Hilltoppers eyeing fast start at La. Tech

Oct. 5—Reeling from a pair of losses that were difficult in different ways, the Western Kentucky football team put together its best all-around performance last Thursday in a rather convincing 31-10 victory over '100 Miles of Hate' rival Middle Tennessee.

It not only snapped a two-game skid, but allowed the Hilltoppers — preseason favorites to win the Conference USA championship — to get started on the right foot in league play.

Tonight at 7 on ESPNU, Western will be hoping to duplicate its most recent performance in Ruston, Louisiana, where it will tangle with always-dangerous Louisiana Tech — and the Hilltoppers will be searching for their first road victory of the season at a difficult place to play.

Nonetheless, if quarterback Austin Reed continues to do his thing — the Hilltoppers have scored every time they've reached the red zone this season — and the WKU defense performs like it did against MTSU, the odds for success are favorable.

"We started fast (against Middle Tennessee) and I was really proud of our group," Western defensive coordinator Tyson Summers said. "We started the game with a number of three-and-outs and were able to get a takeaway that led to points for our offense — playing complementary football.

"The biggest improvement was being able to get off the field on third down. We were right at 70% in that area and we did a nice job of forcing field goals and getting a couple of takeaways.

"Our guys played really well and really hard, and from a performance standpoint it was a marked improvement over the past couple of weeks," he said.

Western (3-2, 1-0 C-USA) was clearly outclassed three weeks ago at Ohio State, losing 63-10, and never quite got a grip on the game at Troy, losing 27-24 in a contest that really wasn't as close as the final score might indicate.

Against Middle Tennessee, though, the Hilltoppers were efficient offensively, getting a solid game from Reed and the best rushing performance of the season (147 yards), along with a basically shut-down performance on the defensive side.

And, no one provided more inspiration than linebacker Bryson Washington, who had an interception and a fumble recovery in his first start — earning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors.

"Bryson Washington — what a story he is," Summers said. "He's a sixth-year senior who came here as a walk-on and has been put on scholarship the past couple of years. He steps out there in a big game and gets two takeaways in his first game as a starter.

"I'm so proud of Bryson," he said. "In a college football world today where so many players are coming in and out of the program. here's a guy who has stuck with it here for six years — this guy bleeds red, for sure."

Now Summers, Washington and the rest of the Hilltoppers focus their attention on Louisiana Tech (3-3, 2-0), which is coming off consecutive C-USA wins over North Texas (40-37) and UTEP (24-10), a game in which Bulldogs linebacker Brevin Randle stomped on the head of Miners offensive lineman Steven Hubbard and was subsequently suspended indefinitely.

Although WKU enters the game as a slight road favorite, Summers expects Louisiana Tech to be a handful.

"They're an Air Raid team that figures out how to win games," Summers said of the Bulldogs. "They try to get the ball to Smoke Harris (37 receptions, 368 yards, 3 TDs) in space any way they can, including a number of screen packages, and all of their receivers make a lot of plays for them.

"They're very good, and they will present a lot of problems for us," he said.

One of the keys for WKU could be seizing early control, something the Hilltoppers have been less than stellar at through most of the season.

"When we've had the opportunity to play with the lead, we've done a great job — that's just the way it's been," Summers said. "When that happens, it forces the opposition to play one-handed because they're playing from behind — it allows our defense to use the whole tool box, which is a huge advantage."

Western at La. Tech? It should be a good one.