WKU can't hang on to lead to finish 0-12

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers - 2009 ... Head Coach: David Elson

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 1-11
2009 Record: 0-12

9/5 at Tennessee L 63-7
9/12 USF L 35-13
9/19 C. Arkansas L 28-7
9/26 at Navy L 38-22
10/3 OPEN DATE
10/10 FIU L 37-20
10/17 UL Laf L 30-22
10/24 at MTSU L 62-24
10/31 at N Texas L 68-49
11/7 Troy L 40-20
11/14 at ULM L 21-18
11/21 OPEN DATE
11/28 at FAU L 29-23
12/3 Arkansas St L 24-20

2008 Schedule
2008 Record: 2-10

8/30 at Indiana L 31-13
9/6 at Eastern Kent. W 37-13
9/13 at Alabama L 41-7
9/20 Murray State W 50-9
9/27 at Kentucky L 41-3
10/4 at Virginia Tech L 27-13
10/11 Ball State L 24-7
10/18 Florida Atlantic, L 24-20
10/25 OPEN DATE
11/1 North Texas L 51-40
11/8 at Troy L 17-7
11/15 Middle Tenn. L 21-10
11/22 OPEN DATE
12/6 at FIU L 27-3

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Dec. 3
Arkansas State 24 … at Western Kentucky 20
Arkansas State scored 21 unanswered points in the second half keyed by the defense. Ryan Aplin ran for a 12-yard score to pull the Red Wolves within ten, and then Nick Nelms picked off a pass to set up a four-yard scoring pass from Aplin to J.T. Jordan. Alex Carrington came up with the game-winning points with 3:49 to play taking a fumble 27 yards for a score. WKU took the early lead on runs from Tyrell Hayden and Bobby Rainey in the first quarter, but only managed two 34-yard Casey Tinius field goals the rest of the way.
Player of the Game: Arkansas State LB Demario Davis made 15 tackles, a tackle for loss, and forced a fumble.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 12-19, 121 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 16-70, 1 TD, Receiving: Jake Gaebler, 4-66
Arkansas State: Passing: Ryan Aplin, 16-20, 146 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Reggie Arnold, 16-47, Receiving: Brandon Thompkins, 4-36
What It All Means: WKU went winless for a reason. The offense got up early, it had all the momentum, but the offensive line struggled and couldn’t protect Kawaun Jakes and the mistakes started coming. The rushing game couldn’t control things and struggled to come up with the big drives needed to take advantage of the lead, but this was a total team loss. Taurean Smith had a huge day making 11 tackles, and there was decent defensive pressure into the backfield with a spectacular performance overall against Reggie Arnold, holding the ASU running back to 47 yards. But 0-12 is depressing no matter how solid the final effort was.

Nov. 28
at Florida Atlantic 29 … Western Kentucky 23
Lester Jean caught touchdown passes from 16 and 27 yards out and Jeff Van Camp threw three touchdown passes as FAU had to battle to beat the Hilltoppers. Van Camp gave the Owls the lead for good on a three-yard touchdown run. WKU couldn’t get in the end zone in the second half settling for three Casey Timius field goals after scoring twice in the second quarter on a 27-yard Jake Gaebler catch and a 21-yard Seth Tamme grab on a trick play from Derrick Brooks.
Player of the Game: Florida Atlantic RB Alfred Morris ran 25 times for 122 yards
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 19-28, 146 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 15-144, Receiving: Jake Gaebler, 4-43, 1 TD
Florida Atlantic: Passing: Jeff Van Camp, 16-30, 266 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Alfred Morris, 25-122, Receiving: Lester Jean 4-99, 2 TD 
What It All Means: The misery continues with an 0-11 record and a 19-game losing streak, but the team is playing better and it’s close to coming up with a victory. The last two games on the road were winnable, but the offense is having a hard time closing, settling for field goals instead of touchdowns, and the defense isn’t getting the one big stop needed. The pass rush has been non-existent and is job one against Arkansas State to work on.

