2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

The 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team (WKU) represented Western Kentucky University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers played their home games at the Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by second-year head coach Mike Sanford Jr. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the East Division.[1]

2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionEast Division
2018 record3–9 (2–6 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJunior Adams (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorClayton White (2nd season)
Home stadiumHouchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
(Capacity: 22,113)
2018 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Middle Tennessee x  7 1     8 6  
Marshall  6 2     9 4  
FIU  6 2     9 4  
Charlotte  4 4     5 7  
Florida Atlantic  3 5     5 7  
Old Dominion  2 6     4 8  
Western Kentucky  2 6     3 9  
West Division
UAB x$  7 1     11 3  
North Texas  5 3     9 4  
Louisiana Tech  5 3     8 5  
Southern Miss  5 3     6 5  
UTSA  2 6     3 9  
UTEP  1 7     1 11  
Rice  1 7     2 11  
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions

On November 25, head coach Mike Sanford Jr. was fired after only two seasons.[2] He finished at WKU with a record of 9–16.

Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2017 season 6–7, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. They received an invite to the Cure Bowl where they lost to Georgia State.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
John Mackey Award[3] Mik'Quan Deane TE SR
Wuerffel Trophy[4] Julien Lewis DL SR

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Hilltoppers predicted to finish in fourth place in the East Division.[5]

East Division
Predicted finish Team
1Florida Atlantic
2Marshall
3Middle Tennessee
4FIU
5Western Kentucky
6Old Dominion
7Charlotte

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 318:00 p.m.at No. 4 Wisconsin*ESPNL 3–3474,145
September 86:30 p.m.No. 22 (FCS) Maine*ESPN+L 28–3115,178
September 156:30 p.m.at Louisville*ACCRSNL 17–2054,923
September 222:00 p.m.at Ball State*ESPN3W 28–2015,873
September 296:30 p.m.Marshall
  • Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
StadiumL 17–2020,811
October 132:30 p.m.at CharlotteESPN+L 14–4011,610
October 206:30 p.m.Old Dominion
  • Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
ESPN+L 34–3713,269
October 276:30 p.m.FIU
  • Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
beINL 17–3815,138
November 27:00 p.m.at Middle TennesseeCBSSNL 10–2916,617
November 104:00 p.m.at Florida AtlanticStadiumL 15–3414,400
November 176:30 p.m.UTEP
  • Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
beINW 40–166,221
November 2411:00 a.m.at Louisiana TechCBSSNW 30–1511,459
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
Schedule Source:[6]

Game summaries

at Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 0 3 0 3
No. 4 Badgers 7 17 3 7 34

Maine

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 22 (FCS) Black Bears 0 14 14 3 31
Hilltoppers 21 0 0 7 28

at Louisville

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 7 0 3 17
Cardinals 0 3 3 14 20

at Ball State

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 7 7 14 28
Cardinals 7 3 3 7 20

Marshall

1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 7 3 0 10 20
Hilltoppers 3 7 0 7 17

at Charlotte

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 0 0 7 14
49ers 6 3 21 10 40

Old Dominion

1 2 3 4 Total
Monarchs 14 3 2 18 37
Hilltoppers 7 17 3 7 34

FIU

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 7 7 14 10 38
Hilltoppers 0 3 0 14 17

at Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 3 0 7 0 10
Blue Raiders 10 10 3 6 29

at Florida Atlantic

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 9 0 6 15
Owls 10 0 7 17 34

UTEP

1 2 3 4 Total
Miners 0 0 8 8 16
Hilltoppers 27 13 0 0 40

at Louisiana Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 14 9 0 7 30
Bulldogs 0 12 3 0 15

References

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