Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton was very complimentary of Ohio State leading into the matchup Saturday. #GoBucks
Ohio State is back in the Horseshoe this Saturday, hosting its second-straight nonconference game against Conference USA foe, Western Kentucky. The Buckeyes will try to remain unbeaten and run their record to 3-0, but the Hilltoppers should provide a stiff challenge to the Ohio State defense with a high-flying offense that stresses teams schematically.
The defensive side of the ball isn’t anything to write home about, but there’s still some concerns when facing a team that can try to outscore the opponent. Still, it’ll be an uphill climb for the Hilltoppers to come into the ‘Shoe and knock off one of the best teams in the country, and head coach Tyson Helton is fully aware of that.
He met with the media earlier this week to discuss the matchup with Ohio State and had some pretty glowing remarks about the program including being excited to play in Ohio Stadium, the respect he has for Ryan Day’s offensive mind, the strength and skill of OSU, and more.
Check out Helton’s complete press conference thanks to the WKUSports YouTube channel.
And remember, we’ll have coverage leading up to kickoff at 4 p.m. ET, coverage during the game, and analysis after, so stay with us.
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Everything you need to know to get ready for the game against Western Kentucky. #GoBucks
Two weeks into the college football season, and it still feels like there are questions that need to be answered on this Ohio State football team.
With mediocre showings against Indiana and Youngstown State, the Buckeyes have dropped in at least one of the polls in consecutive weeks.
While the quarterback debate should pretty much be a done deal, the offensive line is struggling to open holes for the running backs. One has to believe an OSU program loaded with four- and five-star recruits would’ve manhandled the Penguins. But the running lanes were narrow and most big runs came after being bounced outside.
Ohio State welcomes Western Kentucky to the Horseshoe. The Hilltoppers are no pushover and may prove a formidable opponent. Will the Buckeyes take steps in the right direction as a trip to South Bend to face Notre Dame looms? Let’s hope so as we get ready for Week 3 of college football.
The countdown to kickoff continues with the seven best Group of Five players in the country.
Through College Sports Wire’s countdown to kickoff, the Power Five has been overwhelming the focus, and rightfully so. It’s time to look at the Group of Five and its top seven players entering this fall.
The Group of Five’s place in today’s college football landscape is interesting. Thanks to the transfer portal, many of the top players from Group of Five player programs eventually end up at Power Five programs. This was one major worry about the transfer portal and its potential impacts.
There are Groups of Five stars who still have chosen to stay at their respective programs – which is excellent news for college football. While the Group of Five has rarely produced true competitors for national championships, it remains a vital part of college football and what makes the sport special.
This caliber of players choosing to stay at Group of Five programs will only ensure that college football, despite widespread changes, remains healthy from top to bottom.
Honorable mentions for players who just missed the cut in today’s list include Southern Mississippi’s Frank Gore Jr., Colorado State’s Tory Horton, and Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley,
After transferring from West Florida, Austin Reed saw success following in Bailey Zappe’s footsteps. How does he look as a draft prospect?
Welcome to SKOL Search!
This series will be your guide to the 2024 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.
We are getting a head start this year by looking at the talent projected to be available in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft. Why start in the summer? It’s a good way to see how the players grow from year-to-year and we will be looking at players from a Vikings perspective.
Right now, the Vikings will have seven draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft.
Florida is losing a key member of its recruiting staff as defensive analyst Jamar Chaney departs for an on-the-field role at Western Kentucky.
After losing a few coaches from the staff a week ago, the Florida Gators received some more bad news on Tuesday. Defensive analyst [autotag]Jamar Chaney[/autotag] is leaving the program for an assistant coaching role with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.
Chaney was a major player for the Gators in the recruiting world, and losing him will likely hurt the team’s standing with a few top targets. He helped bring in safety [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] and was a factor for several members of the class of 2023.
This will be Chaney’s first season with an on-the-field title after serving as an analyst for Florida and Mississippi State before that. This was his second stint with the Gators after spending the 2019 season as Dan Mullen’s assistant director of player personnel.
Florida analyst Jamar Chaney is expected to be hired as the new outside linebackers coach at Western Kentucky, sources tell @On3sports.
Chaney was an All-SEC linebacker for Mississippi State in 2007 and selected in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He lasted until 2014 in the league and then began his coaching career at his alma mater, St. Lucie West Centennial high school.
