Middle Tenn State Blue Raiders vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 9/28/2023, 7:30pm

Hilltoppers 31 – Blue Raiders 10, Attendance: 14,712

Weather: Sunny, 75; Ticket: $22 (Stubhub), Face: $25, Parking: $0

They aren’t called the Hilltoppers for nothing, by Tree

Western Kentucky is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I drove the two hours from Louisville to get there. Nashville, however, is an hour closer. I don’t think anyone would categorize Bowling Green as a destination city, but there’s plenty to do within an hour or two. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is close, so is Mammoth Cave National Park. If you like being in the dark and/or drunk, Bowling Green has plenty to offer. The town itself is a typical college town. The campus and surrounding area is hilly so the Hilltopper moniker makes entire sense. It is easy to get quality steps in when walking the campus. It has some unique features of which my favorite is the site of the former stadium. They left some of the original stadium columns and concrete bleachers on campus. It makes for a nice amphitheater type architectural feature on campus. Another notable feature is the WKU water tower behind the stadium. It is pretty cool to see their mascot, Big Red, peering down from the tower onto the field.

Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium is located on campus and may be slighter smaller than its name. That is a bit unfair as the stadium is the right size for the student body. The Hilltoppers play in Conference-USA which is starting to move games to Tuesdays and Thursdays to chase TV revenue. Per the fans I talked to, the impact on tailgating has been palpable. There are tailgating spots for students and fans right on the campus (they actually spray parking lines on some the grass surrounding campus buildings) in addition to the traditional parking lot spaces. To say they were not very robust would be an understatement. However, the folks I talked to were very nice and shared some top shelf bourbon with me. If you are a visiting fan, there are lots of spots where you can tailgate for free. I was assured by several folks that the tailgating is much better on Saturdays. It is also kind of broken up into groups, students and Greek life are in one section, commercial tailgating spots in another and then your more traditional drive your car up and tailgate spots. In any case, if you want to tailgate at WKU, it looks like it can be easily pulled off.

The stadium is small but modern. There’s a sign inside the stadium, “Welcome to the Hill” and another that said, “Champions climb here”. Both of which I think fit the school and site very well, but they don’t seem to resonate with the fans. It is too bad because short, snappy references like that can help cement traditions and secure their place in college football lexicon. When I went to buy tickets, there were not many left either at the school or in the after-market. I ended up on the 40-yard line, visitors side for $22. Since they were playing cross state rivals MTSU (“a hundred miles of hate”), I assumed it would be a packed stadium. It was quite the opposite. I was told there were a couple of factors contributing to the sparse crowd – local school fall break and the Thursday night schedule. I would also speculate that at small schools, season ticket holders don’t often sell their tickets online because of the limited market, hassle, etc. The stadium has only one scoreboard and no ribbons. There is a grass area in one endzone where the students tend to congregate. It is mostly aluminum benches with seat backs on the center of the home field side. Given its size, any ticket is going to give you a decent seat. The concessions were okay with a serviceable, if plain, souvenir cup. The WKU band was good, but to be honest, the MTSU band stole the show, rocking all game in the stands. Props to WKU for also letting them play at halftime where they sounded great.

Fans did not mention any notable traditions other than waving a red towel. It took me awhile, but I realized that the WKU logo is actually a hand waving a red flag. I was a bit embarrassed that I had never noticed that before. They have the occasional bits with the students, including an extremely difficult Punt, Pass and Kick contest. Starting at the back of the endzone, you must punt first, but the pass starts from where the ball lands, not where it rolls. The kid in the contest was left with about a 50-yard field goal to win. Not surprisingly his kick was short by about 20 yards.

 In terms of cheers, there is the standard “Another Hilltopper first down”. I much prefer the shortened “Gooo Tops!” cheer they also use. After they score, the fans stand up and clap as the stadium shoots off fireworks. When there is a crucial down, they go into “Code Red” and start waving their tails. All this was less dramatic give the small crowd, but I could see where the Tops have a very strong foundation in the traditions game. However, without a doubt, their best contribution is their mascot “Big Red”. A large, red amorphous dude, who may be Grimace’s cousin, he gives WKU instant recognition. Unfortunately, he did not seem that noticeable during the game. I was disappointed not to get a photo of/or with the big fella.

As mentioned, WKU was the favorite for this game, probably due to the strength of their offense. The Hilltopper’s QB, Austin Reed, could flat out sling it. The first quarter started out slow with the teams trading punts until WKU had a quick drive culminated with an 18 yard touchdown pass. They then held MTSU to a three and out. WKU then drove the length of the field, culminating with a field goal. It was 10-0 Hilltoppers at the end of the quarter. MTSU finally managed to get a field goal in the second quarter, which WKU answered with a touchdown. It was 17-3 when catastrophe struck MTSU when they fumbled on their own 31 yard line with 49 seconds left in the half. The Hilltoppers took full advantage with QB Reed hitting two passes and then running it in from the one yard line. The only negative was that they missed the extra point, making the score at the half, 23-3.

This game looked like it was all over, but the MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill must have given a fiery speech. The Blue Raiders came out fired up, drove down the field and scored a touchdown. It was now 23-10 and I was fully invested since MTSU was getting 6.5 points. It got worse for me as the Blue Raiders forced WKU to punt on their next drive. MTSU then drove all the way to the WKU three-yard line. Credit to MTSU’s Stockstill because he went for the touchdown. Unfortunately, they were stopped short and WKU took over. They didn’t score but did manage to gain some valuable field position before they punted. At this point the game got a little sloppy with the teams trading interceptions and punts. It took a while, but finally in the middle of the fourth quarter, WKU scored again. They also converted the two-point try, making the score 31-10. The win, and my wager, were safe.

One thing that I found unusual about Western Kentucky are the white squirrels running around campus. They aren’t albinos but white versions of the Eastern Gray Squirrel, due to a condition called leucism. The biggest difference between leucism and albinism is that albino animals have red eyes because their cells are incapable of producing melanin, a protein responsible for pigment. With reflexes sufficiently slowed by the bourbon I was drinking, and I missed getting a photo of the white squirrel I saw. You will just have to take my word for it that they are pretty cool to see.

Western Kentucky is an experience in evolution. They have a good start on what could become memorable traditions and their quirky mascot is the “Tops”. Bowling Green is also in an area surrounded by a number of places and activities that could result in an enjoyable long weekend. I found the fans to be friendly and inviting. The campus is also nice, if a bit hilly. To climb to up to the upper echelon of small schools like App State, WKU and Big Red have some work to do. It is not yet must-see, but it is not a stadium to avoid. With Conference USA pushing mid-week games, it would be a great stadium to pair with a visit to University of Kentucky, Louisville, or Cincinnati.