It's time to respect Western Kentucky as a NY6 contender

[nashvillegoldenflash]

"This program is no flash in the pan. While Western Michigan pulled off an undefeated season this year, it's not a stretch to think the Hilltoppers could do the same in 2017."

As a big fan of the Mid-American Conference, I will be very disappointed if Western Michigan doesn't represent the MAC well in the Cotton Bowl against Wisconsin on Monday. Regardless of how you view the MAC, I would expect most fans of G-5 schools will be pulling for the Broncos against the Badgers. Certainly, a win against a top Power-5 program would give the G-5 more credibility. At any rate, if Western Michigan can go undefeated and play in a NY6 bowl game why can't Western Kentucky in 2017?

Boca Raton Bowl score: It's time to respect Western Kentucky as a NY6 contender

Western Kentucky might not be a household name, but the Hilltoppers are slowly working their way toward it.

And while the rest of Conference USA continues to retool and rebuild, WKU remains a stabilizing force at the top of the conference.

Since joining the league in 2014, the Hilltoppers have won the C-USA championship twice and been to three consecutive bowl games -- winning all three, including Tuesday's dominant 51-31 victory against Memphis in the Boca Raton Bowl.

No matter how the other teams in the conference have retooled, no matter which pieces are rotating (Brandon Doughty and Mike White at quarterback), no matter who the coach is (Willie Taggart, Bobby Petrino, Jeff Brohm and next year Mike Sanford), the one constant is Western Kentucky just wins.

The Hilltoppers split a pair close games against Vanderbilt in the past two years. And while they struggled with Alabama this year in a 28-point loss, so did everybody else.

The Toppers don't just win, they win while having fun.

Against Memphis, the Hilltoppers ran a throwback screen to an offensive lineman for a touchdown. Just before the end of the first half, they faked a kneel down near their end zone and ran 53 yards to get into scoring range.

This is the golden era of Western Kentucky football, and it's time to start thinking about them as a New Year's Six team alongside the powers in the American Athletic Conference.

This program is no flash in the pan. While Western Michigan pulled off an undefeated season this year, it's not a stretch to think the Hilltoppers could do the same in 2017.

With nonconference games against Eastern Kentucky, Illinois, Ball State and Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky may have a zero in the loss column come December ahead of the Conference USA title game.

Florida Atlantic and FIU just hired new coaches in an effort to to climb their way up to the top of the conference. They may have made two splashy hires in Lane Kiffin and Butch Davis, respectively, but Western Kentucky has done it with lesser known names -- at least at the time of their hire.

WKU hired Willie Taggart back to the school after three years on Jim Harbaugh's staff at Stanford.

He spent seven years at the school before that and played quarterback for the Hilltoppers in the 1990s.

Then, when Taggart left for South Florida, the Hilltoppers once again looked within and promoted Jeff Brohm.

Western Kentucky isn't able to lure the big-name coaching candidate away from a top programs, but bringing in Mike Sanford from Notre Dame will help keep intact one of the most potent offenses in college football.

If one thing is certain about WKU's future in C-USA, it's that it should be on top of the hill for a long time to come.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...-respect-western-kentucky-as-a-ny6-contender/

 

[SBeardenRivals]

I read that article when it was released. I respect the opinion for sure, even though the story had several flaws and wrong information in it.

WKU has earned the right to start getting some national love. The Tops have been consistent winners for several seasons now. If Sanford can continue this trend and push it up one more level then WKU could very realistically become the new Boise St of the east which is what the administration was shooting for when the transition to FBS was announced.

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

"If Sanford can continue this trend and push it up one more level then WKU could very realistically become the new Boise St of the east which is what the administration was shooting for when the transition to FBS was announced."

Shane, a lot of mid-majors have strived to become the "Boise State of the East" but have fallen short of it for various reasons. Back in 2012, Eric Adelson, a Yahoo Sports writer, wrote the article, "Frank Solich transforming Ohio University into the 'Boise State' of the Midwest," after the Bobcats went 10-4 in 2011 and defeated Penn State 23-14 on the road in their first game of the 2012 season. Ohio won its first seven games before losing to rival Miami and subsequently lost four of its last five regular season games due to injuries. By the time the Bobcats played Kent State in the last game of the regular season, Ohio had three more players go down with serious injuries, and had lost 10 players who were projected as starters when the season began to injuries. However, the Bobcats won their bowl game against Louisiana Monroe 45-14 in the Independence Bowl but still finished the season with a somewhat disappointing 9-4 record. 2012 was the year that #19 ranked Northern Illinois defeated #18 ranked Kent State in double overtime in the MAC Championship game to earn a bid to play Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Temple is another school that has been mentioned as the "Boise State of the East" (click the second web address below) but has also not lived up to its self-proclaimed title. Last year, the Owls gave a strong Notre Dame team a good game before losing 24-20 in South Bend. This is the same Notre Dame team that lost to Clemson 24-22. However, the Owls lost their last two games to Houston and Toledo. Although the 24-13 loss to Houston in the AAC Championship game was respectable, the 32-17 loss to the Rockets in the Boca Raton Bowl was certainly a setback for the Owls. However, Temple's 27-10 win over Penn State last year was significant and is the kind of P-5 program that a mid-major has to defeat in order to get the respect it seeks on a national level.

If Western's goal is to "push it up one more level" to defeat schools like Indiana and Illinois, then I agree it's certainly attainable. The Tops play Illinois next season in Champaign, Wisconsin in Madison in 2018, and Indiana in Bloomington in 2019 and 2020.

Tomorrow, Western Michigan plays the #8 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in the Cotton Bowl. The Broncos have already defeated Northwestern and Illinois this season but Wisconsin presents a much stronger challenge.

I really don't know what school will become the "Boise State of the East" but whoever it is will have to win its share of games against P-5 programs. Unfortunately, history has shown that mid-majors lack the size and depth to consistently win against P-5 teams because of the inherent advantages the power schools have over the G-5 conferences.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--f...io-into-the--boise-state--of-the-midwest.html

https://templefootballforever.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/finally-the-boise-state-of-the-east/

 

[SBeardenRivals]

Yes, A lot of schools have tried to attain that moniker. It takes consistent high level of success over a number of years and a little bit of luck as well. I think most would agree that WKU has far exceeded expectations this early into their FBS days. Few fans saw back to back 11+ win seasons when the 0-26 streak was going on. The problem with the schools you mentioned above is they were not able to capitalize on their success and continue it. I am of the opinion that WMU was a flash in the pan this year. No doubt they were a good team and they won the games they had on their schedule. However, it was somewhat of a perfect storm as the MAC was weaker as a whole this year then it has been in previous seasons.

The problem most schools who aspire to be "Boise of the east" have is continuity. If you have multiple good seasons you no doubt lose your head coach to a P5 program. This normally is the cause that derails the momentum train from continuing the steep uphill climb.

You are 100% correct in the fact that you have to beat the P5 teams that you play. Losing games to teams like Vanderbilt will not help your cause. And you have to win the big games on occasion to against teams like Wisconsin.