WKU Football: Hilltoppers Derail Chattanooga in Frustrating Fashion 13–10.

After dropping their fourth loss of the season last week, the Hilltoppers had enough. Searching to break another losing streak, they focused their attention on their FCS opponent, The Mocs of UT Chattanooga. Coming out of the Southern Conference, Chattanooga came to Smith Stadium for their only game of the season. This scheduling decision was due to season cancellations in the FCS in relation to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Chattanooga began the contest by receiving the ball first. They wasted no time driving down the field, testing Western’s defense early. 13 plays and 76 yards later, the Mocs scored a touchdown. This was courtesy of a quarterback run by Drayton Arnold, making the score 7–0 after a drive that lasted 7:16. The Tops’ received the ball for their opening drive. Head Coach Tyson Helton created a balanced script that seemingly went the Tops’ way. This included a huge 38 yard run by Gaej Walker on the second play of the drive.

At the end of the drive led by quarterback Kevaris Thomas, Brayden Narveson connected for a 32-yard field goal. After some time, the Tops trimmed Chattanooga’s lead to 7–3 with 4:06 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Mocs began a series that included former Hiltopper Gino Appleberry at halfback. He shared carries with the leading rusher from last season, Ailym Ford. After some back and forth drives with both squads, the Mocs tried for an early game on 4th down. After a throw from Arnold that created a review of the play via officials, the Tops were able to force the turnover on downs.

In the next drive on offense, Thomas moved the ball down the field with ease, burning some much-needed clock time. This also included a throw to Craig Burt Jr. for a fourth-down conversion late in the first half. With 19 plays on the drive with a short distance to the goal line, it turned around drastically. Thomas was asked and fumbled the football, resulting in a turnover for the Tops. At the end of the first complete half, The Mocs were still leading 7–3.

As the third quarter started, Western was the unfortunate culprit of a special teams play that went awry. Chattanooga punted the ball following third down and was muffed by Dionte Ruffin. This brought the ball back to the Mocs, reeling them in the red zone. This was followed by a successful field goal attempt from Victor Ulmo, bringing the Chattanooga lead to 10–3 with 9:35 left in the 3rd. On the next offensive drive for the Tops, it was Jakari Moses who was the halfback that once again got things going for another potential red-zone trip. After a massive holding call that brought the Tops back to reality, Narveson was called upon for another field goal attempt. He made the 32 yarder, making the score 10–6.

In the fourth quarter, Helton put in Tyrell Pirgome at quarterback for a series. This didn’t translate successfully as they failed another 4th down conversion. The rest of the quarter brought on some challenges for both teams until the final four minutes of the game. The offense ran three straight run plays to try scoring in the last possession of the game. This became a dilemma as fourth down was approached. Finally, the long quarter’s efforts paid off. Pigrome threw a 50–50 ball to Burt Jr, breaking Chattanooga’s lead to create their own, 13–10 with 1:21 left.

Cory Munson kicked the ball off, and this became a highlight-reel play for Bryce Nunnelly. The kickoff returner went for a touchdown, but it was called back by officials due to a fair catch signal being spotted on the play, negating the Mocs happiness.

As the Mocs got the ball they went for a four and out, ending any chances for a comeback. In the ugly sequence of events, the Tops win the game 13–10.

Notes from today’s game:

• In the only game for Chattanooga in 2020, they made this a tough one. Their offense was solid under Drayton Arnold. They had one turnover on defense. Among using four halfbacks including Ailym Ford as the front runner, this made life terrible for our run defense. The Mocs went for 225 yards of total offense. Their defense came up with 2 turnovers.
• The defense as a whole made some strides in keeping Chattanooga from not doing much scoring until late. The secondary didn’t miss a beat on plays where the Mocs needed to convert to score touchdowns by covering passes.
• Neither Thomas nor Pigrome could get anything going. This was a frustrating output when it came to total offense. Even with the fourth quarter switch at QB, it made things more exhausting for the Tops in any chance to win this game. Thomas had 12 completions out of 17 attempts but they only accounted for 59 yards. as he could throw the ball more accurately, Pigrome kept things going on the last two drives.
• Josh Simon was more involved in today's game but there was no change in the stagnant season he’s having. Not only he was not targeted as much, but he dropped a potential touchdown catch from Pigrome late in the fourth. However, things finally went his way as he was able to make up for it by catching a pivotal pass in the next drive.
• Gaej Walker went for a season-high today. Today was his first time reaching 100 yards in a game. Alongside Jakari Moses, the two had some success running the ball for the first time all season. I’d look to Helton to make more usage of the run game for the rest of the year.
• Overall, this was an ugly win. Between the ongoing quarterback controversy, a young offense, & a defense that’s finding their identity again, this will be fun for Helton & Company to look back on. The Tops are back in action next Saturday on the road against 12th ranked BYU in Provo, Utah. The game will be part of “College Football After Dark” for Halloween on ESPN. WKU is now 2–4 on the season with a (1–2) Conference USA record.

Here are the final stats from today’s win at The Houch: