Sun Belt Conference Upcoming Games

September 13

Florida Atlantic at Michigan State (ESPN2) - 11:00 a.m.

Louisiana-Lafayette at Illinois (Big Ten Network) - 11:00 a.m.

Alabama A&M at Louisiana-Monroe - 6:00 p.m.

Southern Mississippi at Arkansas State - 6:00 p.m.

Alcorn State at Troy - 6:00 p.m.

WKU at Alabama (CSS/PPV) - 6:00 p.m.

Middle Tennessee at Kentucky (PPV) - 6:00 p.m.

North Texas at LSU (CST/PPV) - 7:00 p.m.

All times Central and subject to change

* denotes Sun Belt Conference Game 

Sun Belt Conference Recent Results

September 6

Middle Tennessee 24, Maryland 14 (CSS/PPV)

Iowa 42, Florida International 0 (Big Ten Network)

Florida Atlantic 49, UAB 34

Arkansas State 83, Texas Southern 10

Arkansas 28, Louisiana-Monroe 27 (!)

Tulsa 56, North Texas 26 (KTXA)

WKU 37, Eastern Kentucky 13

Sun Belt Conference News & Notes

Sun Belt Boasts Big Wins

So far in this young football season teams, from the Sun Belt Conference have been victorious over teams from automatic bid BCS conferences.  Middle Tennessee took a 24-14 win over Maryland on September 6 and Arkansas State defeated Texas A&M 24-14 on August 30. Members of the Sun Belt Conference also defeated several notable football programs in 2007.  In fact, the league boasted three wins over members from the “Big Six” Conferences.  Troy defeated Big 12 member and Insight Bowl participant Oklahoma State 41-23.  ULM earned a 21-14 win over SEC member and Independence Bowl participant Alabama.  Florida Atlantic also defeated Big Ten member Minnesota 42-39.

Sun Belt Conference Enters Agreements with St. Petersburg Bowl, PapaJohns.com Bowl, and PetroSun Independence Bowl

The Sun Belt Conference has signed agreements with the St. Petersburg Bowl, the PapaJohns.com Bowl and the PetroSun Independence Bow, which are effective immediately and will impact the 2008 and 2009 bowl games.  Bowl-eligible teams from the Sun Belt Conference will be the first available teams in these bowls should the contracted parties not be able to fulfill their requirements.  While the Sun Belt Conference champion will still play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the St. Petersburg Bowl or the PapaJohns.com Bowl will have second choice to select one of the Sun Belt’s bowl-eligible teams if the contracted parties are not be able to fulfill their requirements.  The agreement signed with the PetroSun Independence Bowl calls for that bowl game to receive the third choice to select one of the Sun Belt’s bowl eligible teams if the contracted parties are not able to fulfill their requirements. The Independence Bowl would also receive the second choice to select a Sun Belt bowl eligible team should the St. Petersburg Bowl or the PapaJohns.com Bowl not have an opening.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Breaks Tie

The Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA were an even 7-7 over the last two seasons headed into the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.  With Florida Atlantic’s win over Memphis in the game, the SBC claimed bragging rights over CUSA with an 8-7 edge.

FAU Claims New Orleans Bowl Title

Rusty Smith threw for 336 yards and a R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl record five touchdowns to lead Florida Atlantic to a 44-27 victory over Memphis.  It was the first bowl game for FAU, which has had a football team for only seven seasons at its Boca Raton, Fla., campus and didn’t join the NCAA’s Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) until 2005.  The game also marked another meaningful step for the young Sun Belt Conference. The league champion has now won three of seven New Orleans Bowls, including the past two by convincing margins, with Troy beating Rice 41-17 last year.  Smith finished the season with 3,688 yards passing and 32 touchdowns. Only a sophomore, he could be around for many more victories in FAU’s future.

WKU Joins Sun Belt Football

Western Kentucky University is currently in transition to become the ninth Sun Belt Conference football playing institution and the 120th Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) member. The Hilltoppers will play five SBC teams in 2008 and will be eligible for the conference title and a bowl berth in 2009. WKU, the 2002 Division I-AA National Champions, played three contests against current Sun Belt members last season (Middle Tennessee, Troy, and North Texas).  In week two last season WKU recorded five touchdowns against West Virginia Tech in the first quarter - tying a Football Bowl Subdivision record with 49 points in a quarter.  The Hilltoppers would go on to win 87-0.

