Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, November 6
Bowling Green, KY
2:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
Western Kentucky University
Preview: Q&A with WKU Beat Writer Jared MacDonald
11/5/2021 11:50:00 AM | Football
Bowling Green Daily News Journalist breaks down this year’s Hilltoppers
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Saturday will be CJ Windham's sixth rivalry game as a member of the Middle Tennessee football program, as the Blue Raiders make the trip 100 miles north to take on Western Kentucky at 2:30 pm. And even now, the super senior's excitement for this annual battle is evident as he thinks back.
"It's electric," Windham said of playing the Hilltoppers. "It's one of those games that you look at before the season and you're like 'I can't wait to be in this game. I can't wait to be a part of it.' Because the rivalry is something that you have to respect.
"When I first got here, it was something all the older guys told me. 'This game is that game.' It's just something you dream of as a kid. When you think of college football, you think of that rivalry game. I love being a part of it."
The MT-WKU rivalry, first played in 1914, is known for its fierceness on the field, but also in how evenly matched the rivalry has been over time. The Blue Raiders hold a slight lead in the overall record, 35-34-1, but are on a two game losing streak after falling 20-17 last year in Murfreesboro.
That year's Hilltopper team is not this year's, thanks in large part to the hire of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, who arrived this offseason from Houston Baptist and brought with him his air raid playbook and Bailey Zappe, his record setting quarterback for the Huskies. In their time at Bowling Green, they've led the Hilltoppers to the top passing offense in the country at 435.8 yards per game, and a top ten offense in both total yardage (3rd, 534.5 yards per game) and scoring (9th, 40.5 points per game).
Zappe wasn't the only Husky to join Kittley — leading wideout Jerreth Sterns also made the trip east to join his old coach, one of three wideouts to do so. Safety Tra Fluellen also made the trip east from Houston Baptist after the 2020-21 season, but ended up on the other end of this rivalry. He was complementary of his former teammates, emphasizing how good of people they were, but if he had a secret insight into them from the practice fields back in the day, he wasn't keen to share.
Slowing down the air raid, with it's four verticals, quick bubble screens and zone slashing routes, will be a tough assignment for the Blue Raider defense. Cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap, himself a legend in this rivalry, said that you have to respect the explosiveness the air raid brings. The key, however, is not to get beat on the short plays.
"We just can't give them plays," Gilstrap said. "We've got to make them earn it. Their quarterback does a phenomenal job of finding the spaces. We have to do a great job of tackling more than anything, so they don't get cheap yards on the bubbles or screens."
Offensively for the Blue Raiders, they were dealt a blow this week when it was announced Chase Cunningham will be out for the rest of the season with a lower body injury. The redshirt junior had been a sparkplug in Brent Dearmon's RPO heavy scheme, throwing for 1318 yards, 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions this year after taking over as the starter in MT's game on the road in Charlotte.
Head coach Rick Stockstill has not named a starter in Cunningham's place for Saturday, but both redshirt sophomore Mike DiLiello and true freshman Nicholas Vattiato are expected to see action under center when the game kicks off this Saturday.
GoBlueRaiders.com chatted with Jared MacDonald of the Bowling Green Daily News this week to learn a bit more about the Hilltoppers' season thus far, the impact of Kittley's scheme and where expectations are in Tyson Helton's third season at the helm.
1) The biggest headlines around WKU this year have been the implementation of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley's air raid offense, and subsequent prowess of quarterback Bailey Zappe, who followed Kittley from Houston Baptist to Bowling Green. What has made that duo so prolific together, and what has the offense's success done for the mentality of this year's team?
I think the success of the offense has a lot to do with how good Bailey Zappe is. For one, he's got a great, accurate arm -- which shows in his 3,407 yards and 33 touchdowns on 279-of-391 (71.4%) passing with just six interceptions. Zappe's the nation's passing average leader at 429 yards passing per game and WKU's passing offense also leads the country. Zappe's ability, combined with a solid, deep receiving corps, has allowed the Hilltoppers to hit chunk plays pretty consistently, which was a pretty nonexistent thing for them last year. Zappe's also extremely smart and knows the system well -- a major benefit from being in Kittley's offense prior to their arrival in Bowling Green.