It might take some time to see the impact of losing Chaney, but he was a key member of Florida’s recruiting staff. Napier will need to replace him with another strong recruiter, which won’t be easy this late in the offseason.
If the first week of college golf is any indication, we’re in for a doozy of a season.
Rose Zhang and Stanford dominated in the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach. Teammates at Holy Cross recorded albatrosses on the same hole in the same group. In an inaugural event, the Frederica Cup, multiple team scoring records were set and even an NCAA record was broken.
Nevertheless, college teams are back in action across the country for the fall season with plenty of big tournaments slated for the remainder of the calendar year, as well.
Golfweek takes a loop around the country to update you on all the latest news in the college game.
In the Frederica Cup at Frederica Golf Club in St. Simons Island in Georgia, which counted the five best scores from six golfers (as opposed to the normal four-count-five scoring format), top-ranked Vanderbilt blistered the field to the tune of 69 under to record a victory at the inaugural event, winning by three shots against No. 9 Oklahoma. William Moll won the individual title at 19 under, beating teammate Cole Sherwood by one stroke.
There was a weather delay with three holes to play, and the teams were tied at 67 under. Then Vanderbilt pulled away once play began again.
Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, the 2022 Ben Hogan Award winner, finished in third at 17 under, and Oklahoma freshman Jase Summy shot 15 under, along with teammate Drew Goodman and Mississippi State’s Ford Clegg.
Meanwhile, Wright State picked up right back where it left off last season. The Raiders won the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, the second straight season Wright State has won the event. Mikkel Mathiesen won the individual title after a playoff.
At the Fighting Irish Classic, Florida came away with the victory but mid major Georgia Southern finished only a stroke behind the Gators. Ben Carr, who finished runner-up at the 2022 U.S. Amateur, finished in solo fourth at 8 under. Teammate Mason Williams was a shot better at 9 under in third.
Colorado’s Dylan McDermott captured the title in a playoff, finishing at 10 under and tied with North Carolina’s David Ford.
Missouri won both the team and individual titles at the Tiger Turning Stone Intercollegiate. The Tigers defended their title from last year with the 11-stroke victory over runner-up, Stetson, and Jack Lundin finished at 13 under to win the individual crown.
Sarah Burnham got off to a great start in her head coaching career at Oakland.
In her first tournament as coach, Oakland captured the A-Ga-Ming Invitational in Kewadin, Michigan. Oakland won by three strokes over host Central Michigan. Freshman Bridget Boczar tied for first at 4 over but lost in a playoff to Eastern Michigan’s Alyssa DiMarcantonio. Paige Scott finished tied for third at 5 over for Oakland.
Western Kentucky freshman Sydney Hackett earned her first collegiate win in her first start for the Hilltoppers at the USA Intercollegiate at Magnolia Grove Crossing Golf Course in Mobile, Alabama. The freshman fired a school-record 10-under 206 for her 54-hole total, including a final-round 4-under 68, to claim the championship.
In just one collegiate start, Sydney Hackett is already a champion! 🏆
It is the first time a Lady Topper has taken home an individual championship since Megan Clarke won the Little Rock Golf Classic in Fall 2018.
Arkansas State won the event at 14 under par, beating South Alabama by five strokes.
On Monday, the ANNIKA Intercollegiate gets underway in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, right outside of St. Paul. The 54-hole event features some of the top women’s college golf teams in the country, including Wake Forest, Oregon and defending champion South Carolina.
Check out Draft Wire’s exclusive interview with Western Kentucky quarterback prospect Bailey Zappe
The 2021 season was one historic campaign for Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe.
After spending four years at Houston Baptist, Zappe entered the annals of college football history in his only season with the Hilltoppers. He broke the single-season records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns with 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns, respectively.
Zappe broke onto the NFL scene with his performance at Houston Baptist, and he boosted his draft stock tremendously with an incredible 2021 campaign. After performing at the both the Senior Bowl and the Combine, he looks to carry his momentum onto the next level.
Draft Wire had the chance to speak exclusively with Zappe about breaking records, transferring schools, proving doubters wrong, and much more.
JI: Coming off of such a record-breaking year, what does it mean to you to have the college record in yards and passing TDs?
BZ: It means a lot. The hard work that me, and my teammates, and the coaches, and our work that we put in the spring ball to summer workouts to fall camp, it was nice to see it all coming to fruition this past year, and to be able to have the year that we had on the offensive side. [It] just speaks volumes of having the guys around me that I had on the offensive line, our front five being number one, I think, in the nation in pass protection. And then, you just work your way to the receivers and running backs. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to have [for] my last year of college, and the way we went out was spectacular. It’s awesome.
JI: You had offensive coordinator Zach Kittley coming over from Houston Baptist at the same time as you, but how was that process transferring to a new school after four years at HBU?
BZ: I gotta admit, it was it was pretty hard to begin with. The decision to enter the portal, being at Houston Baptist for four years, it was kind of my home. I grew up with a lot of those guys, [I was] playing with those guys for four years. So, like I said, I was coming home, I was close to home; it was everything that I wanted. When Coach Kittley got the job to be OC in Western Kentucky, it prompted me to enter the portal, trying to see what other offers I could get.
Syndication: Lansing State Journal
Coming out of high school, I had only one offer, so I really didn’t get to go through the whole recruiting process. Being a transfer, I was able to hear from a bunch of big-time colleges. That was exciting for me. I’ve never been a part of that. But my heart was always with Kittley. Being in this offense for more years, talking with [Western Kentucky head coach Tyson] Helton – I’ve gotten a real good relationship with Coach Helton. I fell in love with the campus, fell in love with my teammates, and the school. It just definitely worked out.
JI: How would you say your time at Houston Baptist prepared you for your year at Western Kentucky?
BZ: Yeah, it prepared me. Words can’t really describe it. To be honest, being thrown in the fire my freshman year, starting 10 games out of the 11 my freshman year, it’s kind of in a scramble, looking back at how that’s prepared me throughout my entire college career preparation-wise. Knowing what to do, what not to do during the week of [the game], preparing what to look at, little keys like that to help you out on Saturdays. I think that, of course, there’s a lot of room for improvement, a lot of stuff to learn when I take that next step to the next level. Just having that foundation of being at Houston Baptist, being able to learn all that I did going to Western Kentucky, everything that we did. [I] learned even more than I did before with new coaches around me. I’m just really excited to learn as much as I can when I get to NFL and do as much as I can help to the team win.
JI: Not having much attention as a high school recruit, do you still have that chip on your shoulder to continue to prove those doubters wrong?
BZ: Of course, there’s a little bit of that. You still got that chip on [your shoulders], you’re still that 17-year-old kid. It’s a funny story: I remember going on a visit, and a coach looked me in my eyes was like, “you ever thought about playing receiver?” [It’s] kind of funny how I do all this crazy stuff at quarterback. But yeah, I definitely still have that chip on my shoulder. I’ve kind of gotten to [that] mindset by the thinking of people that believed in me from step one, those that [were] always in my corner when I had one Division I offer, those people that when I was in high school, when I was getting overlooked, [were] still in my corner. Those are the kind of people that I go to work everyday for, to prove those people right. That’s my mindset now, but I agree with you on that I still have that chip on my shoulder. I gotta prove these people wrong.
JI: I can’t believe a coach wanted you to switch positions.
BZ: I’m not gonna say the school, I don’t want them [to start a] fuss, but my dad was there right behind me, and that coach says to me, “Ever thought about playing receiver? You know, you could play receiver here.” I remember looking at my dad like, “We should probably leave.” I ain’t playing receiver.
(AP Photo/Butch Dill)
JI: You had the chance to go down to the Senior Bowl recently. How was that experience?
BZ: Oh, it was amazing. Definitely a dream come true, speaking of, outside the interviews and everything, being able to practice with some of the best of the best in the country and being able to meet those guys, throwing to some of those guys, build some of the friendships with those guys that, after our games or before my games, we used to watch on TV was amazing. And then we get to the football aspect of interviewing all the teams, playing the Senior Bowl, building those relationships with scouts, GMs, coaches, was spectacular. It was awesome. I’ve dreamed of being a part of the Senior Bowl. Being there was definitely something that I’ll tell my great-grandkids about. It was an awesome experience.
JI: Which quarterbacks have you grown up idolizing?
