Boston College Football vs. Western Kentucky: Hilltoppers Team Preview

Conference USA contender Western Kentucky comes to town this weekend for the noon opener. WKU is also 3-1 this season and had a narrow comeback win against Toledo a few days ago. Their only loss came in Week 1 against Alabama 63-0. Former Hilltopper Kye Robichaux may not be able to take the field for the Eagles, but let’s see what his former team can pull off.

attack

Redshirt sophomore Caden Veltkamp started at quarterback for the Hilltoppers at the start of the third game of the season against Middle Tennessee. He came off the bench when the starter was sidelined and led the team en route to CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Veltkamp is a tall 6-6 and a physical runner. He pulled off heroics in a bowl win last year and is ready to take it.

Against a Toledo team that was fresh off a win over Mississippi State, he was quiet for most of the game. But when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, he delivered a perfect performance to cement the comeback. Overall, he went 20/30 for 242 yards, threw a touchdown and ran for two more in the fourth. However, similar to Chile last week, his gunslinger mentality led to two interceptions and a fumble that nearly cost the game.

The WKU offense was poor at 3-for-12 on third downs and hasn’t been great this season with a conversion rate of just 38% (playing against Bama doesn’t help). They excelled through the air (20), but the ground game was limited to 2.4 yards per carry. Their line held up very well, allowing just one sack per game, but aside from Veltkamp’s rushing, there was still very little. Elijah Young was the team’s leading rusher this season and last, but was under 500 yards in 23 minutes and just over 100 yards in those four games. However, he is very capable from the backcourt.

Receiver Kisean Johnson was the main target with 336 yards and three touchdowns. The senior transferred from Alabama State after dominating the FCS. He was briefly committed to Vanderbilt and even had an offer from BC. Another speedster in Easton Messer is second on the team in receiving.

Timely takeaways

Focusing again on the Toledo game as the best game, much like BC’s, Western Kentucky’s defense is a little bent but unbreakable. They allowed two possessions inside their own 10 in the final minute of the game, but both were blocked by defensive back Devonte Mathews. They have the fourth-best red zone defense in the country at 53%. They also rank in the top 10 in fumbles recovered with four players.

The defense did a good job of putting pressure on opposing passers. Against a high-flying Rockets offense, they had six TFLs, including two sacks and six hurries. They’ve done well against the run so far, but it was a big problem last season. This year they have a few more depth players on the line, with a number of players showing pass rush results.

Mathews is the all-around safety who also leads the team in tackles. Alongside him, the secondary is full of transfers who have performed solidly so far. Still, they could be stronger on third down, allowing 10-18 and 1-3 on fourth down.

In the last two games, the tight ends have had some wiggle room for mismatches against this defense. For this reason I will take it Kamari Morales scores a touchdown as my best choice. I hate to encroach on Curran’s domain, but I met some Lewis Bond alternatives last week, so here we are.

Field fins

Punter Cole Maynard performed exceptionally well, averaging nearly 50 yards per punt. The coverage unit as a whole pushed opposing offenses back and even set up a safety against Toledo thanks to the former Tar Heel and son of an NFL player.

The Hilltoppers have had great success in recent years, knocking out several Power 5 teams along the way. The Eagles cannot take this game lightly.