Awards Candidates

Rotary Lombardi Award (Best Lineman) – Dion Small (Troy), Jason Harmon (Florida Atlantic), Matt Mandich (Arkansas State), Boris Lee (Troy), Frantz Joseph (Florida Atlantic). Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Best Defensive Player) – Frantz Joseph (Florida Atlantic), Ben Owens (Arkansas State). Rimington Trophy (Best Center) – Danny Franks (Troy), Brad Serini (Florida International), Chris Fisher (Louisiana-Lafayette).  Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Back) – Tavious Polo (Florida Atlantic), Corey Small (Florida Atlantic).  Davey O’Brien Award (Best Quarterback) –  Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic).  John Mackey Award (Best Tight End) –  Zeek Zacharie (Louisiana-Monroe).  Butkus Award (Best Linebacker) –  Ben Owens (Arkansas State), Frantz Joseph (Florida Atlantic), Boris Lee (Troy) Doak Walker Award (Best Running Back) –  Reggie Arnold (Arkansas State), Tyrell Fenroy (Louisiana-Lafayette).  Lou Groza Award (Best Place Kicker) –  Warley Leroy (Florida Atlantic), Drew Edmiston (Louisiana-Lafayette).  Davey O’Brien Award (Best Collegiate Player) –  Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic).

Smith, Owls Return for 2008 Season

Florida Atlantic, the defending Sun Belt Conference co-champions and 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Champions, will be ready for another run at the championship in 2008.  Rusty Smith, last season’s New Orleans Bowl MVP and Sun Belt Player of the Year, returns for his junior campaign after a record breaking season as a sophomore.  Smith will be aided by an offensive line that returns four of five starters from a year ago, a seasoned corps of running backs, and a talented receiver in Cortez Gent.  The defense will be just as experienced as it returns the league’s leading tackler a year ago in Frantz Joseph, as well as two Thorpe Award candidates in Tavious Polo and Corey Small.

Fenroy Has Sights on Sun Belt Rushing Record

Louisiana-Lafayette senior running back Tyrell Fenroy needs 723 rushing yards to become the all-time leading rusher in Sun Belt Conference history.  Should the LaPlace, Louisiana  native top 1,000 yards in 2008, he would join Tony Dorsett, Amos Lawrence, Denvis Manns, Ron Dayne, Cedric Benson and DonTrell Moore as the only players in NCAA history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

ASU’s Owens Named Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

Arkansas State senior linebacker Ben Owens was named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for games of the weekend of Aug. 30 after helping lead the Red Wolves to a season-opening victory over Texas A&M. Owens recorded seven tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, an interception and a fumble recovery, while also helping the ASU defense pitch a second-half shutout in the game. Owens was responsible for stopping the Aggies last two drives of the game after the Red Wolves went ahead 15-14. He recovered a fumble on the Texas A&M 39-yard line, setting up a field goal that gave ASU a four-point lead with 1:12 left to play. He then intercepted Stephen McGee with 10 seconds left in the game, halting the Aggies final drive that reached the ASU 34-yard line and clinching the victory for ASU. Owens, a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. He becomes the first player in ASU history to be named a national defensive player of the week and the first Sun Belt Conference player to receive the recognition since FAU cornerback Tavious Polo last season after the Owls defeated Minnesota on Sept. 20. Owens, already on the Butkus Award Watch List, will be added to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.

Sun Belt Alumni

Troy’s Leodis McKelvin was selected with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, marking the second time in the last four years the Sun Belt has had a player chosen in the draft’s first round (Demarcus Ware, 11th pick of first round in 2005 by Dallas).  Arkansas State’s Tyrell Johnson was a second round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2008 after he broke the Sun Belt Conference record for career tackles during the 2007 season.  Johnson joins other notable Sun Belt players in the NFL such as Jake Delhomme (Louisiana-Lafayette – Carolina Panthers), Charles Tillman (Louisiana-Lafayette – Chicago Bears), Antwan Barnes (Florida International – Baltimore Ravens), Brandon Stokley (Louisiana-Lafayette – Denver Broncos), Marty Booker (Louisiana-Monroe – Chicago Bears), Ike Taylor (Louisiana-Lafayette – Pittsburgh Steelers), Osi Umenyiora (Troy – New York Giants), Lawrence Tynes (Troy – New York Giants), and Demarcus Ware (Troy – Dallas Cowboys).  Notable former professional football players from Sun Belt schools includes Joe “Mean Joe” Greene (North Texas), Stan Humphries (Louisiana-Monroe), and Brian Mitchell (Louisiana-Lafayette).  Current Cleveland Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel is a graduate of Western Kentucky University.