Nov. 14
at ULM 21 … Western Kentucky 18
Frank Goodin ran for a 48-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give ULM the lead, and after WKU took it back with a one-yard Brandon Smith run, Rodney Lovett put the game away with a three-yard score. The Hilltoppers got four second quarter field goals out of Casey Tinius, but he also missed a key attempt that would’ve resulted in a tie and overtime. The Warhawks committed 13 penalties.
Player of the Game: ULM RB Frank Goodin ran 19 times for 169 yards and a score, and he caught two passes for 30 yards.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun James, 18-36, 188 yds
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 16-134, Receiving: Jake Gaebler, 7-106
ULM: Passing: Trey Revell, 10-19, 151 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Frank Goodin, 19-169, 1 TD, Receiving: Luther Ambrose, 4-46 
What It All Means: WKU had several opportunities to take charge of the game, but the talent isn’t there to make things happen when given the shot. The defense did a good job, it was its best performance of the year, but it was wasted because of an inability to convert on third downs, converting just 2-of-15. The run defense, faltered late, but 21 points allowed is by far is the best effort of the year. However, things aren’t going to be better with a trip to Florida Athletic up next.

Nov. 7
Troy 40 … at Western Kentucky 20
Shaun Southward ran for four touchdowns and Levi Brown threw a ten-yard scoring pass to Zack Marcum as Troy got more of a fight than expected. The Trojans held a 21-20 lead at halftime, and then woke up in the second half scoring 19 unanswered points on Southward runs from one, ten, and 39 yards out. WKU came up with 422 yards of total offense with Kawaun Jakes throwing for 185 yards and running for 121 yards and a score.
Player of the Game: Troy RB Shaun Southward ran 19 times for 139 yards and four scores, and he caught a pass for 16 yards
WKU: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 19-34, 185 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Kawaun Jakes, 18-121, 1 TD, Receiving: Jake Gaebler, 5-57
Troy: Passing: Levi Brown, 20-33, 251 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Shawn Southward, 19-139, 4 TD, Receiving: Jerrel Jernigan, 6-81 
What It All Means: And so ends the David Elson era. The team simply didn’t get any better as the season has gone on, and while the firing of the WKU head coach came after one of the team’s better performances pushing the Sun Belt’s best team for three quarters. Kajuan Jakes is the whole offense, but he and the team were hurt by ten penalties. On the plus side, WR Jake Gaebler became the school’s all-time leading receiver with 153 grabs.

Oct. 31
at North Texas 68 … Western Kentucky 49
WKU held a 35-21 lead in the first half helped by two Kawaun Jakes touchdown passes and a 61-yard Marell Booker touchdown run and a 50-yard Tyrell Haden dash, and then it was all North Texas. Riley Dodge ran for three touchdowns and threw four touchdown passes, with two of his runs coming in the third quarter, and Lance Dunbar tore off a 71-yard touchdown dash to tie it at 49 late in the third quarter to spark a run of 19 unanswered points.
Player of the Game: North Texas QB Riley Dodge completed 24-of-30 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran 15 times for 70 yards and three scores.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 14-19, 127 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Marrell Booker, 8-104, 2 TD, Receiving: Jake Gaebler, 9-58
North Texas: Passing: Riley Dodge, 24-30, 262 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Lance Dunbar, 23-227, 1 TD, Receiving: Jamaal Jackson, 6-76, 2 TD
What It All Means: This year doesn’t matter. On a 16-game losing streak and almost certain to be destroyed over the last four games, all that matters is improving for next year, and this loss was a step. The offense exploded on a bad North Texas defense and had its chances to come through late, but couldn’t keep up and lost two key turnovers. The D has to find something it can do well, and if nothing else, it has to start forcing turnovers to help out the offense.

Oct. 24
at Middle Tennessee 62 … Western Kentucky 24
Middle Tennessee rolled up 646 yards with Dwight Dasher accounting for five touchdowns. The Blue Raiders exploded for 28 points in the second quarter as Dasher threw three touchdown passes including a 23-yards and 54-yarder to Chris McClover. Dasher ran for scores from one and 25 yards out, and Kenneth Gilstrap tore off a 49-yard touchdown dash. WKU got two touchdown catches from Jake Gaebler from 42 and 16 yards away.
Player of the Game: Middle Tennessee QB Dwight Dasher completed 22-of-35 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran ten times for 66 yards and two scores.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 9-20, 134 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brandon Smith, 5-34, Receiving: Jake Gaebler, 6-100, 2 TD
Middle Tennessee: Passing: Dwight Dasher, 22-35, 355 yds, 3 TD.
Rushing: Dwight Dasher, 10-66, 2 TD, Receiving: Chris McClover, 6-149, 2 TD 
What It All Means: The losses aren’t the issue; the lack of improvement is. QB Kawaun Jakes will go through some growing pains, but completing just 9-of-20 passes is still a bad day. The defense is getting worse by the week and never let the offense settle in to do anything against Middle Tennessee. The -4 turnover margin made a bad situation a lot worse. At this point, if WKU isn’t winning the turnover battle by a large margin, it doesn’t have a chance.

