Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Conference USA
9-5 (7-2 conf)
SP+ #24
Ratings
2021
- SP+
- 13.3 (#24)
- SP+ Offense
- 40.5
- SP+ Defense
- 28.8
- SRS
- 5.0
- FPI
- 5.9
- Elo
- 1776
- Talent
- 525
- Recruiting
- 50 (#136)
Schedule
record 9–5
Schedule
115th
toughest of 130
Offenses faced
103rd
toughest of 130
Defenses faced
110th
toughest of 130
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 130 (easiest) · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Margin | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsUT Martin | FCS | 59-21 | +38 | W |
| 2 | @Army | +4.7 | 35-38 | -3 | L |
| 4 | vsIndiana | -7.8 | 31-33 | -2 | L |
| 5 | @Michigan State | +11.2 | 31-48 | -17 | L |
| 6 | vsUTSA | +6.5 | 46-52 | -6 | L |
| 7 | @Old Dominion | -7.4 | 43-20 | +23 | W |
| 8 | @Florida International | -21.6 | 34-19 | +15 | W |
| 9 | vsCharlotte | -13.7 | 45-13 | +32 | W |
| 10 | vsMiddle Tennessee | -4 | 48-21 | +27 | W |
| 11 | @Rice | -22.9 | 42-21 | +21 | W |
| 12 | vsFlorida Atlantic | -5.2 | 52-17 | +35 | W |
| 13 | @Marshall | +8 | 53-21 | +32 | W |
| 14 | @UTSA | +6.5 | 41-49 | -8 | L |
| 1 ·P | NApp State | +10.3 | 59-38 | +21 | W |
Quarterbacks · 4
2021 · 64
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Bailey Zappe | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 2nd | Carson Baker | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 3rd | Drew Zaubi | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 4th | Chance McDonald | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Running Backs · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB | 1st | Jamale Carothers | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 1st | Adam Cofield | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 2nd | Noah Whittington | SR | 5'8" | 203 | ★★★ |
| RB | 3rd | Kye Robichaux | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 4th | Jakairi Moses | — | — | — | ★★ |
Wide Receivers · 13
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Jerreth Sterns | — | — | — | ★★ |
| WR | 2nd | Mitchell Tinsley | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 3rd | Daewood Davis | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 4th | Malachi Corley | — | — | — | ★★ |
| WR | 5th | Craig Burt Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 6th | DeAngelo Wilson | — | — | — | ★★ |
| WR | 7th | Dakota Thomas | SR | 6'0" | 212 | — |
| WR | 8th | Ben Ratzlaff | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 9th | Josh Sterns | — | — | — | ★★ |
| WR | 10th | Dalvin Smith | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | 11th | Kyle McNamara | — | — | — | — |
| WR | — | Matthew Smith | — | — | — | — |
| WR | — | Kendall Abdur-Rahman | — | — | — | — |
Tight Ends · 2
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Joey Beljan | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 2nd | Joshua Simon | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Offensive Line · 2
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | — | David Ndukwe | SR | 6'6" | 325 | — |
| OL | — | Colt Jackson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Defensive Line · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 1st | DeAngelo Malone | — | — | — | ★★ |
| DE | 2nd | Juwuan Jones | — | — | — | — |
| DE | 3rd | Michael Pitts | — | — | — | — |
| DE | 4th | Marcus Bragg | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 1st | Terrion Thompson | — | — | — | — |
| DT | 1st | Darius Shipp | — | — | — | — |
| DT | 2nd | Jeremy Darvin | — | — | — | — |
| DT | 3rd | Brodric Martin | — | — | — | — |
| DT | 4th | Lichon Terrell | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DT | 5th | Mike Allen | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Linebackers · 10
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Jaden Hunter | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 2nd | Will Ignont | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| LB | 3rd | Demetrius Cain | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 4th | JaQues Evans | SR | 6'2" | 270 | — |
| LB | 5th | Matthew Flint | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 6th | Nick Days | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 7th | Malik Staples | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 8th | Niko Cooper | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 9th | Christian Gomez | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 10th | Bryson Washington | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Backs · 15
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | Beanie Bishop | — | — | — | ★★ |
| DB | 1st | Antwon Kincade | — | — | — | ★★ |
| DB | 2nd | A.J. Brathwaite Jr. | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 3rd | Kahlef Hailassie | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 4th | Miguel Edwards | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 5th | Kaleb Oliver | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 6th | Omari Alexander | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 7th | Dominique Bradshaw | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 8th | Davion Williams | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 9th | Tre Shaw | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| DB | 10th | C.J. Jones | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 11th | Cardavion Myers | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 12th | T.J. Springer | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 13th | Desmond Johnson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| S | 1st | Kendrick Simpkins | SR | 6'0" | 199 | — |
Special Teams · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1st | John Haggerty | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 1st | Brayden Narveson | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 2nd | Cory Munson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
2021 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
40.597
Off PPA
+0.3698
Pass PPA
+0.4897
Rush PPA
+0.1454
Success
52%98
Explosive
1.2754
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
SP+ Trend
points vs avg team
— Overall— Offense— Defense
SP+ = opponent-adjusted points vs an average team. Overall & Offense higher = better; Defense lower = better.
