WKU seeking bounce back against UTSA
Oct. 8—The Western Kentucky University football team has a chance to exact some revenge on league rival UTSA after coming up short in last season's Conference USA championship game when the Hilltoppers visit the Roadrunners on Saturday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
WKU (3-2, 1-0 in C-USA) enters following last week's 34-27 loss to Troy, but will now travel to face what head coach Tyson Helton called "probably the most talented team in our conference."
"They're doing a great job averaging 500 yards per game and picking up right where they left off last year," Helton added.
The teams last played in the 2021 C-USA title game, in which UTSA won 49-42 at home. The Roadrunners won both matchups a season ago.
UTSA (3-2, 1-0), posting 38.6 points per game with the top passing offense in the country (365.8 ypg), is led by quarterback Frank Harris. The 6-foot redshirt senior has thrown for 1,724 yards and 12 touchdowns with five interceptions in five games.
"He's grown so much, I've watched him from a young, talented, raw player to just a true polished quarterback," Helton said of Harris. "He has full command of the offense, you can see they're allowing him to do a lot of different things now. Really, you're just trying to contain him more than anything. I don't think you're ever going to stop a really good player like him.
"What you got to do is try to get some big turnovers, try to make them kick field goals, try to get some third-down stops, but when you play a team like that, they're going to make their plays."
Western, ranked ninth in the country in scoring (43.4 ppg) will counter with a group led by signal-caller Austin Reed. The first-year Hilltopper, a 6-2 grad transfer, has passed for 1,663 yards and 17 TDs with four interceptions in five outings.
The key, Helton said, will be protecting Reed against the Roadrunners' physical defense.
"We got to do a good job of protecting the quarterback, the run lanes have got to be there for us and we got to be able to move the line of scrimmage," he said. "They're physical up front on defense.
"It'll be a big challenge for our offense, as well. (UTSA is) is a very complete football team in all three phases and do a good job there."
Helton also knows how important mental focus will be for his squad, which has alternated wins and losses for the past four weeks.
"We take it one game at a time," he said. "We talk about full body of work. Just focus on each game in itself and have a short memory. You got to have a short memory when you win and lose. ... We got to turn the page very quickly, and our guys do a good job of that."
