WKU Football: Tops Routed In Season Opener at #4 Wisconsin, 34–3
The first game of the year for WKU is now in the books as Drew Eckels went 15-for-26 for 167 yards and lead all rushers with 38 yards on the ground in his first career start at WKU. All five running backs listed to play got snaps but none finished with more than 20 yards as WKU failed to score a touchdown in Madison against the Badgers, 34–3.
The first quarter was actually promising for the Tops, headlined by some great defense. The Tops got three sacks in the first half alone and only held the Badgers to a single touchdown in the first quarter, the result of some bad-luck momentum following a quick offensive series and a poor punt to set the Badgers up with good field position.
The second quarter, on the other hand, didn’t go so well. Heisman candidate Johnathan Taylor made some big plays and got to the endzone twice to help Wisconsin lead 24–0 at the half.
While the defense held their own in just about every way, the offense struggled immensely throughout the game. Eckels made some nice throws, but several of the receivers couldn’t hold on to the ball which would eventually cost them. That, along with several penalties that could’ve been avoided and some poor play calling, cost the Tops this game.
The second half started VERY promising for WKU on their first drive which led to the only points they would score this game but bad play calling helped keep them from scoring anymore; a poor attempt at the “Philly special” on third and goal (which led to an interception) being the icing on the cake of those bad calls.
WKU made three trips to the redzone in the third quarter alone but only had three points to show for it.
The Chrome Domes still had some good moments in the fourth quarter on offense but never capitalized. Eckels went down with an injury midway through the fourth and did not return to the game, opening the door for redshirt freshman Davis Shanley to come in at quarterback to finish the game. He didn’t look bad and he almost had a touchdown but took a massive hit and fumbled the ball at the one yard line.
While there are a lot of positives and negatives to take away from their first game (that we will dive into in depth this upcoming week), WKU did decent against a powerhouse team, especially on defense. Take away some bad plays and drops on offense and they could’ve had AT LEAST one touchdown but that’s something that they’ll get better at as time progress, one can hope.
With this game finally behind them, WKU will now prepare for their home opener against Maine September 8; hopefully with a healthy Drew Eckels and their trick plays buried as far into the earth that’s physically possible to dig.
