2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

The 2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Tyson Helton, who was coaching his fourth season with the team. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
New Orleans Bowl champion
New Orleans Bowl, W 44–23 vs. South Alabama
Conference	Conference USA
Record	9–5 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Tyson Helton (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinators	Ben Arbuckle (1st season) Josh Crawford (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Tyson Summers (1st season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

2022 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
UTSA y$		8	–	0					11	–	3
Western Kentucky		6	–	2					9	–	5
North Texas y		6	–	2					7	–	7
Middle Tennessee		4	–	4					8	–	5
UAB		4	–	4					7	–	6
Florida Atlantic		4	–	4					5	–	7
Rice		3	–	5					5	–	8
UTEP		3	–	5					5	–	7
FIU		2	–	6					4	–	8
Charlotte		2	–	6					3	–	9
Louisiana Tech		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: UTSA 48, North Texas 27
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led on offense by quarterback Austin Reed who joined the team in 2022 via the NCAA transfer portal.^[1] Through the first two games, Reed had 550 passing yards, ranking third in the nation.^[2]

Preseason

C-USA media day

The Conference USA media day was held on July 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Hilltoppers were represented by head coach Tyson Helton, tight end Joey Beljan, and defensive end Juwuan Jones.^[3] The Hilltoppers were predicted to finish third in the conference's preseason poll.^[4]

Roster

2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 0 Jaylen Hall GS WR 1 Craig Burt Jr. Sr RB 3 Jakairi Moses  Jr WR 4 Michael Mathison Jr WR 5 Dakota Thomas So TE 6 Joshua Simon  So WR 7 Daewood Davis  Sr RB 8 Kye Robichaux So WR 9 Josh Sterns So QB 10 Caden Veltkamp Fr WR 11 Malachi Corley So QB 12 Turner Helton Fr QB 13 Darius Ocean  Fr WR 15 K. D. Hutchinson Fr QB 16 Austin Reed GS WR 17 Dalvin Smith  So WR 18 Denzil Aleeyne So RB 19 Javy Bunton  Fr RB 21 L. T. Sanders Fr RB 22 Davion Ervin-Poindexter  Jr WR 23 Kendall Abdur-Rahman  So RB 37 Zavione Wood  Fr OL 50 Wesley Horton  Fr OL 51 Luke Slusher Fr OL 52 Marshall Jackson  Fr OL 53 Rusty Staata  Jr OL 58 Evan Wibberley Fr OL 64 Vincent Murphy  So OL 67 Hayden Todd Fr OL 68 Colt Jackson So OL 71 Wyatt Anderson Fr OL 72 Colten Cable Jr OL 73 Wes Dorsey  So OL 74 Michael Ondelacy  So OL 75 Gunner Britton  Jr OL 76 Mark Goode So OL 77 David Ndukwe So OL 78 Quantavious Lesue So OL 79 Cameron Stage  Jr WR 80 Easton Messer Fr TE 81 Dane Saltarelli  Jr WR 82 Jax Cooper Fr TE 83 Alex Williams  Fr WR 85 Tomi Mustapha  Fr WR 86 TeeJay Taylor  So TE 87 River Helms  Fr TE 89 Joey Beljam  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 0 Lorenzo Hernandez GS LB 1 Jaden Hunter  Sr DB 2 A. J. Brathwaite Jr.  Jr LB 3 Jaques Evans So LB 4 Niko Cooper  Jr DB 5 Rome Weber  Jr DB 6 T. J. Springer  So DB 7 Tre Shaw  Sr LB 8 Matthew Flint  Jr DB 9 Dominique Bradshaw  Sr LB 10 Desmyn Baker Jr DB 11 Talique Allen  Fr DB 12 Kahlef Hailassie  Jr DT 13 Terrion Thompson So DB 14 Davion Williams  Jr LB 15 Aaron Key  Fr DB 16 Kendrick Simpkins So DB 17 Travis Collier  Fr DB 18 C. J. Jones  Sr DB 19 Virgil Marshall Fr DB 20 Kaleb Oliver  Sr DB 21 Upton Stout  Fr DB 22 Darius Thomas Fr LB 23 Will Ignont  Sr LB 24 Derrick Smith  Sr LB 25 Bryson Washington  Jr DB 26 Amaari Smith Fr DB 27 Kiwon Harris  Jr LB 28 Ely George So LB 29 Dezmion Roberson  Fr DB 30 Xavier Shaw  Fr DB 31 Anthony Brackenridge Fr LB 32 Kylan Guidry So LB 33 Eli Jones Fr DE 34 Juwuan Jones  Sr DT 35 Mike Allen  Sr DB 37 Maximus Pulley  Fr LB 38 A. J. Yasilli Fr DB 40 B. J. Wagner  Fr DB 41 Alex Ford Fr LB 42 Trent Zappe Fr DB 43 Manny Moss Fr DT 44 Dareon Goodrum Jr LB 45 Nathan Griffin So LB 50 Luke Burton Fr DE 55 Dante Walker  So DE 88 Jake Jackson Fr DT 90 Keaton Law Fr DT 91 Chase Jones  Fr DE 92 Marcus Patterson Fr DE 93 Reid Jamerson Fr DE 95 Deante McCray Fr DT 97 Darius Shipp Sr DT 98 Hosea Wheeler So DT 99 Brodric Martin  Sr	Special teams They Pos. # Name Class K 20 Lucas Carneiro Fr LS 40 Zach Lassiter  Sr K 44 Brayden Narveson  Jr K 46 Cory Munson Jr P 47 Tom Ellard Fr K 49 Nolan McCord  Fr LS 52 Trey Naughton Fr LS 59 Jake Bowman So P 94 Wes Pahl  Fr	Head coach Tyson Helton Coordinators/assistant coaches Ben Arbuckle (Co-Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks) Josh Crawford (co-offensive coordinator / Wide receivers) Zach Lankford (co-offensive coordinator / Offensive line) Tyson Summers (Defensive coordinator) Andy Larussa (special teams coordinator / tight ends) Kenny Baker (defensive line) Enrique Davis (running backs) Keynodo Hudson (defensive backs) Michael Hutchings (outside linebackers) Travis Cunningham (Middle linebackers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 23, 2022