Sun Belt Facilities Growing and Expanding

Every Sun Belt football institution has seen major facility facelifts over the last several years or major improvements are on the way.  Troy began the trend of facility enhancements when Veterans Stadium was transformed into Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium in 2003.  The Trojans’ state-of-the-art stadium features a six-story press box structure that houses 27 sky boxes, a media hosting facility, a unique Trojan Stadium Club area that houses more than 1,000 guests, and floors dedicated to sports medicine, academics and strength & conditioning.  Middle Tennessee, Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe have followed by adding synthetic turf in their stadiums.  Synthetic turf has also been installed at Louisiana-Lafayette and construction finished on an indoor practice facility in 2007 – only the second collegiate facility of its kind in the state of Louisiana.  North Texas recently completed The Mean Green Athletic Village which includes the Darrell R. Dickey Practice Facility and the Athletic Center, which is complete with a football locker room, coaches’ offices, and team and position meeting facilities.  Two of the most significant projects in progress are the renovations taking place at Florida International’s FIU Stadium and Western Kentucky University’s L.T. Smith Stadium.  FIU Stadium will transform the home of the Golden Panthers in two phases with the first phase complete for the 2008 season and the second phase eventually pushing capacity to 45,000.  The renovations at WKU’s L.T. Smith Stadium will help push the Hilltoppers into the Football Bowl Subdivision. The renovation includes approximately 5,000 seats in the new west grandstand, which will also house football offices, locker rooms, a weight room and training room.  At Florida Atlantic the FAU Board of Trustees has unanimously approved a 30,000-seat, open-air stadium on the Boca Raton campus. 

ASU’s Leonard Takes Fast Track to Degree

Arkansas State junior quarterback Corey Leonard is already widely known for his accomplishments on the football field, but it was his accomplishments in the classroom that garnered him recognition at ASU’s Summer Commencement.  Even while the Covington, La. native has had to work the time demands of a college football player into his schedule, his dedication to academics led him down an early path to graduation before his junior season on the field.  Leonard earned his bachelor’s degree in Business and is now enrolled in graduate school.  On the field, three Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week awards, 2007 Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist, All-Sun Belt Conference selection and numerous school records are among his honors.  “It’s obviously quite an accomplishment to graduate prior to playing your junior year,” said ASU Head Football Coach Steve Roberts. “Corey continues to be what we desire from all our student-athletes in the classroom, in his community involvement and in his preparation to win.”

FAU Extends Howard Schnellenberger’s Contract

Florida Atlantic University recently extended Howard Schnellenberger’s contract as the Owls head football coach through the 2010 season.  “Howard has built the football program into a bowl champion in record time,” said Craig Angelos, FAU’s athletic director. “FAU wants him to serve at the team’s helm through its next historic phase, the construction of our on-campus stadium.”  FAU hired Schnellenberger in 1998 to spearhead the fund raising efforts to add football to the university. Since that time, the Owls have accomplished many firsts and have quickly risen in prominence on campus, in the community, in the state and on the national front. “I’m delighted with the extension and the opportunity that it gives me to continue in the next stage of this program’s development,” said Schnellenberger.

University of South Alabama Begins Football Program

The University of South Alabama, one the founding members of the Sun Belt Conference in 1976, recently approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletic program.  The decision came after a recommendation from President Gordon Moulton based on input from student, faculty, alumni and community groups.  The intention is that the Jaguars will field a team in 2009 with a full transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision by 2013. USA is a charter member of the Sun Belt Conference.  Former Birmingham Southern head coach and Mobile native Joey Jones was named as the Jags’ first head football coach and Jones has already put a staff in place and hit the recruiting trails. The Jaguars will begin their schedule at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in downtown Mobile in the fall of 2009. The 40,000-seat facility is home to the GMAC Bowl and the Senior Bowl, plus numerous high school football games each year.

