College Football Best Bet: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Indiana Hoosiers

Broadcast Date: Saturday, September 19 Game Time: 4:00 ET Network: ESPN News Why You Need To Care Western Kentucky is crossing the border into Indiana in an intriguing battle of 2-0 teams.

Doughty was equally excellent leading the WKU passing attack, throwing for 484 yards and three touchdowns, but a pair of fatal flaws turned this one into a momentum-building victory ahead of next week’s Indiana road trip to Wake Forest.

But Howard has simply picked up where Coleman left off. The 6-1, 230-pound power rusher has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of IU’s first three games and is a runner who appears to get stronger as the game wears on.

Lead by one of the country’s most prolific and accurate passers in Brandon Doughty, the Hilltoppers have an offense that’s averaging 325 yards per game through the air this season and scored 41 points in last week’s victory over Louisiana Tech.

It was the third consecutive game coordinator Brian Knorr’s defense has played well in the third quarter. Griffin Oakes kicked a 27-yard FG for the Hoosiers, but Doughty and Taywan Taylor connected on a 78-yard TD pass with 35 seconds left to send the Hilltoppers into the half with a 28-17 lead.

“I don’t think they really stopped us”, he said. His first interception came on a diving grab at the 3 as WKU was trying to negate an IU touchdown that made it 28-24.

The running game for Western Kentucky has been a sweet spot for nearly a decade, having seen the likes of Allen, Antonio Andrews (Tennessee Titans), and Bobby Rainey (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) having success so Ferby should give fans a glimpse of the future while Davis looks to run past his former teammates. “They ran the ball and were able to control the clock, so we didn’t get too many possessions”.

“We’re extra confident”, Jones said about the offense after forced turnovers.

“He misread a little bit, and that’s adversity”, Taylor said of the interceptions.

The quick strike IU sought arrived on the first possession of the second half, when Paige went over the middle, bounced off a would-be tackle near the sideline and scored a 36-yard touchdown to cut the WKU lead to four. “It’s football. We’ve just got to bounce back from things like that”.

Last week, on a fourth and goal play from the two yard line, Indiana freshman Jameel Cook intercepted a pass from FIU quarterback Alex McGough and returned it 96 yards to put the Hoosiers up 36-22 with under four minutes to play.

“It’s pretty small”, Ferby said of WKU’s room for error. Former Alabama-Birmingham running back Jordan Howard, who ran for 183 yards against WKU in 2014, totaled 203 yards on 31 carries. “We have a good mindset coming out of halftime – just keep playing one play at a time”.

NOW WHAT? Western returns home to play Miami (Ohio) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Redhawks slipped to 1-2 after losing to Cincinnati Saturday. “You cannot sit on the ball with a team like that”. IU tailback Devine Redding had a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to cap the scoring. Overall, he completed 20 of 27 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns, including a 69-yard hookup with receiver Ricky Jones. Wilson hasn’t been shy about praising that group of young defensive backs.