I'd also point out Zappe's relationship with Jerreth Sterns -- another of four Houston Baptist transfers this offseason. He leads the country in receiving touchdowns (11), receiving yards (1,156), receiving yards per game (144.5) and receptions per game (11.6). Those two have been clicking since the start of the season.
The improved offense has totally changed the mentality of the team, in my opinion. WKU feels like it is in any game it plays because it can put up points, as it showed during its difficult non-conference schedule. It's much different than last season, when the defense carried the load and the offense struggled to move the ball and find the end zone.
2) Rick Stockstill was very complimentary of the Hilltoppers' running game in this week's press conference, saying their skill guys were talented and a threat even with WKU throwing the ball as often as they do. When Kittley does dial-up a "change up," as Stockstill called WKU's running game, who are some of the names Blue Raider fans should know?
The run game hasn't necessarily been bad at any point during the year, but lately it has just been more obviously good. The passing is always going to get the bulk of the attention with the style of offense Kittley has brought, but WKU also was battling from behind most of the time during its four-game losing streak, meaning it was going to be passing more. Starting with the shootout with UTSA, WKU averaged 4.8 yards per carry in C-USA play leading into last weekend's win against Charlotte where it rushed for 76 yards on 21 attempts -- but it didn't really need to do any more than that.
As far as who to watch out for, it just depends on who has the hot hand that game. It's been a running back by committee this season for WKU. Adam Cofield has 317 yards and four touchdowns on 63 carries, Noah Whittington has 250 yards and a score on 43 carries -- he's missed two games -- and freshman walk-on Kye Robichaux has 148 yards on 32 carries. Jakairi Moses has been used sparingly, but had a solid game at FIU a couple weeks ago, too.
3) It can be hard to be a good defense when your offense plays as fast as Western Kentucky's does, but the Hilltopper defense has shown growth throughout the year, and is coming off likely their best game of the season against Charlotte, holding the 49ers to just 13 points. When the defense is clicking, what are their biggest strengths as a unit, and who are some of the players that make that strength happen?
I think it starts with the big guys up front getting pressure on the quarterback. WKU played a solid non-conference schedule that included two Big Ten teams and Army, which doesn't throw the ball much, so it had trouble doing that. Through five games, WKU had five sacks, but doubled that number in the win at Old Dominion, and then had seven sacks at FIU the following week. The Hilltoppers got to Charlotte quarterback James Foster for three sacks last week. That pressure has helped create turnovers, and with WKU's potent offense, that usually leads to separation on the scoreboard.
Like I said, it starts up front. That group includes 2019 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year and the 2021 C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in DeAngelo Malone. The defensive end has 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks this year, and his 29.5 career sacks are most among active FBS defenders. Other defensive ends Juwuan Jones and Michael Pitts have combined for 5.5 sacks, and Tennessee transfer linebacker Will Ignont has been extremely disruptive during WKU's winning streak. The back end is anchored by safety Antwon Kincade.
4) Looking into the special team stats, John Haggerty III, Western Kentucky's Punter, has kicked 10 of his 16 punts this season more than fifty yards. In the event Zappe and co. are forced off the field, how big of a weapon is the Aussie punter for the Hilltoppers?
Big John Haggerty is a tremendous help for WKU and he has been for a few years now. He enters the week second among active FBS punters in career average at 46.7 yards per punt and he holds the top two single-season gross punting average records at WKU (2019, 45.9; 2020, 45.7).
5) After a tough non-conference slate to open the year, Western Kentucky is right in the thick of the C-USA East race with four games to play after three straight wins in their last three games. How high are expectations around the program in head coach Tyson Helton's third year at the helm of the Hilltoppers? Is it a C-USA Championship game appearance or bust?
The expectations around this program are extremely high. Many fans were discouraged after a tough start -- especially after a down 2020 season -- but as you said, it was against a tough non-conference slate. WKU also had a tough C-USA opener against the top team in the league. WKU obviously wasn't happy with the results, but it didn't seem to lose hope about what was possible. After the UTSA loss, Tyson Helton said, "We've got our whole season in front of us, everything we want to accomplish is in front of us," and since then, WKU hasn't lost.
