Western Kentucky Hilltoppers:
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are preparing for a competitive 2024 season under head coach Tyson Helton. Building on their 8-5 record from 2023, which included a 6-2 conference record and a New Orleans Bowl victory over South Alabama, the Hilltoppers aim to leverage their returning talent and key additions to make a strong push in Conference USA.
We know that they’re going to throw and throw a lot, which is why it was critically important to replace Austin Reed. Reed actually dropped off dramatically from 2022 to 2023, but this is a team that threw the ball almost 200 more times than they ran it.
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Offense
Enter T.J. Finley, who had a monster season for Texas State last year. The one-time Auburn QB spearheaded a resurgent Bobcats offense with 3,439 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Now he’ll test out the endurance of his arm in Helton’s West Coast Air Raid Chuck-It-Everywhere offense. Sadly, Finley will do it without WKU star Malachi Corley, who will be catching passes in the NFL.
But, this offense creates opportunities for wideouts and somebody will emerge. What is interesting this season is that Helton upgraded his offensive line coach with Troy’s Joe Bernardi, who became available when he wasn’t invited to join the party at Tulane. Elijah Young could be the benefactor after leading the team with 474 yards this past season.
Defense
Defensively, the Hilltoppers took a huge step back last season. They finished 86th in yards per play with 5.81 after finishing in the top 50 last season. Tyson Summers does have four returning starters to work with, but that is a deceiving number. The leading tackler last season for WKU had just 54 tackles. There were eight players with at least 40 and five more with 30.
This was a team that battled injuries, but also one that rotated a ton of guys in with the hopes of staying fresh. That may have hurt continuity, though, as the Hilltoppers gave up 190 yards per game on the ground and had just 25 sacks. That said, they also had 15 interceptions, led by returnee Anthony Johnson Jr. with four.
Outlook
The Hilltoppers have trended down in the TSI ratings each of the last two years, so they will look to get back to the high-flying, conference-dominant team they’ve been in the past. TSI projects them second in the league with the second-best offense and sixth-best defense, but just short of their season win total Over/Under with 6.7 wins.
Pick: Under 7 Wins
