Austin Peay Notes
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Western Kentucky Notes
OPENING KICKOFF
ALL EYES ON US
Western Kentucky and Austin Peay will play the very first college football game of the 2022 season when they kickoff at 11 a.m. CT (noon ET). The Nebraska versus Northwestern game is a close second with an 11:30 a.m. CT kick time. Four fellow Conference USA teams will also open their respective seasons during week zero as Florida Atlantic hosts Charlotte and UTEP welcomes North Texas.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Multiple new faces will be leading the Hilltoppers in 2022 after several coaching changes. On the offensive side of the ball, Ben Arbuckle, Josh Crawford and Zach Lankford were all promoted to the position of co-offensive coordinator. Defensively, Tyson Summers come to The Hill by way of Florida to serve as WKU’s defensive coordinator. Other new members of the coaching staff include running backs coach Enrique Davis, outside linebackers coach Michael Hutchings and inside linebackers coach Travis Cunningham.
STICKING AROUND
When WKU kicks off Saturday morning, Tyson Helton will open his fourth season as head coach of the Tops. Helton will become the first head coach since David Elson (2003-09) to spend more than three seasons at WKU. Helton has 23 wins through three seasons and will be in pursuit of Elson who earned 30 victories in his first four years on The Hill, which is the best four-year start to a coaching career in program history.
LEGENDS NEVER DIE
The Tops lost multiple players from last season’s roster who had legendary WKU careers. Defensive end DeAngelo Malone leaves WKU first all time in school history in sacks (34) and first in school history in tackles for loss (60) during the FBS era. Bailey Zappe’s 2021 season was arguably the greatest all time by a college football quarterback. The now New England Patriot threw for 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdowns. Both marks set new FBS single-season records. Zappe’s primary receiving target, Jerreth Sterns, became only the third player since 200 to win college football’s receiving triple crown by leading the nation in receptions (150), receiving yards (1,902) and receiving touchdowns (17). Much of WKU’s success in 2022 will be determined by how the Tops can replace that lost production.
BACK IN BLACK
The Hilltoppers will debut a new look for many of their games this season. For the first time in school history, Western Kentucky will wear a black helmet as part of their uniform combination. Currently, the black helmet has five different stripe and decal combinations that can be used as part of WKU’s game day uniform.
SERIES NOTES
• WKU leads the all-time series with Austin Peay by a count of 35-6-1
• With 42 meetings between the two schools, Austin Peay is WKU’s sixth-most common opponent all time. The most games WKU has played
against one team is 88 matchups versus Eastern Kentucky
• The Hilltoppers and Governors met on the gridiron every single season from 1958-1983
• The longest winning streak in the series belongs to WKU with nine consecutive wins. The Tops won the first-nine meetings between the two schools, starting in 1940.
NON-CONFERENCE COMPETITION
After going 0-12 against non-conference foes during its first three years in an FBS conference, WKU has turned it around against teams from Group of Five or FCS conferences, going 22-8 against them since 2012. From 2012 through the 2017 regular season, the Hilltoppers posted a 16-1 record against such teams, but since the 2017 Cure Bowl, WKU has a 6-6 mark in the past 12 such games. The Hilltoppers are 13-3 in home games against non-conference Group of Five or FCS teams in that time frame.