I do think it is C-USA championship game appearance or bust. That's been the goal of the team since the very start of the year, and with the talent WKU has, it should be in the mix in late November. Helton has called Bailey Zappe a generational quarterback, and with a player like that, WKU should be in any league game it plays. If the defense plays like it has the last three games, I'd say a championship appearance would be extremely realistic.
"It's electric," Windham said of playing the Hilltoppers. "It's one of those games that you look at before the season and you're like 'I can't wait to be in this game. I can't wait to be a part of it.' Because the rivalry is something that you have to respect.
"When I first got here, it was something all the older guys told me. 'This game is that game.' It's just something you dream of as a kid. When you think of college football, you think of that rivalry game. I love being a part of it."
The MT-WKU rivalry, first played in 1914, is known for its fierceness on the field, but also in how evenly matched the rivalry has been over time. The Blue Raiders hold a slight lead in the overall record, 35-34-1, but are on a two game losing streak after falling 20-17 last year in Murfreesboro.
That year's Hilltopper team is not this year's, thanks in large part to the hire of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, who arrived this offseason from Houston Baptist and brought with him his air raid playbook and Bailey Zappe, his record setting quarterback for the Huskies. In their time at Bowling Green, they've led the Hilltoppers to the top passing offense in the country at 435.8 yards per game, and a top ten offense in both total yardage (3rd, 534.5 yards per game) and scoring (9th, 40.5 points per game).
Zappe wasn't the only Husky to join Kittley — leading wideout Jerreth Sterns also made the trip east to join his old coach, one of three wideouts to do so. Safety Tra Fluellen also made the trip east from Houston Baptist after the 2020-21 season, but ended up on the other end of this rivalry. He was complementary of his former teammates, emphasizing how good of people they were, but if he had a secret insight into them from the practice fields back in the day, he wasn't keen to share.
Slowing down the air raid, with it's four verticals, quick bubble screens and zone slashing routes, will be a tough assignment for the Blue Raider defense. Cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap, himself a legend in this rivalry, said that you have to respect the explosiveness the air raid brings. The key, however, is not to get beat on the short plays.
"We just can't give them plays," Gilstrap said. "We've got to make them earn it. Their quarterback does a phenomenal job of finding the spaces. We have to do a great job of tackling more than anything, so they don't get cheap yards on the bubbles or screens."
Offensively for the Blue Raiders, they were dealt a blow this week when it was announced Chase Cunningham will be out for the rest of the season with a lower body injury. The redshirt junior had been a sparkplug in Brent Dearmon's RPO heavy scheme, throwing for 1318 yards, 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions this year after taking over as the starter in MT's game on the road in Charlotte.
Head coach Rick Stockstill has not named a starter in Cunningham's place for Saturday, but both redshirt sophomore Mike DiLiello and true freshman Nicholas Vattiato are expected to see action under center when the game kicks off this Saturday.
GoBlueRaiders.com chatted with Jared MacDonald of the Bowling Green Daily News this week to learn a bit more about the Hilltoppers' season thus far, the impact of Kittley's scheme and where expectations are in Tyson Helton's third season at the helm.
1) The biggest headlines around WKU this year have been the implementation of offensive coordinator Zach Kittley's air raid offense, and subsequent prowess of quarterback Bailey Zappe, who followed Kittley from Houston Baptist to Bowling Green. What has made that duo so prolific together, and what has the offense's success done for the mentality of this year's team?
I think the success of the offense has a lot to do with how good Bailey Zappe is. For one, he's got a great, accurate arm -- which shows in his 3,407 yards and 33 touchdowns on 279-of-391 (71.4%) passing with just six interceptions. Zappe's the nation's passing average leader at 429 yards passing per game and WKU's passing offense also leads the country. Zappe's ability, combined with a solid, deep receiving corps, has allowed the Hilltoppers to hit chunk plays pretty consistently, which was a pretty nonexistent thing for them last year. Zappe's also extremely smart and knows the system well -- a major benefit from being in Kittley's offense prior to their arrival in Bowling Green.
I'd also point out Zappe's relationship with Jerreth Sterns -- another of four Houston Baptist transfers this offseason. He leads the country in receiving touchdowns (11), receiving yards (1,156), receiving yards per game (144.5) and receptions per game (11.6). Those two have been clicking since the start of the season.