North Texas’ Fitzgerald Shows Patience Pays Off

In 2004 North Texas wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald walked on to the Mean Green football team and was redshirted.  A year later his season total was one reception for nine yards.  Fitzgerald’s numbers in 2006 weren’t much more spectacular: 4 receptions for a total of 83 yards.  His progression then sky-rocketed under Todd Dodge’s new offensive system in 2007.  Fitzgerald hauled in 111 catches for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns.  His 111 receptions were the third most in the NCAA last year and he also led the Sun Belt in receptions per game and yards per reception en route to being named First Team All-Sun Belt.

Louisiana-Lafayette’s Michael Desormeaux Adds to Cajuns Run Game

Ragin’ Cajun senior quarterback Michael Desormeaux led Sun Belt in rushing yards per game (123.2) in SBC games and finished second in overall rushing yards in 2007. Desormeaux became the 24th quarterback in NCAA history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season and finished with the 20th most rushing yards by a QB in a single season in NCAA history. He also boasted 17 total touchdowns and ranked eighth nationally in yards per carry, 28th in rushing per game and 38th in net rushing. He rushed and passed for more than 100 yards in the same game five times and scored a touchdown in 10 games. He also completed 55 percent of his passes to 16 different receivers, despite having only one senior wide receiver.

Troy’s Maurice Greer Overcomes Cancer

Maurice Greer will enter his first season at Troy after transferring from Garden City Community College prior to this season.  Getting acquainted with campus life and his new teammates shouldn’t be much of a challenge for the running back.  After all, Greer was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer while playing at Garden City.  The Denver, Colorado native went threw months of chemotherapy and radiation and found himself back on the football field for another year of junior college football.  The former Mr. Football in Colorado has made quite the recovery in the last couple of years and he will compete for a starting sport for the Trojans this fall.

Sun Belt Conference Team News & Notes

Arkansas State Red Wolves (2-0, 0-0 SBC)

This Week vs. Southern Miss.: A team from the Sun Belt Conference will take another shot at Southern Mississippi this week, as the Golden Eagles already defeated Louisiana-Lafayette this season.  USM and Arkansas State will be meeting for the second consecutive season and the game will also be a rematch of the 2005 New Orleans Bowl, in which USM was victorious.  The Golden Eagles are coming off of a 27-13 loss to Auburn in which they trailed 24-0 at one point.  USM quarterback Austin Davis completed 33-of-50 passes for 268 yards, most of that coming in the second half.

Last Week vs. Texas Southern: Arkansas State broke the Sun Belt Conference and ASU Stadium record for points in a game with 83 against Texas Southern.  The 83 points are also the second most in school history, behind only the 101 scored against Arkansas Teacher’s College in 1917.  Additionally, ASU is the first NCAA FBS team to score 80 or more points in a game since Texas Tech scored 80 against Sam Houston State on Sept. 17, 2005.  SU piled up 670 yards of total offense against Texas Southern, which ranks as the second highest total in school history and the fourth highest in Sun Belt history.  ASU is off to its first 2-0 start since 1986 and the first time ever as an NCAA FBS member.  The 1986 team won its first three games and went on to finish as the NCAA I-AA National Runner-Up.

Florida Atlantic Owls (1-1, 0-0 SBC)

This week at Michigan State: Florida Atlantic will take on a Big Ten opponent in consecutive weeks starting with Michigan State this Saturday.  FAU provided the Sun Belt Conference with its first ever win over a team from the Big Ten when the Owls defeated Minnesota last season.  The Owls will need to tighten up their defense as they are giving up three touchdowns per game and nearly 300 yards per game through the air.  Michigan State boosts a powerful pass and catch combination of quarterback Brian Hoyer and Mark Dell.  The Spartans’ Javon Ringer is also coming off of a five touchdown performance against Eastern Michigan.

Last week vs. UAB: FAU took a 49-34 victory over UAB in the home opener for the Owls. The game marked the second meeting in the last three contests that FAU has faced a C-USA opponent and the Owls captured both contests.  The Owls also converted on 7-of-10 third downs which was a program record.  Cortez Gent tossed a 33-yard pass to fellow wide receiver Chris Bonner to put the Owls on the board first. Gent had eight receptions for 146 yards and a score. Quarterback Rusty Smith was 21-34 on the night with 325 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Charles Pierre had a 73 yard dash for a late fourth quarter score that solidified the game for the Owls. Pierre had two touchdowns and 146 yards total.  Senior linebacker Frantz Joseph recorded 16 tackles and one sack.

