2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Cure Bowl, L 17–27 vs. Georgia State
Conference	Conference USA
	East Division
Record	6–7 (4–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Mike Sanford Jr. (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Junior Adams (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Clayton White (1st season)
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium; (Capacity: 22,113)
	Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Conference USA football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Florida Atlantic x$	8	–	0	11	–	3
FIU	5	–	3	8	–	5
Marshall	4	–	4	8	–	5
Western Kentucky	4	–	4	6	–	7
Middle Tennessee	4	–	4	7	–	6
Old Dominion	3	–	5	5	–	7
Charlotte	1	–	7	1	–	11
West Division
North Texas x	7	–	1	9	–	5
UAB	6	–	2	8	–	5
Southern Miss	6	–	2	8	–	5
Louisiana Tech	4	–	4	7	–	6
UTSA	3	–	5	6	–	5
Rice	1	–	7	1	–	11
UTEP	0	–	8	0	–	12

Championship: Florida Atlantic 41, North Texas 17
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team (WKU) represented Western Kentucky University in the 2017 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 first-year head coach Mike Sanford Jr. The Hilltoppers finished the 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.^[1]

Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2016 season 11–3, 7–1 in C-USA play to win a share of the East Division title with Old Dominion. Due to their head-to-head victory over Old Dominion, WKU represented the East Division in the Conference USA Championship Game where they defeated Louisiana Tech to be crowned C-USA champions.^[2] They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated Memphis.^[3]

On December 5, head coach Jeff Brohm resigned to become the head coach at Purdue.^[4] He finished at WKU with a record of 30–10, two bowl wins, and two C-USA titles. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt led WKU in the Boca Raton Bowl.^[5] On December 14, the school hired Mike Sanford Jr. as head coach.^[6]

Preseason

In a preseason media vote, the Hilltoppers were picked to win the East Division again, receiving 20 of 28 first place votes.^[7]

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky announced its 2017 football schedule on January 26, 2017. The 2017 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Hilltoppers will host CUSA foes Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, and Middle Tennessee, and will travel to FIU, Marshall, Old Dominion, and UTEP.^[8]

The Hilltoppers will host two of the four non-conference opponents, Ball State from the Mid-American Conference and Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio Valley Conference and travel to Illinois of the Big Ten Conference and Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass)	FloSports	W 31–17	18,614
September 9	7:00 p.m.	at Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	L 7–20	41,923
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	STADIUM	L 22–23	16,223
September 23	6:00 p.m.	Ball State*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	STADIUM	W 33–21	17,590
October 7	7:00 p.m.	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	CUSA.TV	W 15–14	20,418
October 14	3:30 p.m.	Charlotte	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	FloSports	W 45–14	16,754
October 20	5:00 p.m.	at Old Dominion	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	CBSSN	W 35–31	20,118
October 28	3:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	STADIUM	L 28–42	12,441
November 4	11:00 a.m.	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPNU	L 17–31	26,350
November 11	5:30 p.m.	at Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV (Rivalry)	STADIUM	L 23–30	19,516
November 18	7:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate)	CBSSN	W 41–38 ^3OT	12,612
November 24	6:00 p.m.	at FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Miami, FL	beIN	L 17–41	16,199
December 16	2:30 p.m.	vs. Georgia State*	Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL (Cure Bowl)	CBSSN	L 17–27	19,585
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[9]

Game summaries

Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	0	14	3	17
Hilltoppers	0	17	7	7	31

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
46–35–3	2008	WKU, 37–13

at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	0	0	7	7
Fighting Illini	3	10	7	0	20

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2014	ILL, 42–34

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	3	10	0	10	23
Hilltoppers	8	7	7	0	22

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–4	2016	WKU, 58–44

Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	7	7	21
Hilltoppers	7	10	0	16	33

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	2008	WKU, 24–17

at UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	8	7	0	15
Miners	0	14	0	0	14

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2014	WKU, 35–27

Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	7	7	0	0	14
Hilltoppers	14	24	0	7	45

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	14	0	14	35
Monarchs	7	7	17	0	31

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2016	WKU, 59–24

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	10	10	0	22	42
Hilltoppers	7	14	7	0	28

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–5	2016	WKU, 52–3

at Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	7	3	0	17
Commodores	14	7	7	3	31

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–4	2016	VANDY, 31–30^OT

at Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	0	3	13	23
Thundering Herd	0	13	17	0	30

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–4	2016	WKU, 60–6

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	Total
Blue Raiders	0	3	0	21	7	7	0	38
Hilltoppers	7	0	3	14	7	7	3	41

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
31–34–1	2016	WKU, 44–43^2OT

at FIU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	7	7	0	17
Panthers	3	10	21	7	41

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–4	2016	WKU, 49–21

vs Georgia State–Cure Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	3	0	7	17
Panthers	10	3	7	7	27

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2013	WKU, 44–28

Coaching staff

Name	Title
Mike Sanford	Head Coach
Clayton White	Defensive Coordinator
Junior Adams	Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
Steve Spurrier Jr.	Quarterbacks
Mike Sanford Sr.	Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs
Geoff Dartt	Offensive Line
Jimmy Lindsey	Defensive Line
Jami DeBerry	Safeties/Recruiting Coordinator
Ryan Mahaffey	Tight Ends
Maurice Crum	Linebackers

Source^[10]

References

^ WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ McGuire, Kevin (2016-12-03). "WKU outlasts La Tech in record-setting Conference USA championship game". CollegeFootballTalk. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
^ DeFranks, Matthew. "Western Kentucky tops Memphis 51-31 in Boca Raton Bowl". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
^ "Jeff Brohm to leave WKU for Purdue opening". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
^ "With Sanford waiting, WKU focusing on bowl". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
^ Stephens, Brad. "WKU hires Mike Sanford as head football coach". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
^ "C-USA repeat? WKU, La Tech preseason picks for title rematch". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
^ "Hilltopper Football Announces 2017 Schedule" (Press release). Western Kentucky University Department of Athletics. January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
^ "2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
^ "Western Kentucky University Athletics". www.wkusports.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[1] WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.

[2] McGuire, Kevin (2016-12-03). "WKU outlasts La Tech in record-setting Conference USA championship game". CollegeFootballTalk. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[3] DeFranks, Matthew. "Western Kentucky tops Memphis 51-31 in Boca Raton Bowl". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[4] "Jeff Brohm to leave WKU for Purdue opening". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[5] "With Sanford waiting, WKU focusing on bowl". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[6] Stephens, Brad. "WKU hires Mike Sanford as head football coach". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[7] "C-USA repeat? WKU, La Tech preseason picks for title rematch". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

[WKUU17-8] "Hilltopper Football Announces 2017 Schedule" (Press release). Western Kentucky University Department of Athletics. January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.

[9] "2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 30, 2017.

[10] "Western Kentucky University Athletics". www.wkusports.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

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v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Venues	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Eastern Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass Middle Tennessee: 100 Miles of Hate Murray State: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Big Red "Stand Up and Cheer"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold