Kentucky got as close as 37-16 when Jakes hit Vasquez on a 26-yard pass in the third quarter. It mattered little as Shakir Bell scored a 13-yarder with 7:52 to go in the game to provide the final margin.
Indiana State struck first on two precision throws from Fouch in the first quarter. He hit Hilton on a 70-yard strike down the right sideline to the WKU 4, then - after two 5-yard penalties - hit Hilton at the back of the end zone over cornerback Cam Thomas.
It would be the only score of the first quarter.
The Hilltoppers scored their lone points of the first half with a 40-yard field goal by Jesse Roy. His kick came after Rainey was stuffed on third-and-one and WKU thought about going for it momentarily.
The Sycamores answered on the next drive when Bell scampered 46 yards through the left side, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and out-running the Tops’ defense for a 14-3 lead.
“For us, it’s a process. We’re not going to give up. I think we can learn from this,” Taggart said. “You learn from this game and move forward. We go and win the rest of them, it won’t even matter. Everything’s in front of us. It’s up to us.”
Western Kentucky football hit a new low Saturday night, losing to Indiana State 44-16 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
Click here for more photos from Saturday’s game.
The Sycamores (2-1), who hadn’t beaten a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) since 2001, ran roughshod over WKU (0-3). The Sycamores had 436 yards of total offense and 209 yards of rushing in a commanding victory - their first win in Bowling Green since 1994.
“To put it all in a nutshell, we’re not fundamentally sound right now,” WKU second-year coach Willie Taggart said. “That’s what’s getting us beat. I just told (the team), we’re not going to put our head down and call it the year. We don’t work that way, that’s not the way I’m molded. We’re going to roll our sleeves up and keep working. We know we have a good football team. We have to do things winning football teams do.”
The Hilltoppers have now lost 17 straight at home, and this one may have been the worst and most unexpected of all. Indiana State, which has had one winning season since 1996, dominated in all facets of the game, and WKU trailed 34-3 at one point.
ISU coach Trent Miles wasn’t surprised by the win, he said.
“This in no way is to disrespect what they’re doing here at Western Kentucky, but I love our football team and I know the type of potential they have,” Miles said. “And I know where we’ve been and I know what (WKU is) going through and I know where we’re going. Our kids expect to win. Not that (the Hilltoppers) don’t. Our kids have been there. They’ve had a taste of winning and their expectation level is extremely high. We’re not shocked. We’re disappointed if we don’t perform this way.”
Junior Kawaun Jakes didn’t start at quarterback but came in when redshirt freshman Brandon Doughty was knocked out of the game on the team’s first offensive series.
Jakes played well up until one critical mistake that changed the course of the game and perhaps the course of the program.
On third-and-six at the ISU 24, Jakes dropped back and threw right into the hands of Indiana State’s Larry Carter. Carter took it back all the way to the WKU 25 and Cory Little hit a 43-yard field goal, making it 17-3 to end the first half.
“(Jakes) was a little late with the throw,” Taggart said. “He held it a little long and (Carter) came off and stepped right into there and picked it off.”
The second half started off as badly as the first half ended. An Antonio Andrews fumble led to Ronnie Fouch’s 27-yard lob to Justin Hilton down the left sideline, making it 24-3.
The Tops went three-and-out and ISU added another Little field goal from 42 yards out, making it 27-3. Jakes fumbled away WKU’s next possession and Fouch hit tight end Alex Jones from 6 yards out for a 34-3 Sycamores lead.
“The keys were to stop the run like we did early, and we established the run and were able to put points on the board,” Miles said. “Our kids, they came in and battled and we cut out a lot of the mistakes that we made last week.”
Western Kentucky got as close as 37-16 when Jakes hit Vasquez on a 26-yard pass in the third quarter. It mattered little as Shakir Bell scored a 13-yarder with 7:52 to go in the game to provide the final margin.
Indiana State struck first on two precision throws from Fouch in the first quarter. He hit Hilton on a 70-yard strike down the right sideline to the WKU 4, then - after two 5-yard penalties - hit Hilton at the back of the end zone over cornerback Cam Thomas.
It would be the only score of the first quarter.
The Hilltoppers scored their lone points of the first half with a 40-yard field goal by Jesse Roy. His kick came after Rainey was stuffed on third-and-one and WKU thought about going for it momentarily.
The Sycamores answered on the next drive when Bell scampered 46 yards through the left side, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and out-running the Tops’ defense for a 14-3 lead.
“For us, it’s a process. We’re not going to give up. I think we can learn from this,” Taggart said. “You learn from this game and move forward. We go and win the rest of them, it won’t even matter. Everything’s in front of us. It’s up to us.”