Florida International Golden Panthers (0-2, 0-0 SBC)

This Week BYE (Next: vs. USF): Florida International will take a week of to rest and prepare for its home opener against South Florida this week.  The Golden Panthers’ home opener for the 2008 season will also be the opening of the brand new FIU Stadium.  FIU Stadium is the only on-campus Football Bowl Subdivision football facility south of Orlando and represents the foundation of the Golden Panthers football program.

Last Week at Iowa: The 42-0 loss to Iowa marked the first time that FIU had been shutout since September 1, 2007 (59-0 at Penn State)—a streak of 12 games.  The announced crowd of 70,585 was the third-largest FIU had ever played before (107,678 at Penn State on 9/1/07 and 90,138 at Alabama on 10/28/06).  Linebacker Scott Bryant forced fumble in the first quarter was his second in as many games.  Marquis Rolle’s four pass receptions in the first half were the most by a Golden Panther in a game this season and one more than the sophomore had caught over the first 12 games of his college career (2 in 2007/1 last week at Kansas). Rolle finished with a career-high five catches for 39 yards.

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (0-1, 0-0 SBC)

This Week at Illinois: As the Cajuns prepare for Illinois the mind set of the team will have to shift from Hurricane Gustav to playing football again.  The aftermath of Hurricane Gustav kept the Cajuns off the practice field until last Thursday.  After struggling against USM’s up-tempo attack - the Golden Eagles set a school record for total yards and ran for a stadium-record 427 yards - the Cajuns were pushed as much as ever in Thursday’s practice. 

Last Week BYE (Last: at Southern Miss): Cajuns quarterback Michael Desormeaux paced the offense with 16 carries for 146 yards.  It is his eighth career 100-yard rushing performance.  He finished the night 9-of-20 passing for 98 yards.  Desormeaux moved into sixth place on the Cajuns career rushing list and is 25 yards shy of fifth all-time.  Cajuns star Tyrell Fenroy finished with 13 carries for 56 yards – all in the first half – and scored a touchdown.  Fenroy, who didn’t play in the second half because of a head injury, finished the game nine yards shy of Brian Mitchell’s career rushing record.

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (0-2, 0-0 SBC)

This Week vs. Alabama A&M: The Warhawks open up play at Malone Stadium hosting Alabama A&M in the first ever meeting between the two clubs.  AAMU is 0-2 on the young season after dropping games to Ohio Valley Conference foes Tennessee State and Jacksonville State.  ULM is 3-0 all-time against SWAC schools with a pair of wins over Alcorn State and one victory, which came last year, over Grambling State.

Last week vs. Arkansas: ULM came within a point, 28-27, of upsetting its second Southeastern Conference school in the past four games dropping a heart breaker at Arkansas.  Redshirt freshman receiver Anthony McCall hauled in six passes for 125 yards and a pair of scores and even blocked a punt, which led to a ULM field goal.  Another redshirt freshman, Nate Brown, had a game-high 12 tackles and a sack for the Warhawk defense. ULM rolled off 24 straight points in the game taking a 24-6 lead in the third quarter, and had a 45-yard field goal narrowly missed in the final seconds of the game.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (1-1, 0-1 SBC)

This week at Kentucky: Middle Tennessee will hit the road for the first time this season and will play five of its next six games away from home.  Coming off of its triumphant win over Maryland, Middle Tennessee will have to overcome a Kentucky defense that has given up only three points all season.  The Kentucky offense, meanwhile, will be faced with the choice of playing Mike Hartline or freshman Randall Cobb.  Hartline has started both Wildcat games so far this season, but Cobb relieved him late in the first quarter and ran for two touchdowns and passed for another.

Last week vs. Maryland: Middle Tennessee won its first-ever home game against a team from a BCS guaranteed conference with the win over Maryland. It was the Blue Raiders’ fourth win over a BCS automatic conference team in 30 tries since joining the FBS ranks in 1999. It was also the Blue Raiders’ first-ever win over an ACC team after entering the game 0-6 and the first win by the SBC over the ACC all-time.  Alex Suber came up with the biggest play of his career late in the fourth quarter when he intercepted a pass in the endzone to thwart a Maryland drive that would have brought the Terps to within three points. The interception was just the second of his career.  The announced crowd of 22,605 was the sixth largest in school history and marked the second straight Top 10 crowd for the Blue Raiders.

North Texas Mean Green (0-2, 0-0 SBC)

This week at LSU: North Texas travels to Baton Rouge this week in what was supposed to be the second Sun Belt Conference opponent in as many weeks for LSU.  The aftermath of Hurricane Gustav forced the rescheduling of the Troy-LSU game and now the Tigers are coming off an unscheduled bye week.  LSU will feature two quarterbacks as Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee are both looking to establish themselves.  The UNT pass defense has struggled in its two previous games and Lee and Hatch will look to take advantage of that.  Perhaps most dangerous though is LSU’s veteran offensive line and a stable of running backs that could chew up chunks of yards and control the game tempo.

Last week vs. Tulsa: Riley Dodge saw the first action of his career at wide receiver in the first quarter. Dodge took a reverse 27-yards to the one-yard line, setting up Lance Dunbar for a North Texas touchdown. He finished with two rushes for 31 yards and five catches for 25 yards. Jeremy Knott’s 47-yard field goal to end the second half is the longest field goal by the Mean Green since Nick Bazaldua nailed a 50-yarder against LSU in game seven of the 2005 season. Knott also added a 22 yard field goal and two extra points.  Cam Montgomery earned the first start of his career at North Texas. The junior running back rushed for 62 yards at Kansas State last week, and added 55 yards on nine carries against Tulsa. The official attendance of 22,785 was the eighth largest crowd in school history.

Troy Trojans (1-0, 0-0 SBC)

This Week vs. Alcorn State: After taking an unplanned bye week, Troy will welcome the Alcorn State Braves to Movie Gallery Stadium for the Trojans’ home opener.  The Braves come into the contest with an 0-2 record after falling to Southeastern Louisiana and Grambling in the last two weeks of play.  Alcorn State was limited to 176 total yards and hurt themselves with five turnovers against Grambling last week. 

Last Week at LSU: LSU was forced to postpone its football game against Troy after Hurricane Gustav damaged Tiger Stadium and battered Baton Rouge worse than anticipated.  The game will now be played Nov. 15.  The most noticeable damage at Tiger Stadium were torn awnings that, along with their metal supports, were ripped off of an upper deck facades, crashing onto club seats below. Debris littered the stands and playing field soon after the storm had passed.  “This is a football game, nothing more, and the people of Baton Rouge have more to worry about right now than a football game,” said Troy Director of Athletics Steve Dennis. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Baton Rouge and LSU and we wish them nothing but the best as they work to overcome the effects of this storm.”

WKU Hilltoppers (1-1)

This Week at Alabama: WKU plays the final of three straight road games to open the 2008 season next Saturday at 13th ranked Alabama in a 6 p.m. kickoff in Tuscaloosa.  It is the first ever meeting between the schools, and WKU is 0-11 all-time against teams currently in the SEC.  Alabama is off to a 2-0 start this season after an impressive opening week win against Clemson and a 20-6 win over Tulane last week.  Special teams was the key to the game against Tulane as Alabama got its first two scores off a punt return for a touchdown and a blocked punt return for touchdown. 

Last Week at Eastern Kentucky: In possibly the final “Battle of the Bluegrass” for the foreseeable future, WKU posted touchdowns late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to pull away for a 37-13 win at Eastern Kentucky in the 85th meeting between the two rivals.  WKU now leads the all-time series over EKU 48-34-3 and David Elson upped his career record to 5-1 against the Colonels.  The Hilltoppers (1-1) picked up 248 yards on the ground, while limiting the Colonels to just 27 rushing yards on 14 attempts.  It was the fewest net rushing yards WKU has allowed to a Division I opponent since Western Illinois gained 19 net yards in a 42-7 Topper win on Oct. 22, 2005 in Macomb, Ill.  David Wolke filled in for injured starting quarterback K.J. Black and was 9-18 passing for 84 yards and one score.