Know Your Opponent: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
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Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Head Coach: Tyson Helton
Overall: 25-16
Bowl Appearances at Western Kentucky: Three
2021 Record: 9-5 (7-1)
Mascot: Big Red
Colors: Red and White
Outfitter: Nike
National Titles: 1 (I-AA)
Conference Titles: 13
Heisman Winners: 0
Last Week: No game – previous game was September 4, 49-17 over Hawaii
Statistical Leaders
Passing: Austin Reed – 41-64 (64.1%) for 547 yards with seven touchdowns
Rushing: Davion Ervin-Poindexter – 24 carries for 90 yards with one touchdown
Receiving: Daewood Davis – 11 catches for 202 yards with one touchdown
Tacklers: JaQues Evans – 18 tackles (14 solo)
Stat of the Week: Daewood Davis will be one of the better big-play wide receivers the Hoosiers secondary squares up against. The senior averaged 17.74 yards per reception as a part of the explosive 2021 WKU offense and he is off to a great start through two games in 2022. Davis has 11 receptions for an average 18.33 yards per catch and seems to be the favorite target of new quarterback Austin Reed. Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams and the Hoosier safeties will need to have eyes on Davis all afternoon.
Hilltoppers Talking Points
1. One of last season’s most explosive offenses lost a ton of production as Bailey Zappe, Jerreth Sterns and Mitchell Tinsley are all gone. That has not stopped the Hilltoppers from producing big numbers through the first two weeks of 2022. Austin Reed has taken over at quarterback and is off to a solid start, completing 64.1 percent of his passes with an average of 8.5 yards per attempt. It would be disingenuous to claim this offense is just as good as the 2021 version was but it is still a very dangerous unit. Daewood Davis and Malachi Corley are the best two pass catchers and Austin Reed does provide a little bit of a running element that was not present with Bailey Zappe. WKU averaged 5.9 yards per play in the opener against Austin Peay and 6.9 yards per play in game number two against a putrid Hawaii team. Interestingly, the leading rusher at this point in time is former IU walk-on Davion Ervin-Poindexter. IU’s defense has been mostly solid against Illinois and Idaho but this will be a real challenge for them.
2. The Western Kentucky defense is a bit of a harder puzzle to figure out. They appear to be improved over a season ago but still surrendered 319 yards to Austin Peay in a very competitive game (it was 21-20 after three quarters) and 360 yards to Hawaii. The bright spot for WKU has been forcing turnovers. They had five interceptions and a fumble recovery against the Rainbow Warriors and two interceptions plus two fumble recoveries against Austin Peay. That is seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries in just two games. Taking care of the ball will be a point of emphasis for the Hoosiers this week.
3. This contest last season was played at Western Kentucky and ended with a narrow 33-31 victory for the Hoosiers. WKU is actually favored to win by ESPN’s Football Power Index and IU is only favored by 6.5 at most sportsbooks.