2011 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

The 2011 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers were led by second-year head coach Willie Taggart and played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium. They are members of the Sun Belt Conference. The Hilltoppers finished with a record of 7–5, 7–1 in Sun Belt play to finish in second place.^[1] The 7 wins and second place conference finish were the Hilltoppers best results since joining the FBS, until it was surpassed in 2015 with a perfect 8–0 conference record. Despite being bowl eligible, the Hilltoppers were not invited to a bowl.^[2]

2011 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	7–5 (7–1 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Willie Taggart (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Zach Azzanni (1st season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Lance Guidry (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons ← 2010 2012 →

2011 Sun Belt Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Arkansas State $		8	–	0					10	–	3
Western Kentucky		7	–	1					7	–	5
FIU		5	–	3					8	–	5
North Texas		4	–	4					5	–	7
Louisiana–Monroe		3	–	5					4	–	8
Troy		2	–	6					3	–	9
Louisiana–Lafayette *		1	–	2					1	–	4
Middle Tennessee		1	–	7					2	–	10
Florida Atlantic		0	–	8					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion * – Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 8 wins including 5 in conference due to NCAA violations.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	8:15 p.m.	vs. Kentucky*	LP Field Nashville, TN	ESPNU	L 3–14	24,599
September 10	6:00 p.m.	Navy*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN3	L 14–40	19,409
September 17	6:00 p.m.	Indiana State*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN3	L 16–44	15,793
October 1	3:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Sun Belt Network	L 22–26	10,813
October 6	6:30 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	ESPNU	W 36–33 2OT	23,307
October 15	3:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL		W 20–0	29,103
October 22	3:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Lafayette	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		W 42–23	15,122
October 29	2:30 p.m.	at Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA		W 31–28 OT	13,428
November 5	3:00 p.m.	Florida International	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		W 10–9	15,293
November 12	6:00 p.m.	at No. 1 LSU*	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPNU	L 9–42	92,917
November 19	3:00 p.m.	at North Texas	Apogee Stadium Denton, TX		W 31–21	17,011
November 26	12:00 p.m.	Troy	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		W 41–18	15,432
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time