The improved offense has totally changed the mentality of the team, in my opinion. WKU feels like it is in any game it plays because it can put up points, as it showed during its difficult non-conference schedule. It's much different than last season, when the defense carried the load and the offense struggled to move the ball and find the end zone.
2) Rick Stockstill was very complimentary of the Hilltoppers' running game in this week's press conference, saying their skill guys were talented and a threat even with WKU throwing the ball as often as they do. When Kittley does dial-up a "change up," as Stockstill called WKU's running game, who are some of the names Blue Raider fans should know?
The run game hasn't necessarily been bad at any point during the year, but lately it has just been more obviously good. The passing is always going to get the bulk of the attention with the style of offense Kittley has brought, but WKU also was battling from behind most of the time during its four-game losing streak, meaning it was going to be passing more. Starting with the shootout with UTSA, WKU averaged 4.8 yards per carry in C-USA play leading into last weekend's win against Charlotte where it rushed for 76 yards on 21 attempts -- but it didn't really need to do any more than that.
As far as who to watch out for, it just depends on who has the hot hand that game. It's been a running back by committee this season for WKU. Adam Cofield has 317 yards and four touchdowns on 63 carries, Noah Whittington has 250 yards and a score on 43 carries -- he's missed two games -- and freshman walk-on Kye Robichaux has 148 yards on 32 carries. Jakairi Moses has been used sparingly, but had a solid game at FIU a couple weeks ago, too.
3) It can be hard to be a good defense when your offense plays as fast as Western Kentucky's does, but the Hilltopper defense has shown growth throughout the year, and is coming off likely their best game of the season against Charlotte, holding the 49ers to just 13 points. When the defense is clicking, what are their biggest strengths as a unit, and who are some of the players that make that strength happen?
I think it starts with the big guys up front getting pressure on the quarterback. WKU played a solid non-conference schedule that included two Big Ten teams and Army, which doesn't throw the ball much, so it had trouble doing that. Through five games, WKU had five sacks, but doubled that number in the win at Old Dominion, and then had seven sacks at FIU the following week. The Hilltoppers got to Charlotte quarterback James Foster for three sacks last week. That pressure has helped create turnovers, and with WKU's potent offense, that usually leads to separation on the scoreboard.
Like I said, it starts up front. That group includes 2019 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year and the 2021 C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in DeAngelo Malone. The defensive end has 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks this year, and his 29.5 career sacks are most among active FBS defenders. Other defensive ends Juwuan Jones and Michael Pitts have combined for 5.5 sacks, and Tennessee transfer linebacker Will Ignont has been extremely disruptive during WKU's winning streak. The back end is anchored by safety Antwon Kincade.
4) Looking into the special team stats, John Haggerty III, Western Kentucky's Punter, has kicked 10 of his 16 punts this season more than fifty yards. In the event Zappe and co. are forced off the field, how big of a weapon is the Aussie punter for the Hilltoppers?
Big John Haggerty is a tremendous help for WKU and he has been for a few years now. He enters the week second among active FBS punters in career average at 46.7 yards per punt and he holds the top two single-season gross punting average records at WKU (2019, 45.9; 2020, 45.7).
5) After a tough non-conference slate to open the year, Western Kentucky is right in the thick of the C-USA East race with four games to play after three straight wins in their last three games. How high are expectations around the program in head coach Tyson Helton's third year at the helm of the Hilltoppers? Is it a C-USA Championship game appearance or bust?
The expectations around this program are extremely high. Many fans were discouraged after a tough start -- especially after a down 2020 season -- but as you said, it was against a tough non-conference slate. WKU also had a tough C-USA opener against the top team in the league. WKU obviously wasn't happy with the results, but it didn't seem to lose hope about what was possible. After the UTSA loss, Tyson Helton said, "We've got our whole season in front of us, everything we want to accomplish is in front of us," and since then, WKU hasn't lost.
I do think it is C-USA championship game appearance or bust. That's been the goal of the team since the very start of the year, and with the talent WKU has, it should be in the mix in late November. Helton has called Bailey Zappe a generational quarterback, and with a player like that, WKU should be in any league game it plays. If the defense plays like it has the last three games, I'd say a championship appearance would be extremely realistic.
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