Schedule

Western Kentucky and Conference USA announced the 2022 football schedule on March 30, 2022.^[5][6]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 27	11:00 a.m.	Austin Peay*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 38–27	13,688
September 3	11:00 p.m.	at Hawaii*	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, HI	SPEC PPV	W 49–17	9,346
September 17	11:00 a.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 30–33 OT	48,952
September 24	2:30 p.m.	FIU	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 73–0	15,127
October 1	6:00 p.m.	Troy*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	L 27–34	20,168
October 8	5:00 p.m.	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	L 28–31	22,328
October 15	2:30 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	ESPN+	W 35–17	14,806
October 21	7:00 p.m.	UAB	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 20–17	16,334
October 29	2:30 p.m.	North Texas	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Stadium	L 13–40	17,194
November 5	11:00 a.m.	at Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC	CBSSN	W 59–7	10,857
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Rice	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	W 45–10	10,127
November 19	3:00 p.m.	at Auburn*	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	SECN	L 17–41	81,824
November 26	11:00 a.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	CBSSN	W 32–31 OT	18,376
December 21	8:00 p.m.	vs. South Alabama*	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Bowl)	ESPN	W 44–23	13,456
*Non-conference game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Austin Peay

See also: 2022 Austin Peay Governors football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	10	7	3	7	27
Hilltoppers	7	14	0	17	38

Statistics	APSU	WKU
First downs	19	19
Total yards	319	388
Rushing yards	163	108
Passing yards	156	280
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	32:39	27:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Austin Peay	Passing	Mike DiLiello	15/21, 156 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Josh Samuel	20 rushes, 77 yards
	Receiving	Drae McCray	6 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	20/34, 280 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	Davion Ervin-Poindexter	15 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Daewood Davis	6 receptions, 124 yards, TD

At Hawaii

See also: 2022 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	21	7	21	49
Rainbow Warriors	3	7	0	7	17

Statistics	WKU	HAW
First downs	24	20
Total yards	412	360
Rushing yards	141	94
Passing yards	271	266
Turnovers	2	6
Time of possession	25:52	34:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	22/31, 271 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Kye Robichaux	7 rushes, 49 yards, TD
	Receiving	Daewood Davis	5 receptions, 78 yards
Hawaii	Passing	Brayden Schager	22/33, 230 yards, 4 INT
	Rushing	Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei	13 rushes, 64 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jalen Walthall	3 receptions, 53 yards

At Indiana

See also: 2022 Indiana Hoosiers football team

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Hilltoppers	7	10	7	6	0	30
Hoosiers	3	7	3	17	3	33

Statistics	WKU	IU
First downs	25	28
Total yards	545	484
Rushing yards	216	120
Passing yards	329	364
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	32:21	27:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	33/43, 329 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Kye Robichaux	14 rushes, 135 yards
	Receiving	Daewood Davis	5 receptions, 77 yards, TD
Indiana	Passing	Connor Bazelak	33/55, 364 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Josh Henderson	11 rushes, 65 yards, TD
	Receiving	Cam Camper	8 receptions, 93 yards, TD

FIU

See also: 2022 FIU Panthers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Hilltoppers	14	28	17	14	73

Statistics	FIU	WKU
First downs	10	32
Total yards	180	688
Rushing yards	56	210
Passing yards	124	478
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	30:32	29:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
FIU	Passing	Grayson James	13/23, 85 yards
	Rushing	Lexington Joseph	15 rushes, 31 yards
	Receiving	Nate Jefferson	4 receptions, 27 yards
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	29/35, 381 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	4 rushes, 73 yards, TD
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	3 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD

