WKU Football: Gameday Information for the Lending Tree Bowl Against Georgia State
By: Ross Shircliffe
Tags: College Football, Football, NCAA Football, Wku Hilltoppers, Wku Football

2017 Cure Bowl. Photo from Stephen Dowell. Orlando Sentinel

The roller coaster 2020 Western Kentucky football season wraps up today as Hilltoppers play Georgia State in the Lending Tree Bowl down in Mobile. With a win, the Hilltoppers will finish at 6–6 and close their season with a lot of momentum as a win today will be their fourth straight.

If you need to know any of the game information, look no further — we have you covered.

Location

Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mobile, Alabama

Time

2:30 PM CT

Weather Forecast

Forecast from Accuweather

TV

ESPN

Mike Couzens (Play by Play), Jay Walker (Analyst)& Dawn Davenport (Reporter) on the call

Radio

Hilltopper IMG Sports Network

Randy Lee(Play by Play), Leo Peckenpaugh(Analyst) & Terry Obee (Sideline) on the call

Gameday Information

WKU Hilltoppers Bowl Guide

Georgia State Game Notes

LendingTree Game Day Program

Betting Lines from Sportsline.com

Georgia State -3.5

Over/ Under: 50

Moneyline: Georgia State -180

Current Records

WKU: 5–6 (4–3 in Conference USA)

Georgia State: 5–4 (4–4 in Sun Belt)

Last Week

On December 6th, WKU traveled down to Charlotte to face a 49er squad that hadn’t played since Halloween. In a game that the Hilltoppers dominated throughout, they jumped out to 17–0 lead at the half. The Hilltoppers would stretch that lead to 30–7 as they outgained the 49ers 436–309 on the day. Each team would trade some garbage time scores as the Hilltoppers cruised to a 37–19 Win, their third in a row to finish the regular season at 5–6 overall.

On November 28th, Georgia State hosted arch-rival, Georgia Southern. After falling behind 14–3 in the early second quarter, the Panthers would respond by ending the half on a 10–0 run to cut the halftime deficit to one. Georgia Southern would extend their lead to 24–13 early in the fourth quarter before the Panthers would answer. Georgia State would control the game the rest of the way as quarterback Cornelious Brown IV passed for 372 yards and the Panthers would end the game on a 17–0 run en route to a 30–24 Win as Georgia State finished their season at 5–4 overall.

Coaches

Tyson Helton- 2nd Season- 14–10 Overall

Shawn Elliott-5th Season Overall- 22–30 Overall- 4th Season at Georgia State- 21–25 in Atlanta

Series

Series Tied at 1–1

Graphic from Winsipedia.com

Last Meeting

During the 2017 Cure Bowl, the 6–6 Hilltoppers would meet the 6–6 Panthers with a winning record on the line. The Mike Sanford coached Hilltoppers fell behind early after a Panther field goal but answered with a 54-yard bomb from Mike White to Deon Yelder as the Hilltoppers would take a 7–3 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Panthers would respond with a touchdown of their own on a 26-yard run from DeMarcus Kirk making it 10–7 a couple of minutes later. Ryan Nuss would tie it up at 10 to start the 2nd quarter but it was all Panthers from there on out as they would go on a 17–0 run putting the game away before a garbage-time Touchdown pass from Mike White to Deon Yelder made it respectable. Georgia State would prevail handing WKU a 17–27 Loss, clinching their first losing season since 2010 as they finished 6–7 during Mike Sanford’s debut season.

Relevant Reading

Injury Report by USA Today

For WKU:

LB- Clay Davis- Out- Knee

TE- Dalvin Smith- Out- Lower Leg

WR- Dayton Wade- Probable- Lower Leg

WR- Xavier Lane- Out- Knee

For Georgia State

Not Available

Excitement Level —7

While this may not be a marquee matchup, the Hilltoppers still have a lot to play for. A losing season is on the line should the Hilltopper not prevail. Should they win they’ll have the aforementioned .500 record & 4 straight wins to hang their hat on. This game should be strength versus strength the Hilltoppers veteran defense will get tested one last time against a high powered Panther attack. Let’s hope that we can get revenge for the 2017 Cure Bowl and have a lot of momentum heading into a crucial 2021 season. Whatever happens, it’s exciting to watch our Hilltoppers one last time before we have to wait another 8 months to do it again. Go Tops!