Oct. 17
at Louisiana-Lafayette 30 … Western Kentucky 22
WKU scored first on the first of two Kawaun Jakes touchdown passes, hitting Rod Johnson from 29 yards out, and then ULL went on a 30-7 run with Chris Masson running for a six-yard touchdown and throwing for two scores. Javone Lawson caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and Matt Desormeaux made a two-yard scoring grab in the first. Tyler Albrecht added three field goals.
Player of the Game: Louisiana-Lafayette LB Grant Fleming made ten tackles
Louisiana-Lafayette: Passing: Chris Masson, 16-25, 204 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Yobes Walker, 24-94, Receiving: Luke Aubrey, 5-54
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 9-17, 141 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 19-115, 1 TD, Receiving: Anthony Sheppard, 2-42 
What It All Means: The hole was too deep to get out of, but Kawaun Jakes and the offense were able to fight back to make it close late. Bobby Rainey and the running game weren’t bad, but the offense couldn’t keep the chains moving and the three turnovers were a problem. The eight point loss was the closest game the team has been involved in this year, and now on a 14-game losing streak, and with nothing happening on defense or the passing game, it’s going to be a long second half of the season.

Oct. 10
FIU 37 … at Western Kentucky 20
FIU busted open a tight game in the second half with 20 straight points with Jason Frierson catching a 40-yard touchdown pass and Daunte Owens running in scores from 16 and eight yards out. Dustin Rivest kicked three field goals and Greg Ellingson caught a 19-yard scoring pass. WKU got two touchdown runs from Kawaun Jakes and a 16-yard scoring dash from Bobby Rainey, but the offense couldn’t keep up the pace.
Player of the Game: FIU WR Greg Ellingson caught five passes for 132 yards and a score.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 16-26, 118 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 9-99, 1 TD, Receiving: Quinterrance Cooper ,5-26
FIU: Passing: Paul McCall, 14-22, 280 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Daunte Owens, 17-80, 2 TD, Receiving: Greg Ellingson, 5-132, 1 TD
What It All Means: The losing keeps going on and on, now with a 13-game losing streak, it’s time to start taking more chances with the passing game. The rushing attack has been fine, cranking out 263 yards against FIU, but there’s no pressure coming from the defensive front and the offensive line isn’t providing any time for QB Kawaun Jakes to work. With the nation’s worst defense, the offense can’t just be decent; it has to be explosive. It hasn’t shown the capability yet.

Sept. 26
at Navy 38 … Western Kentucky 22
Down 14-10 in the first half after WKU scored on a Kawaun Jakes one-yard run and a 13-yard pass to Bobby Rainey, and then the Navy ground game took over with 28 straight points with three short scores from Ricky Dobbs and a 29-yard pass to Cory Finnerty. The Hilltoppers got back on the board late on a 18-yard Jakes pass to Derruis Brooks, but three turnovers and ten penalties proved too costly to stay in the game.
Player of the Game: Navy QB Ricky Dobbs completed 4-of-5 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, and he ran 29 times for 143 yards and four scores.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 22-28, 276 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 14-99, Receiving: Jack Doyle, 6-80
Navy: Passing: Ricky Dobbs, 4-5, 100 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ricky Dobbs, 29-143, 4 TD, Receiving: Bobby Doyle, 3-71
What It All Means: Thomas Majors made 14 tackles, but the defense didn’t have a prayer once Navy started to do its thing. The nation’s worst run defense struggled to get the right angles and couldn’t stop Midshipmen QB Ricky Dobbs in the backfield before he was able to make his decisions. On the plus side, Kawaun Jakes looks like a keeper at quarterback. He threw two picks, but he had an overall accurate day and he ran relatively well. He’ll have to be even better, and the team has to cut down on the penalties and turnovers after committing ten sins and giving it away three times, to beat FIU in the Sun Belt opener next week.

