Week One: Western Kentucky versus Austin Peay

Austin Peay at Western Kentucky: This is a matchup between FCS member Austin Peay and FBS and Sun Belt member Western Kentucky. Austin Peay went 3-8 in 2011 with losses to Cincinnati and Memphis in the FBS. Western Kentucky went 7-5 after bouncing back from an 0-4 start to the season with 7 wins in 8 games culminating with a blowout win over Troy in the season finale. The Hilltoppers were robbed of a chance to play in a bowl game last fall having the best record of all the teams to not play in a bowl game.

Offense: The Governors of Austin Peay were terrible on offense in 2011 ranking 85th nationally in the FCS accumulating only 329 yards per game. The rushing game was surprisingly efficient with 166 yards per game and a 4.4 yards per carry average. The Governors were only able to find the end zone 11 times in 11 games on the season. The passing game was the biggest struggle for Austin Peay with the Governors only able to throw for 159 yards per game and 13 touchdowns to go with 17 interceptions. The Governors turned the ball over 27 times on the season with 10 lost fumbles added to the 17 interceptions. The Governors only scored 18.8 points per game in 2011 ranking them 102nd nationally. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were not the most efficient team on offense in 2011 ranking 89tjh nationally in total offense with 348 yards gained per game by the offense. The Hilltoppers relied on a running game that got them 181 yards per game and 4.0 yards per carry on the season. WKU scored 25 rushing touchdowns on the season. The passing game for WKU was below par last fall with the Hilltoppers only putting up 167 yards per game in the air. This total ranked WKU 102nd nationally in passing and only found the endzone 11 times in the air with 13 interceptions. The Hilltoppers turned the ball over 23 times on the season. WKU only scored 22.9 points per game last fall ranking them 89th in the all-important scoring offense statistic. EDGE: WKU

Defense: Austin Peay struggled badly on defense in 2011 giving up 417 yards per game as the 104th ranked defense in the FCS. The Governors gave up 109 yards per game on the season with a 4.6 yards per carry average and 22 touchdowns allowed on the season. The Austin Peay passing defense gave up 218 yards per game with another 20 touchdowns and a total of 42 touchdowns allowed in 11 games. The Governors were only able to intercept 7 passes and force a total of 20 turnovers on the season. The Governors gave up 36 points per game ranking them as the 12th worst scoring defense in the nation last fall. Western Kentucky just missed out on being a top 50 ranked defense last fall finishing 53rd nationally with 373 yards per game allowed to opponents. The WKU rush defense only gave up 134 yards per game on the ground but a not-so-impressive 4.4 yards allowed per carry. The Hilltoppers gave up 18 rushing touchdowns on the season. WKU gave up 238 yards per game in the air with 20 touchdowns on the season but intercepted the ball 13 times on the season. WKU forced 20 turnovers on the season in 12 games played. The Hilltopper defense gave up 24.8 points per game last fall ranking the WKU defense 55th nationally in the scoring defense category last fall. EDGE: WKU

Coaching: Rick Christophel is the head coach of the Austin Peay Governors and is entering his 6th season as the head coach. Christophel started coaching in 1975 at Austin Peay before heading to Southern Arkansas, Cincinnati, Rice, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, UAB and finally Austin Peay again as head coach. Christophel is 18-37 in his 5 years as the Governors head coach. Willie Taggart is the head coach of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and is entering his 3rd season as head coach. Taggart started coaching in 1999 with the Hilltoppers before leaving for Stanford in 2007. After his stint at Stanford, Taggart returned to WKU to coach his alma mater. In his 2 seasons as the WKU head coach, Taggart is 9-15 with a 7-5 season last fall. EDGE: WKU

The two teams have played 41 times in the past with WKU holding a 34-6-1 overall record in the series. WKU won the most recent meeting by the score of 24-14 in 2006.

The Hilltoppers struggled to start the 2011 season losing their first 4 games following a 2-10 season in 2010. Game 5 at MTSU changed the course of Hilltopper football with WKU coming away with a 36-33 2OT win that started a streak that saw WKU win 7 of 8 games to end the season. WKU was denied a bowl berth with a 7-5 season and look to find their first bowl berth in school history. Expect the Hilltoppers to come out and struggle slightly on offense in the first quarter but be things on track and beat Austin Peay comfortably.