2014 WKU Hilltoppers football team

The 2014 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first- year head coach Jeff Brohm and played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium. This was the team's first year as a Conference USA member and playing in the East Division. They finished the season 8–5, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the East Division. They were invited to the Bahamas Bowl where they defeated Central Michigan.[1]

2014 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Bahamas Bowl champion
Bahamas Bowl, W 49–48 vs. Central Michigan
Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
2014 record	8–5 (4–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Jeff Brohm (1st as HC; 2nd Overall season)
Offensive coordinator	Tyson Helton (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Nick Holt (2nd season)
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (Capacity: 22,113)

2014 Conference USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 23 Marshall x$		7	–	1					13	–	1
Middle Tennessee		5	–	3					6	–	6
Western Kentucky		4	–	4					8	–	5
UAB		4	–	4					6	–	6
Old Dominion*		4	–	4					6	–	6
FIU		3	–	5					4	–	8
Florida Atlantic		2	–	6					3	–	9
West Division
Louisiana Tech x		7	–	1					9	–	5
Rice		5	–	3					8	–	5
UTEP		5	–	3					7	–	6
UTSA		3	–	5					4	–	8
North Texas		2	–	6					4	–	8
Southern Miss		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Marshall 26, Louisiana Tech 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Ineligible for postseason bowl due to transition from FCS As of 22:24, 20 December 2014 (UTC); Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The 2013 WKU Hilltoppers football team finished the 2013 season 8–4 overall and 4–3 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Hilltoppers biggest win was against season opener Kentucky by 35–26. WKU became bowl eligible after defeating Army but did not received a bowl invite due to the number of invites the Sun Belt Conference receives. After five years of competing in the Sun Belt, WKU moved to Conference USA on July 1, 2014.[2]

Schedule

Western Kentucky announced their 2014 football schedule on February 3, 2014. The 2014 schedule consist of 6 home games and 6 away games in the regular season. The Hilltoppers will host CUSA foes Old Dominion, UAB, UTEP, and UTSA, and will travel to Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech.[3]

The Hilltoppers will play four opponents for the first time this season, Illinois, Old Dominion, UTEP, and UTSA. Western Kentucky will compete for the first time in the East division of Conference USA which has seven schools in total while the West division has six. Due to the two uneven divisions, WKU will only play five schools from the East division and will not play Florida International this season. Western Kentucky will play three teams from the West division, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, and UTSA, which will complete the eight conference games each member of the CUSA has to play.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:00 p.m.	Bowling Green*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 59–31	17,215
September 6	11:00 a.m.	at Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	L 34–42	38,561
September 13	6:00 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	WKU PBS	L 47–50 ^3OT	24,911
September 27	2:30 p.m.	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	W 36–27	30,537
October 4	6:00 p.m.	UAB	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		L 39–42	14,923
October 18	11:00 a.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	ASN	L 38–45	10,915
October 25	3:00 p.m.	Old Dominion	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		W 66–51	17,886
November 1	2:00 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	FSN	L 10–59	20,011
November 8	3:00 p.m.	UTEP†	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY		W 35–27	18,472
November 15	11:00 a.m.	Army*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 52–24	16,819
November 22	11:00 a.m.	UTSA	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	FSN	W 45–7	12,518
November 28	11:00 a.m.	at No. 19 Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	FS1	W 67–66 ^OT	23,576
December 24	11:00 a.m.	vs. Central Michigan*	Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl)	ESPN	W 49–48	13,667
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:[4]

Game summaries

Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	10	14	7	31
Hilltoppers	14	17	14	14	59

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2007	BGSU, 41–21

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	14	10	7	34
FIghting Illini	7	7	7	21	42

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
	First Meeting

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	Total
Hilltoppers	3	21	0	10	7	3	3	47
Blue Raiders	14	10	0	10	7	3	6	50

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
29–33–1	2012	MTSU, 34–29

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	10	9	14	36
Midshipmen	7	6	0	7	20

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	2013	WKU, 19–7

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	14	0	21	7	42
Hilltoppers	20	7	12	0	39

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–2	1997	UAB, 20–16

Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	17	14	7	0	38
Owls	7	7	14	17	45

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–4	2012	FAU, 37–28

Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Monarchs	3	27	21	0	51
Hilltoppers	21	21	14	10	66

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
	First Meeting

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	3	0	0	10
Bulldogs	10	21	21	7	59

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	1973	La Tech, 34–0

UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	17	3	7	0	27
Hilltoppers	7	7	7	14	35

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
	First Meeting

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Knights	7	3	14	0	24
Hilltoppers	14	10	14	14	52

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2013	WKU, 21–17

UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Roadrunners	0	0	0	7	7
Hilltoppers	14	14	7	10	45

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
	First Meeting

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Hilltoppers	28	21	0	10	8	67
#19 Thundering Herd	21	21	7	10	7	66

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–4	1996	MARSH, 37–3

Central Michigan–Bahamas Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	7	7	0	34	48
Hilltoppers	21	21	7	0	49

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2012	CMU, 24–21

References

1. WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
2. Kelley, Kevin (April 1, 2013). "Western Kentucky to Join Conference USA in 2014". FB Schedules. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
3. "Conference USA Announces 2014 Football Schedule" (Press release). Conference USA. February 3, 2014. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
4. "2014 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 3, 2014.