2024 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team explained

The 2024 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represents Western Kentucky University in Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers are led by Tyson Helton in his sixth year as the head coach. The Hilltoppers will play home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.^[1]

Preseason

C-USA media poll

The Conference USA preseason media poll was released on July 19. The Hilltoppers were predicted to finish second in the conference.^[2]

Media poll
1	Liberty	197 (18)
2	Western Kentucky	173 (2)
3	Jacksonville State	166
4	Middle Tennessee	98
5	New Mexico State	97
	Sam Houston
7	Louisiana Tech	88
8	FIU	81
9	UTEP	76
10	Kennesaw State	27

Schedule

^[3]

Game summaries

at No. 5 Alabama

See also: 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide football team.

Statistics	WKU	ALA
First downs	10	25
Total yards	67–145	65–600
Rushing yards	27–42	47–334
Passing yards	103	266
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–40–2	12–18–0
Time of possession	29:25	30:35

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing		18/31, 92 yards, 2 INT
Rushing	Elijah Young	10 carries, 18 yards
Receiving	Moussa Barry	4 receptions, 27 yards
Alabama	Passing		7/9, 200 yards, 3 TD
Rushing		4 carries, 102 yards, TD
Receiving		4 receptions, 139 yards, 2 TD

vs. Eastern Kentucky (FCS) (Battle of the Bluegrass)

See also: 2024 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team.

Statistics	EKU	WKU
First downs	13	25
Total yards	266	467
Rushing yards	190	116
Passing yards	76	351
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	11–20–0	27–39–0
Time of possession	34:10	25:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Kentucky	Passing	Matt Morrissey	9/17, 70 yards
Rushing	Joshua Carter	19 rushes, 100 yards
Receiving	Marcus Calwise Jr.	4 receptions, 24 yards
Western Kentucky	Passing	TJ Finley	27/39, 351 yards, TD
Rushing	Elijah Young	13 rushes, 52 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Kisean Johnson	6 receptions, 119 yards

at Middle Tennessee (100 Miles of Hate)

See also: 2024 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team.

Statistics	WKU	MTSU
First downs	30	21
Total yards	631	514
Rushing yards	150	58
Passing yards	481	456
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	31–37–0	24–31–1
Time of possession	31:22	28:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing		27/30, 398 yds, 5 TD
Rushing	L.T. Sanders	8 rushes, 54 yds
Receiving	Kisean Johnson	8 receptions, 129 yds, 2 TD
Middle Tennessee	Passing	Nicholas Vattiato	24/31, 456 yds, 3 TD, INT
Rushing	Nicholas Vattiato	9 rushes, 21 yds
Receiving	Omari Kelly	9 receptions, 239 yds, 3 TD

vs. Toledo

See also: 2024 Toledo Rockets football team.

Statistics	TOL	WKU
First downs	17	16
Total yards	325	313
Rushing yards	125	71
Passing yards	200	242
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19–33–2	20–30–2
Time of possession	34:19	26:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Toledo	Passing		19/33, 200 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Tucker Gleason	12 rushes, 46 yds, TD
Receiving	Jacquez Stuart	3 receptions, 93 yds
Western Kentucky	Passing	Caden Veltkamp	20/30, 242 yds, TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Elijah Young	9 rushes, 36 yds
Receiving	Kisean Johnson	6 receptions, 73 yds, TD

at Boston College

See also: 2024 Boston College Eagles football team.

Statistics	WKU	BC
First downs	20	19
Total yards	355	279
Rushing yards	123	111
Passing yards	232	168
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–39–2	19–32–1
Time of possession	30:40	29:20

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Caden Veltkamp	25/39, 232 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Elijah Young	21 rushes, 85 yds
Receiving	River Helms	4 receptions, 72 yds
Boston College	Passing		19/32, 168 yds, TD, INT
Rushing	Kye Robichaux	18 rushes, 81 yds, TD
Receiving	Jaeden Skeete	4 receptions, 55 yds

vs. UTEP

See also: 2024 UTEP Miners football team.

Statistics	UTEP	WKU
First downs	18	20
Total yards	330	482
Rushing yards	152	218
Passing yards	178	264
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	14–24–1	18–27–1
Time of possession	30:23	29:37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Cade McConnell	3/7, 96 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Ezell Jolly	27 carries, 119 yards
Receiving	Kenny Odom	1 reception, 76 yards, TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Caden Veltkamp	18/27, 264 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing	Elijah Young	16 carries, 60 yards
Receiving	Easton Messer	6 receptions, 106 yards

at Sam Houston

See also: 2024 Sam Houston Bearkats football team.

Statistics	WKU	SHSU
First downs	23	22
Total yards	411	400
Rushing yards	130	165
Passing yards	281	235
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	29:45	30:15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Caden Veltkamp	20/29, 281 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Elijah Young	23 carries, 97 yards
Receiving	K. D. Hutchinson	3 receptions, 88 yards, TD
Sam Houston	Passing	Hunter Watson	6/9, 128 yards, 2 TD
Rushing		11 carries, 41 yards
Receiving	Simeon Evans	5 receptions, 59 yards, TD

Kennesaw State

See also: 2024 Kennesaw State Owls football team.

Statistics	KENN	WKU
First downs	18	24
Total yards	272	467
Rushing yards	176	191
Passing yards	96	276
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	13–26–1	17–22–0
Time of possession	32:54	27:06

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kennesaw State	Passing	Davis Bryson	13/26, 96 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Michael Benefield	16 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Carson Kent	3 receptions, 34 yards
Western Kentucky	Passing		17/22, 276 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Elijah Young	15 carries, 114 yards
Receiving	Easton Messer	2 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD

at New Mexico State

See also: 2024 New Mexico State Aggies football team.

Statistics	WKU	NMSU
First downs	17	14
Total yards	413	460
Rushing yards	116	331
Passing yards	297	129
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19–28–2	10–22–2
Time of possession	30:30	29:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Caden Veltkamp	18/27, 246 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Elijah Young	16 carries, 74 yards
Receiving	Kisean Johnson	5 receptions, 88 yards, TD
New Mexico State	Passing	Santino Marucci	10/20, 129 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Mike Washington	19 carries, 152 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Seth McGowan	3 receptions, 47 yards

Louisiana Tech

See also: 2024 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team.

Statistics	LT	WKU
First downs	18	12
Total yards	275	215
Rushing yards	209	63
Passing yards	66	152
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–15–0	18–26–0
Time of possession	39:38	20:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana Tech	Passing	Evan Bullock	12/15, 66 yards
Rushing	Amani Givens	17 carries, 103 yards
Receiving	Tru Edwards	7 receptions, 52 yards
Western Kentucky	Passing	Caden Veltkamp	18/26, 152 yards
Rushing	Caden Veltkamp	8 carries, 17 yards
Receiving	Kisean Johnson	4 receptions, 40 yards

at Liberty

See also: 2024 Liberty Flames football team.

Statistics	WKU	LIB
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Liberty	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Jacksonville State

See also: 2024 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team.

Statistics	JVST	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 Football Coaching Staff . Western Kentucky University Athletics . 2 February 2024.
2. Web site: FB: CUSA Announces Media's Predicted Order of Finish. July 19, 2024. September 24, 2024. conferenceUSA.com. Conference USA.
3. Web site: 2024 WKU Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . 2 February 2024.