WKU Football: Toppers Out-Manned in Second Half in Embarrassing 41–17 Loss to FIU

That fake punt that will be talked about as often as the stumble out of the tunnel was.

What started off as a competitive game tied with the exciting basketball win quickly turned south as WKU’s frustrating season continued during, perhaps, their last game of the season.

WKU impressively drove 49 yards on their opening drive down to the FIU 16 yard line, but Ryan Nuss missed a 33-yard field goal in what became a sign of things to come for the rest of the game.

WKU and FIU traded touchdowns and field goals to go into the half with FIU clinging to a 13–10 lead.

WKU forced an FIU punt to start the third quarter and then took a 17–13 lead on a 28-yard touchdown pass from to Mike White to Lucky Jackson with 12:35 left in the third.

It was all downhill from there for WKU, as FIU threw for a 42-yard touchdown pass on third and 10 to take a 20–17 lead due to a lack of a pass rush and some turned-around defenders near the goal line.

Nacarius Fant added insult to injury as he fumbled in the ensuing possession, setting up another quick FIU touchdown to turn the deficit to 27–17.

WKU stalled around the 50 when yet another special teams disaster happened:

From there, the game was as good good as over. Nuss missed yet another field goal that would have cut it to a two score game and FIU piled it on from there. This was yet another disappointing end to a WKU regular season that has been full of them.

Despite getting outscored 41–17, WKU outgained the Golden Panthers 401-373. Familiar mistakes such as a non-existant running game (just 46 yards on 28 carries) and poor special teams (two missed field goals and that horrific fake punt disaster) put WKU in such a big hole that they couldn’t recover from. Combine those deficiencies with a worn out defense and this loss just the latest example of Sanford’s inexperience and bad luck leading to a six loss slide from 2016 to 2017.

WKU must now sweat it out and hope they can qualify for a bowl at 6–6. We can only hope that they can not only make a bowl but play a manageable team to keep their six-season winning season steak alive.

Here’s your final stats: