Posts Tagged ‘western kentucky’

The science behind the Western Kentucky - Bobby Petrino marriage was evident from the start. Western Kentucky got instant credibility, a proven winner and unprecedented publicity in hiring Petrino. Monday afternoon's press conference hosted hundreds of onlookers, including a number of national media no doubt making their first trip to Bowling Green, Ky., and a national telecast via ESPN News. 

And Petrino got a second chance eight months after being ousted at Arkansas and a season spent on the figurative sidelines instead of the literal ones. 

"I basically have spent the last eight months working with my family, trying to make things right with my wife Becky and my children," Petrino explained. "We've been in counseling, and I've learned a lot."

Western Kentucky athletic director Todd Stewart said Petrino was his first choice in replacing the outgoing Willie Taggart. "The name Bobby Petrino is synonymous with consistent success at the highest level," said Stewart. "He is the guy to lead our program to a place it's never been, I'm convinced of that."

"This is the United States of America, and we're a country of second chances," said Stewart. "I was confident in talking to him and to other people that he deserved a second chance, and we're happy to give him that.

"There is no doubt he is a better man and a better coach because of it."

Petrino said that the decision to take the Western Kentucky job was a family one, stating that returning to the Bluegrass State after his tenure at Louisville was "like coming home."

"Football has never been a job for me, it's been a way of life and it's been that way for my wife Becky and our children," Petrino said. "It was time to get back into it."

Petrino listed off the standard goals for any new coach at a non-BCS program, expressing the desire to consistenly reach bowl games, compete for the Sun Belt title and ultimately reach the top 25, a BCS game. Petrino event went as far to say he hopes to turn the Hilltoppers into the next Boise State.

Petrino thanked Taggart, and with good reason. Taggart sheperded Western Kentucky into FBS, jumping from 2-10 in their maiden voyage to consecutive 7-5 seasons in 2011 and 2012. Petrino inherits a roster built in the Harbaugh Way, where running the ball and playing tough defense is the chief goal. "The fact that there's such a good base of tight ends and offensive linemen, that makes your job easier," said Petrino. 

Petrino and Stewart both fielded the obvious questions of how long a coach that jumped from Louisville to the Atlanta Falcons to Arkansas can possibly be expected to stay at Western Kentucky.

Stewart cited his confidence in the contract that WKU offered Petrino, which instantly makes him the highest-paid coach in the Sun Belt at $850,000 a year. 

After eight months of self-reflection, Petrino gave the most honest answer he can reasonably be expected to give: "You can't know what the future is going to hold, but we hope that we can be here as long as possible." 

With Willie Taggart departed for South Florida, defensive coordinator Lance Guidry well step in as the interim head coach for Western Kentucky as they face Central Michigan in the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26. 

That potentially put Guidry at an interesting place in college football history. Can anyone name another coach that has coached two bowl games as the interim head coach at two separate programs within two years?

Serving as an interim head coach is not an easy role, but Guidry's first go-round was a major success. After Mike Haywood left Miami (Ohio) for Pittsburgh after the 2010 season, Guidry stepped in to lead the RedHawks in against Middle Tennessee in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Guidry's pre-game speech (featured below) blew up on the Internet and was featured on SportsCenter for weeks. The speech worked, as Miami won the game, 35-21. 

Guidry left Miami (Ohio) for the defensive coordinator role under Taggart at Western Kentucky. Guidry helped the Hilltoppers improve from 2-10 the year before his arrival to consecutive 7-5 seasons, capped by the program's first bowl game later this month. The coach immediately boosted WKU's defensive standing, dropping their scoring defense average from 33.2 points per game in the year before his arrival (99th nationally) to 24.8 points per game in 2011. Western Kentucky's total defense ranking has dropped from 69th in 2010 to 53rd a year ago and all the way down to 23rd this fall. 

Guidry is a "players coach". They love playing fo him and he gets the best out of his guys. Western Kentucky will do their diligence and consider a number of candidates; but their is no doubt they have a great coach in their locker room right now.

We're not sure what speech Guidry has up his sleeve for Western Kentucky, but here's betting it's a good one. 

Multiple outlets have reported tonight that South Florida has hired Willie Taggart as its head football coach.

Taggart, 35, grew his coaching roots of the Harbaugh coaching family. Recruited by Jim Harbaugh to play for his father, Jack, Taggart was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Hilltoppers from 1995-98. Taggart stayed on after is playing career completed, coaching quarterbacks at WKU from 1999-02 and rose to offensive coordinator from 2002-06. 

Taggart left in 2007 to join Jim Harbaugh's staff at Stanford as the running backs coach, where he was named the FootballScoop Running Backs Coach of the Year in 2009 after coaching Toby Gerhart to an 1,871-yard season in which he came 29 votes shy of winning the Heisman Trophy. Taggart returned to Western Kentucky in 2010 to lead the Hilltoppers' voyage into FBS, taking the team from a 2-10 debut to consecutive 7-5 seasons in 2011-12. Taggart led Western Kentucky to the first bowl game in program history this fall, as the Hilltoppers will face Central Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 26.

True to his Harbaugh roots, Taggart's WKU teams specialized in physical football with an emphasis on running the ball. WKU running back Bobby Rainey and Antonio Andrews have been the Sun Belt's leading rushers all three years of Taggart's tenure, averaging 134 yards or more in each season.

Taggart takes over a team that won just one Big East game in each of the past two seasons, and finished the 2012 season dropping nine of its last 10 games. In an interesting note from Bowling Green Daily News beat writer Chad Bishop, Taggart's contract with Western Kentucky dictates that South Florida now must schedule a home-and-home series with the Hilltoppers. 

Willie Taggart had his eyes on South Florida since before the season. He will be the new head coach there. Pretty awesome.

— FootballScoop Staff (@footballscoop) December 8, 2012

Five total games on the schedule tonight. We've highlighted what stands out about three of the matchups.

Eastern Michigan at Ohio (6 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

Simply put, this game is a mismatch for head coach Ron English and the Eagles. Eastern Michigan enters the game at 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the MAC, while Ohio stands at 7-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Bobcats suffered their first loss of the season last week against Miami (Ohio), 23-20. 

In the Eagles' win, quarterback Tyler Benz threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns. The Bobcats gave up 311 passing yards in last week's loss, so Eastern Michigan's best chance at pulling the upset seems to be through the air. Another place the Eagles can victimize Ohio is in the red zone. Frank Solich's bunch places 113th nationally in red zone defense, allowing opposing offenses to score 22 times in 24 trips. Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan has produced points in 14 times in 16 trips, including 10 touchdowns.

Virginia Tech at Miami (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Miami enters tonight in first place of the ACC Coastal Division despite carrying an overall three-game losing streak. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has lost four of its past six games. Needless to say, both teams are desperate for a W.

Miami has struggled mightily on defense, ranking 11th or lower in the ACC in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. For Frank Beamer's team there has been a large defensive dichotomy between wins in losses. In the Hokies' four wins they have held opponents to 11 points per game, but in their four losses that number jumps to 37 points per game. 

The Hokies are Thursday night veterans as tonight will be their 25th appearance on ESPN's Thursday Night Football. They have won 19 of their previous 24 appearances. Tonight is their first of two straight Thursday night games; Florida State heads to Blacksburg next week. Virginia Tech is also 25-2 in November as a member of the ACC. 

Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

For what it's worth, this game was unanimously named the best matchup of the night among the FootballScoop staff. Both groups carry 3-1 Sun Belt records; WKU is 6-2 overall and MTSU is 5-3.

In Western Kentucky's lone Sun Belt loss, a 43-42 overtime setback to ULM, the Hilltoppers still managed to win the box score. Willie Taggart's team outgained the Warhawks by 64 yards, converted 11-of-17 third downs while holding ULM to 5-of-14, achieved seven more first downs, split the turnover battle and held nearly a 20-minute edge in time of possession.

Rick Stockstill's team has posted 40 points per game in its five wins, but less than 14 points per game in its three defeats. That's potentially a telling statistic as Middle Tennessee braces to face the Sun Belt's best defense. WKU leads the conference in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. The Hilltoppers have also posted more sacks and tackles for loss than anyone in the Sun Belt.  

When you think of the most efficient offenses in the country, points and yardage are usually some of the first stats to come to mind. 

Tonight when Western Kentucky takes on Troy, Willie Taggart and his staff bring an interesting offensive efficiency stat into the game.

In 61 drives this season, the Hilltoppers have gone three and out just three times. Back in week two against Alabama, Western Kentucky snapped a streak of 77 consecutive games in which the Crimson Tide had forced at least one three and out by not going three and out a single time during the game.

The Hilltoppers feature a balanced attack, ranking in the top 25 nationally in rushing offense (#25 - 213 ypg) and passing efficiency (#18 - 156.75), and have earned 53 first downs on the ground and 48 through the air.

Their opponent tonight, Troy, is impressive when putting up points under head coach Larry Blakeney. Under Blakeney the Trojans are an impressive 67-4 when scoring at least 35 points. The Trojans are coming off a strong defensive performance in their last game, where they allowed just 59 passing yards to South Alabama.

One area where both teams are strong is their pass defense. Troy has allowed just 207 yards passing per game (36th nationally) while Western Kentucky is allowing just 175 yards per game through the air (14th nationally)

The two teams will face off on ESPNU at 7:30pm ET.