BZ: I was a Peyton Manning fan growing up my whole life. Seeing the way he prepares, seeing the way he played the game of football was something that I always looked up to, and he was kind of my role model growing up. Then, you know, when I knew I wasn’t going to be 6-5, I started looking at guys like Drew Brees, seeing the way that he overcame the same doubts that people have in me, height-wise and everything. He was the first person to shove all the height and all that stuff aside, like, “Look, you can play football. We’re not worried about height anymore.” That was one of the guys that have watched a lot; one of the greatest players to ever play the position.
And then of course, now Aaron Rodgers, the way he’s able to amplify plays, make every throw on the field [from] different arm angles. That’s some of the physical traits that he’s able to do and that he has. It’s another thing that I like to try to and mimic my game around and learn from them a lot.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
BZ: Football is – I’ve been playing since I was five – football has been life. Whenever I get the opportunity to step away and relax, [I’m] from South Texas, so we’re big in hunting, fishing. That’s what I do, get out in the outdoors, decompress, just hanging out with the family is what I like to do outside of football.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
JI: What’s the biggest fish you’ve ever caught?
BZ: It was actually in New Mexico: I caught a rainbow trout that was about 29 to 30 inches. It was an inch or two away from the state record, but it wasn’t the state record, so we threw it back in the river or the creek or whatever it was. If it was a state record, I would have kept it, but we measured it. We looked it up right on the spot. I was like, man, a few more years, I’ll come back and try to catch another one.
JI: Do you think you’re gonna go back there and try to break the record again during an NFL offseason?
BZ: Oh, absolutely. You got to go back and try again.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
BZ: You’ll get a guy that loves to win, a guy that’s gonna do everything he can in his power to help the team win as much as possible. A guy who has a mentality of being the first one in the facility, last one to to leave; someone that’s going to do everything he can to prove his game to help the team, and I say it many times, help the team win as much as possible and do everything I can.
We now have a new answer to two different trivia questions.
The next time someone asks Siri who owns the college football records for passing yards and touchdown passes in a single season, Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe will be the reply.
Zappe set the new marks in Saturday’s 59-38 win over Appalachian State in the Boca Raton Bowl, completing 33 of his 47 pass attempts for 433 yards and six touchdowns. He finished the 2021 season with 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdown passes, with just 11 interceptions.
While he may not be the first quarterback off the board in the 2022 NFL draft, his incredible production this season will certainly have pro scouts intrigued as they evaluate this year’s top passers.
Hilltoppers QB Bailey Zappe broke multiple huge college football records in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe entered Saturday’s RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl game against Appalachian State with 56 passing touchdowns this season. That was, by far, the most among FBS quarterbacks on the year, including 13 more touchdowns than Alabama quarterback and 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.
So after a stellar performance in the Hilltoppers’ season finale, Zappe now owns the FBS record for most passing touchdowns ever in a single season, as well as the record for most passing yards in a season. And the senior quarterback’s numbers for the year and for his team’s bowl game are outrageous.
With Zappe’s 56 touchdowns prior to the Boca Raton Bowl game, he needed four to tie former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow’s record of 60, set during the Tigers’ 2019-20 championship season.
And after throwing for four touchdowns in the first half against the Mountaineers to tie the mark, Zappe’s fifth touchdown pass of the game broke Burrow’s record. Here it is from about midway through the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley:
But, as we mentioned, that wasn’t the only record Zappe set Saturday.
He also broke the single-season passing yards record, which previously belonged to Texas Tech’s B.J. Symons at 5,833 yards. Going into the bowl game, Zappe previously had 5,545 passing yards on the season — also the most among FBS quarterbacks at that point.
Here’s a look at the moment Zappe blew past the passing yards mark in the second quarter on a 43-yard pass to junior wide receiver Jerreth Sterns:
🚨Bailey Zappe has broken the FBS passing yards record for a season!!!🚨 Zappe passes former Texas Tech QB BJ Symons (threw 5833 yards back in 2003)! pic.twitter.com/JpvF8Eg246
Leading Western Kentucky to a 59-38 victory over Appalachian State, Zappe completed 33-of-47 passes for 422 yards and six (!!!) touchdowns. So his single-season passing touchdown record is set at 62, while his single-season passing yards record is now 5,967.
Entering Saturday’s bowl game, Zappe already posted some incredible stats throughout his standout season. But once he broke two major college football passing records, fans were completely in awe of what he accomplished in 14 games this season.