Troy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	10	3	7	14	34
Hilltoppers	7	10	3	7	27

See also: 2022 Troy Trojans football team

At UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	7	0	14	28
Roadrunners	7	10	7	7	31

See also: 2022 UTSA Roadrunners football team

At Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	14	14	7	35
Blue Raiders	7	3	0	7	17

See also: 2022 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

UAB

See also: 2022 UAB Blazers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	7	10	0	0	17
Hilltoppers	0	10	10	0	20

Statistics	UAB	WKU
First downs	14	19
Total yards	327	352
Rushing yards	231	224
Passing yards	96	128
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	27:21	32:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Dylan Hopkins	2/2, 63 yards, TD
	Rushing	DeWayne McBride	24 rushes, 200 yards
	Receiving	Samario Rudolph	1 reception, 59 yards, TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	14/23, 128 yards
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	16 rushes, 120 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	5 receptions, 77 yards

North Texas

See also: 2022 North Texas Mean Green football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mean Green	17	3	0	20	40
Hilltoppers	7	6	0	0	13

Statistics	UNT	WKU
First downs	25	23
Total yards	541	466
Rushing yards	196	146
Passing yards	345	320
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	29:05	30:55

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Texas	Passing	Austin Aune	20/28, 322 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Ayo Adeyi	10 rushes, 72 yards, TD
	Receiving	Damon Ward Jr.	4 receptions, 101 yards, TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	29/49, 320 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	13 rushes, 76 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	8 receptions, 97 yards

At Charlotte

See also: 2022 Charlotte 49ers football team

Western Kentucky vs Charlotte

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Hilltoppers	21	14	7	17	59
49ers	0	0	7	0	7

• Date: November 5
• Location: Jerry Richardson Stadium
  Charlotte, NC
• Game start: 12:02 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:17
• Game attendance: 10,857
• Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Cloudy• Wind: S 9 MPH
• Referee: Rodney Burnett
• TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Robert Turbin

• Sources:^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Scoring summary

1	14:32	WKU	Jaylen HALL 46 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 7–0
1	11:55	WKU	Daewood DAVIS 7 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 14–0
1	6:52	WKU	Malachi CORLEY 64 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 21–0
2	13:00	WKU	Joshua SIMON 17 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 28–0
2	1:02	WKU	Joey BELJAN 14 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 35–0
3	10:32	CHAR	Elijah SPENCER 14 Yd pass from Chris REYNOLDS (Antonio ZITA Kick)	WKU 35–7
3	9:58	WKU	Michael MATHISON 19 Yd pass from Austin REED (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 42–7
4	9:06	WKU	Brayden NARVESON 40 Yd Field Goal	WKU 45–7
4	7:50	WKU	Anthony BRACKENRIDGE 42 Yd Interception Return (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 52–7
4	0:45	WKU	Dalvin SMITH 5 Yd pass from Darius OCEAN (Brayden NARVESON Kick)	WKU 59–7

Statistics	WKU	CHAR
First downs	25	22
Total yards	592	384
Rushing yards	131	161
Passing yards	461	223
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	20:26	39:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	23–38, 409 yards, 6 TD
	Rushing	Davion Ervin-Poindexter	3 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	6 receptions, 162 yards, 1 TD
Charlotte	Passing	Chris Reynolds	17–27, 196 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	James Martin III	16 rushes, 85 yards
	Receiving	Grant DuBose	7 receptions, 88 yards

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	17	7	14	45
Owls	0	7	3	0	10

See also: 2022 Rice Owls football team

At Auburn

See also: 2022 Auburn Tigers football team

Game Twelve – Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7−4) at Auburn Tigers (4−6)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	17	0	0	17
Tigers	10	7	10	14	41

at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama

• Date: Saturday, November 19, 2022
• Game time: 3:01 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind: 6 mph NW
• Game attendance: 81,824
• Referee: Scott Walker
• TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst), Andraya Carter (sideline reporter)

Statistics	WKU	AUB
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	26/55, 289 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Markese Stepp	7 carries, 33 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	12 receptions, 99 yards
Auburn	Passing	Jarquez Hunter	1/1, 20 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Tank Bigsby	18 carries, 110 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Koy Moore	2 receptions, 31 yards, 1 TD

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Western Kentucky Auburn "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.

At Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Owls	0	7	10	7	7	31
Hilltoppers	0	7	10	7	8	32

See also: 2022 Florida Atlantic Owls football team

South Alabama (New Orleans Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	14	17	10	3	44
Jaguars	0	3	14	6	23

See also: 2022 South Alabama Jaguars football team and 2022 New Orleans Bowl