# 2012 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

The 2012 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Willie Taggart and played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium. They were a member of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in fifth place. They were invited to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, their first bowl appearance since joining FBS in 2007, where they were defeated by Central Michigan.
After a three-year record of 16–20, head coach Willie Taggart resigned in December to become the head coach at South Florida. Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry coached the Hilltoppers in Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Bobby Petrino was hired as the school's new head coach on December 10, 2012.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Austin Peay* | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky | ESPN3 | W 49–10 | 16,327 |
| September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Alabama* | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, Alabama | SECN | L 0–35 | 101,821 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | at Kentucky* | Commonwealth StadiumLexington, Kentucky | ESPNU | W 32–31 $^{OT}$ | 53,980 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | Southern Miss* | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky | ESPN3 | W 42–17 | 23,252 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | at Arkansas State | Liberty Bank StadiumJonesboro, Arkansas | ESPN3 | W 26–13 | 25,160 |
| October 11 | 6:30 p.m. | at Troy | Veterans Memorial StadiumTroy, Alabama | ESPNU | W 31–26 | 16,426 |
| October 20 | 3:00 p.m. | Louisiana–Monroe† | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky | ESPN3 | L 42–43 $^{OT}$ | 22,323 |
| October 27 | 6:00 p.m. | at FIU | FIU StadiumMiami | ESPN3 | W 14–6 | 12,842 |
| November 1 | 8:15 p.m. | Middle Tennessee | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky (100 Miles of Hate) | ESPNU | L 29–34 | 17,327 |
| November 10 | 12:00 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky | SBN/CSS | L 28–37 | 14,185 |
| November 17 | 6:00 p.m. | at Louisiana–Lafayette | Cajun FieldLafayette, Louisiana | ESPN3 | L 27–31 | 20,314 |
| November 24 | 12:00 p.m. | North Texas | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky | SBN/CSS | W 25–24 | 11,074 |
| December 26 | 6:30 p.m. | vs. Central Michigan* | Ford FieldDetroit (Little Caesars Pizza Bowl) | ESPN | L 21–24 | 23,310 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Austin Peay

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Governors | 9 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 28 |
| Hilltoppers | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |

### @ Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #1 Crimson Tide | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### @ Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 32 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
The win over the Wildcats of the SEC marks the Hilltoppers first ever win over a team from a Bowl Championship Series conference..

### Southern Miss

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Hilltoppers | 14 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 42 |

### @ Arkansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| Red Wolves | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

### @ Troy

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
| Trojans | 10 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 26 |

### Louisiana–Monroe

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Warhawks | 0 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 43 |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### @ FIU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Panthers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |

### Middle Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Raiders | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 29 |

### Florida Atlantic

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 14 | 7 | 16 | 37 |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |

### @ Louisiana–Lafayette

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
| Ragin' Cajuns | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |

### North Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mean Green | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 25 |

### Central Michigan–Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Chippewas | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
This will be the Hilltoppers first bowl game since becoming a member of the FBS in 2007.