Sept. 19
Central Arkansas 28 … at Western Kentucky 7
Central Arkansas QB Robbie Park was nearly perfect missing on just three passes and throwing two touchdown passes with a 73-yarder to Darrius McNeal and a six-yarder to Preston Echoles. Leonard Ceaser started out the scoring with a 51-yard dash in the first minute of the second quarter, and WKU was never able to get back in it even with a four-yard Brandon Smith touchdown run at the end of the first half.
Player of the Game: Central Arkansas QB Robbie Park completed 18-of-21 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
Western Kentucky: Passing: Kawaun Jakes, 9-14, 75 yds
Rushing: Brandon Smith, 16-59, 1 TD, Receiving: Marcus Vazquez, 4-55
Central Arkansas: Passing: Robbie Park, 18-21, 177 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Leonard Ceaser, 10-91, 1 TD, Receiving: Darrius McNeal, 4-100, 1 TD
What It All Means: WKU showed just how far it has to go to merely be competitive at the FBS level. The defense couldn’t keep the Central Arkansas passing game from hitting every short to midrange throw, while the Hilltopper offense was awful through the air and committed three key turnovers that killed the chances that were there for the taking. The defensive front is going to have a nightmare of a time at Navy next week, while the offense has to find a way to be better on third downs to keep the defense off the field.

Sept. 12
South Florida 35 ... at Western Kentucky 13
USF QB Matt Grothe became the Big East's all-time total offense leader, but he and the Bulls took a while to put the game away. Grothe connected with Theo Wilson for a 14-yard touchdown and Moise Plancher scored from one and 20 yards out, but it wasn't until a 17-yard Ben Busbee touchdown catch in the fourth quarter before the Bulls could breathe easily. WKU's Marell Booker ran for a 15-yard touchdown in the third to pull within eight, but the O never got closer. The two teams combined for 22 penalties.
Player of the Game: South Florida RB Moise Plancher ran 18 times for 115 yards and two scores.
South Florida Passing: Matt Grothe, 13-22, 208 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Moise Plancher, 18-115, 2 TD, Receiving: Carlton Mitchell, 4-130
Western Kentucky: Passing: Brandon Smith, 13-26, 84 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Smith, 21-105, Receiving: Jack Doyle, 4-20
What It All Means: WKU was far more competitive against USF than it was against Tennessee, but 13 penalties and going 2-of-12 on third downs killed any hope of pulling off the upset. To have any hope going forward, the passing game has to emerge after gaining just 84 yards, letting Brandon Smith and the running game carry the way. Smith has to start pushing the ball down the field more and has to stop dinking and dunking so much.

Sept. 5
at Tennessee 63 … Western Kentucky 7
It took a quarter to get warmed up, and then the Tennessee attack got on a roll with Bryce Brown kicking things off with a two-yard touchdown run before Jonathan Crompton took over the game. The much-maligned quarterback threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers, and Montario Hardesty added a 43-yard run as the Vols had few problems moving the ball. David Oku added two short fourth quarter scores. Western Kentucky scored in the third quarter on a 19-yard Bobby Rainey touchdown run.
Player of the Game: Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton completed 21-of-28 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions
Western Kentucky: Passing: Brandon Smith, 8-13, 44 yds
Rushing: Bobby Rainey, 8-41, 1 TD, Receiving: Jack Doyle, 4-10
Tennessee: Passing: Jonathan Crompton, 21-28, 233 yds, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Montario Hardesty, 18-160, 1 TD, Receiving: Marsalis Teague, 6-86, 1 TD
What It All Means: The Hilltoppers played well for a quarter, but the defense couldn’t hold up against the Tennessee offensive line and the back seven couldn’t do anything against the Vol skill players. Going forward, the offense has to find a few playmakers. Tennessee’s defense might be nasty, but only 49 yards of passing is inexcusable. The attack is going to have to get extremely creative against South Florida and will have to find a few stars to rely on. The D isn’t good enough to carry the team to wins.