2015-16 Football Previews – (C-USA) – Hilltoppers
The Hilltoppers have a chance to really make a name for themselves as they prepare for the 2015-2016 NCAA Fotball season. They had their chances last season, but couldn’t do enough to make a splash in the conference. Still they essentially ruined Marshall’s season with a 67-66 overtime thrilling win.
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Conference USA 2015-2016 College Football Preview- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Head Coach:Jeff Brohm
2013 Record: 8-5
Louisiana Monroe Odds to win the Sun Belt: +200
They come in defending champs of the Bahamas Bowl that will go down as one of the most epic games in NCAA football history. The Hilltoppers held a 49-14 lead in the 4th quarter only to blow that and see Central Michigan score on a 75 yard lateral play. Central Michigan failed on the 2 point conversation however and WKU held on for a 49-48 win (failing to cover the -3.5, leaving bettors in shambles).
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The Hilltoppers ran off 5 straight wins to finish the season in 2014, including two thrillers against Marshall and in their bowl game. They had one of the best mid major offenses in college football, but failed to do any damage as their defense was one of the worst.
Western Kentucky offers a fast-paced, high-powered offense that pretty much scraps all things to do with the ground game and instead fires the ball down field on every down.
They went 3-2 in games where their defense allowed 48 points or more.
Team Strengths
OFFENSE: Its impossible to pick out just one good thing about their offense. The team averaged 44.4 points per game, was never out of a contest due to its explosive offense, and to make matters even more better, it has now-Senior QB Brandon Doughty returning.
Last season, Doughty threw for 4830 yards and 49 (!) touchdowns. If those numbers aren’t impressive enough, in the 552 passing attempts, Doughty threw just 10 interceptions.
This team has the opportunity to explode in every single game and that will be the storyline for 2015-2016. They have the potential to put up 60+ points and can outscore any team in the conference.
Team Weaknesses
DEFENSE: That was clearly a given. This team allowed 48 points or more in 5 of their 13 games last season. We saw a glimpse of what they are as they nearly blew a 49-14 lead in just one quarter.
Their defense averaged out to allow 39.9 points against.
FINISHING GAMES: The Hilltoppers never really seemed to blowout opponents, which meant the games were always close in the fourth quarter. Western Kentucky had a major problem closing games out. That falls on the defense. The defense was given double digit leads on many occasions, only to see them blow it and force the Hilltoppers’ offense into some pressure situations.
2015-2016 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction: 11-1 or 10-2
Let’s get the mid season game at LSU out of the way and count that as a loss. Unfortunetly, they simply stand no chance there.
However, the rest of their non-conference games are easy and they should have no problem.
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In terms of the conference games, with Doughty now a Senior, he’s definitely matured and is ready to take this program to the next level.
The defense will be a major and problem the deciding factor. If they can buckle down even just a little bit, this team has such potential. It’s not out of the question to assume this team is undefeated in conference play up until the final week at Marshall.
Still, they have a lot of work to do and their defense exposes them to getting upset at any time.
Hilltoppers 2015-16 Football Schedule
| 09/03/15 | at Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | 7:00 p.m. CT |
| 09/10/15 | vs. Louisiana Tech * | Bowling Green, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. CT |
| 09/19/15 | at Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. | 3:00 p.m. CT |
| 09/26/15 | vs. Miami (Oh) | Bowling Green, Ky. | 2:30 p.m. CT |
| 10/03/15 | at Rice * | Houston, Texas | 1:30 p.m. CT |
| 10/10/15 | vs. Middle Tennessee * | Bowling Green, Ky. | TBA |
| 10/15/15 | at North Texas * | Denton, Texas | 6:30 p.m. CT |
| 10/24/15 | at LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | TBA |
| 10/31/15 | at Old Dominion * | Norfolk, Va. | TBA |
| 11/07/15 | vs. Florida Atlantic (HC) * | Bowling Green, Ky. | TBA |
| 11/21/15 | at FIU * | Miami, Fla. | TBA |
| 11/27/15 | vs. Marshall | Bowling Green, Ky. | 11:00 a.m. CT |
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