The Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers won their second straight Conference USA football championship, avenging an earlier loss to Louisiana Tech in a record-setting 58-44 win. It was the most total points ever scored in any Football Bowl Subdivision conference championship game.
GAME AND SERIES NOTES
· WKU’s team captains for the game were Drew Davis, Forrest Lamp, Taywan Taylor and Anthony Wales.
· There was an attendance of 13,213 in Houchens-Smith Stadium for the 11:00 a.m. kick off.
· WKU hosted the Conference USA Championship for the 2nd-consecutive season, the first team to ever do so. The Hilltoppers became the 2nd team to win back-to-back Conference USA Championships (ECU in ‘08 and ‘09).
· This was the 7th matchup between WKU and LA Tech. With the Hilltoppers’ victory, they improved to 3-4 against the Bulldogs, including 3-0 in games played in Bowling Green.
· LA Tech was the 1st opponent WKU has played 2 times in the same season since 2002, when the Hilltoppers faced both Western Illinois and McNeese State in the regular season and again in the Division I-AA playoffs. In both cases, WKU lost in the regular season and then avenged the loss en route to the National Championship.
· There were 102 total points scored in the game, the most in a conference championship contest in FBS history.
· WKU rushed for 235 yards, the team’s 8th game of 200+ in the past 10 and the 6th straight such game.
· With Branden Leston’s interception with under 1 minute to play, WKU has at least 1 interception in 7 consecutive games, as well as 9 of the last 10 contests.
· WKU held LA Tech to 5 rushing yards on 22 carries. It was the 2nd-fewest rushing yards allowed in an FBS conference championship game since 2000. Colorado held Oklahoma to -4 in the 2004 Big 12 Championship.
· It was only the 11th time this season in which an FBS team held its opponent to 5 or fewer rushing yards, but only the 2nd time a team won while doing so.
· WKU accumulated 656 yards of offense, it’s 2nd-highest output of the season (661 at Florida Atlantic) and the 4th performance of 600+ total yards in 12 games.
· WKU set Conference USA Championship records with 51 points scored and 656 yards of total offense.
· Reaching to 10-win mark this season, following a 12-win campaign in 2015, WKU has consecutive double-digit win seasons for the 1st time in program history.
· In 9 games against Conference USA opponents this season, WKU averaged 51.7 points. The Hilltoppers are the only team in the nation to average 50+ points against intra-league opponents this season.
· WKU didn’t punt in the game for the first time since 2012 (vs. Austin Peay). Nor did the Hilltoppers have a drive that didn’t end in a field goal attempt, touchdown or turnover.
· MIKE WHITE
o Completed 21 of 31 passes for 421 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. In the 2 games against LA Tech this season, he was a combined 57 of 81 for 761 yards with 8 touchdowns and 1 pick.
o With a 207.3 rating on the day, he has a 200+ rating in 6 of 12 games this season, while posting a 160+ rating in 9 consecutive contests.
· ANTHONY WALES
o Earned 2016 Conference USA Championship MVP. Brandon Doughty earned those honors in 2015.
o Had career-highs of 36 rushes for 209 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was his first-career 200-yard rushing game, and only the 3rd in the Jeff Brohm Era. It was his 7th game of 100+ rushing yards in 12 games this season, 6th in his last 7 games, and his 14th in 21 games dating back to last year.
o With 4 rushing touchdowns in the game, he tied his career-high for the 3rd time. With 24 rushing touchdowns this season, he extended the WKU single-season rushing score all-time record.
o Over his last 10 games, he has 176 rushes for 1,274 yards (7.2 avg.) and 22 touchdowns, with at least 83 yards and 1 touchdown in each contest.
o He also added 5 receptions for a season-high 53 yards and 1 touchdown. With 5 total touchdowns, he set the Conference USA Championship record for most scores in a game.
· TAYWAN TAYLOR
o Had 7 receptions for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was his 9th consecutive game with at least 1 receiving touchdown.
o Pushed his career numbers to 244 receptions (82nd all-time) for 4,090 yards (17th all-time) with 40 touchdowns (14th all-time). He became only the 9th player in FBS history with 4,000+ yards and 40+ touchdowns in a career.
o His 194 receiving yards were the 3rd-most of his career, as well as the 3rd most in the Jeff Brohm Era.
· NICHOLAS NORRIS
o Had 6 receptions for 150 yards. It was the 2nd time this season both Norris and Taylor each had 147+ receiving yards (vs. Rice), 1 week after neither had 100+ yards for only the 2nd time this season.
o He also added 1 rush for 26 yards, pushing his season numbers to 12 rushes for 221 yards (18.4 avg.).
· T.J. McCOLLUM
o Led WKU with 10 total tackles (6 solo, 4 assisted), including 1 TFL, with 1 PBU. It was his 4th game this season with double-digit tackles, including his 2nd-consecutive contest.
· KEITH BROWN
o Had 7 total tackles (5 solo, 2 assisted), to go along with 2 sacks and a career-high 3 PBU. With the 2 sacks, he pushed his team-leading total to 6 this season.
· DERIK OVERSTREET
o Had 4 total tackles (2 solo, 2 assisted), including 2 TFL and 0.5 sacks, with team-high 2 QBH.
· NICK DAWSON-BRENTS
o Had a career-high 2.5 sacks, while adding 2 PBU, batting down balls at the line of scrimmage.
· BRANDEN LESTON
o Had 6 total tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted), while adding his 1st interception of the season to seal the game with under 1 minute remaining. It was his 6th-career interception.
· SKYLER SIMCOX
o Tied a career-high with 16 points for the 2nd-consecutive game.
o He made field goals of 32, 28 and 34 yards, while missing a 21-yard attempt in the 2nd quarter. It was his 1st miss of less than 40 yards this season.
o He also added 7 extra points, extending his perfect record to 64 of 64 this season, the 3rd-longest streak in WKU history.