Advanced
2021 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.36 | +0.17 |
| Passing | +0.48 | +0.20 |
| Rushing | +0.14 | +0.15 |
| 1st Down | +0.28 | +0.06 |
| 2nd Down | +0.43 | +0.14 |
| 3rd Down | +0.54 | +0.51 |
Scoring Trend
2021 · pts/game
PPG For
43.1
PPG Against
28.7
Differential
+14.4
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / LResults
2021
- Overall
- 8-5
- Home
- 4-2
- Away
- 4-3
- Conference
- 7-2
- Non-Conference
- 1-3
- One-Score (≤8)
- 0-4
- Avg Margin
- +14.4
Situational Splits
2021 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 4-2 | 46.8 | 26.2 |
| Away | 4-3 | 39.9 | 30.9 |
| Neutral | 1-0 | 59.0 | 38.0 |
| Competition | |||
| Conference | 7-2 | 44.9 | 25.9 |
| Non-conference | 2-3 | 43.0 | 35.6 |
Season History · last 12
0 AP top-10 · 11 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8-4 | 6-2 | #69 | — | 1-0 |
| 2024 | 8-5 | 6-3 | #78 | — | 0-1 |
| 2023 | 7-5 | 5-3 | #74 | — | 1-0 |
| 2022 | 8-5 | 6-2 | #65 | — | 1-0 |
| 2021 | 8-5 | 7-2 | #24 | — | 1-0 |
| 2020 | 5-6 | 4-3 | #83 | — | 0-1 |
| 2019 | 8-4 | 6-2 | #58 | — | 1-0 |
| 2018 | 3-9 | 2-6 | #112 | — | — |
| 2017 | 6-6 | 4-4 | #88 | — | 0-1 |
| 2016 | 10-3 | 8-1 | #19 | — | 1-0 |
| 2015 | 11-2 | 9-0 | #37 | — | 1-0 |
| 2014 | 7-5 | 4-4 | #80 | — | 1-0 |
Recent Form · last 5
4-1 SU · 3-1 ATS · O3/U1
Betting Profile
2021 · 13 w/ line
| Straight up | 9-5 |
| ATS | 9-469% |
| Over / Under | 8-4-1 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 6-3 |
| As underdog | 3-1 |
| Home | 5-1 |
| Away | 4-3 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #100 · 0 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★102 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #96 | 153 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 2024 | #111 | 140 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2023 | #134 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | #94 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2021 | #136 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2020 | #80 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2019 | #86 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2018 | #84 | 155 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 2017 | #82 | 138 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2016 | #101 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
talent #74
Returning prod 41%Departed 59%
Talent composite525.0 #74 / 224
Returning usage (pass / rush / rec)1 / 28 / 51
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2021
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
1 items
- Corner Canyon lineman Jackson West commits to UtahUtah secured its third commitment of the week on Wednesday evening as Corner Canyon lineman Jackson West announced his decision to stay in-state.