Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2016 NCAA Football Preview
WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPPERS
Conference USA
2015 Record – 12-2
ATS – 9-5
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
East Division #3
Conference #4
2015 Recap
The Hilltoppers did it. They ran the table in the conference (9-0) including a decisive victory over Southern Miss in the C-USA Title game. That was not enough. They carried the momentum into the Miami Beach Bowl and beat a very good South Florida team by 10 points. WKU finished up at a very impressive 12-2 with the only losses coming to LSU and Indiana.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
QB Brandon Doughty finished his wonderful career at WKU (school’s all-time leading passer) with a crazy 5,000 yard season that included 48 (!) TD passes and only 9 interceptions. The battle for the starting QB role is still being waged during August camp with USF transfer Mike White the slight favorite over Tyler Ferguson. The coaches are excited about the potential of freshman Steven Duncan but the plans for him this season are still undecided.
Whoever wins the job is going to have a loaded offense at his command. The RB unit is one of the deepest in all of college football with three excellent options in Anthony Wales, D’Andre Ferby and Leon Allen. They also have one of the most experienced offensive lines in the FBS and should be excellent this season.
The Hilltoppers return the top two receivers from last year’s team that combined for almost 2,500 yards receiving and 25 TD (!) receptions. Taywan Taylor was a 1st Team C-USA performer averaging 17 yards a catch, and hey, while collecting 17 TDs. However, WKU will certainly miss TE Tyler Higbee who was a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses.
We forecast another very potent offense with more emphasis on the running game.
DEFENSE
The Hilltopper defense was pretty good last season finishing 3rd in C-USA in scoring defense (25.9 points per game) and 5th in the conference in total defense. What they were REALLY good at was forcing turnovers. A whopping 31 turnovers forced ranked them #1 in C-USA and 5th in the FBS.
This season WKU only returns four starters on defense but do bring back the top-two leading tacklers from last year’s unit. We worry about the senior leadership lost on the defensive line, but they appear to be in good shape at safety, and also added a couple of Louisville transfers to increase the overall talent level. Who knows ? This unit may surprise.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The group returns quite a bit of experience. Kylen Towner did a good job on kickoff and punt returns last season. Likewise, Jake Collins at punter. The Hilltoppers will definitely miss ace FG kicker Garrett Schwettman who departs as the school’s all-time scoring leader.
MEGALOCKS C-USA FG KICKER INSIDERS have alerted us to the fact that the Hilltoppers scooped up transfer Skyler Simcox, formerly of Emory & Henry fame. By all accounts he is a talented PK that should fit in nicely. We are pretty confident in saying he will get a lot of work.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 6.0
MEGALOCKS says:
The Hilltoppers have a pretty easy schedule early on which will enable them to get the QB situation sorted out. Other than a probable beating at the hands of Alabama, the Hilltoppers face Rice, Miami Ohio, Vanderbilt and Houston Baptist before conference play begins.
Overall, we give the HILLTOPPERS a 6.0 ATS Value Rating (Above Average) this season. Well, they lose an all-world QB, but still promise to score a lot of points with an improved running game and a couple of excellent WR targets. We like DC Nick Holt quite a bit and think that he can get this unit playing better than expectations, particularly with the transfers from Louisville added to the mix.
Despite being a team that handicappers locked into last year, WKU still had a stellar 9-5 record against the point spread. HC Jeff Brohm is 15-12 against the number in two seasons with the Hilltoppers. We have a sneaky suspicion that this team may do it differently in 2016, but still do it. The QB situation has us a bit concerned, and therefore, we cannot give them a higher endorsement.
Want more Western Kentucky Football ?
Website
http://www.wkusports.com/sports/m-footbl/wky-m-footbl-body.html
Forum
http://www.scout.com/college/western-kentucky/forums/3573-smith-stadium
http://www.hilltopperhaven.com/board/index.php/board,4.0.html?PHPSESSID=n405ga777t1udcp1h3gh80m0q7
News
http://bleacherreport.com/western-kentucky-football
http://wkuherald.com/sports/football/
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/western-kentucky-hilltoppers
https://twitter.com/WKUFootball @WKUFootball
https://twitter.com/MrChadBishop @MrChadBishop Chad Bishop