Western Kentucky demolishes Charlotte 45-14

“What I really liked about tonight was I feel like our players and our coaches really played and coached for one another and had each other’s back in every situation and we put together a much more complete performance.”

That’s how WKU head coach Mike Sanford described his satisfaction with his team’s win Saturday night. The Tops showed a massive improvement from last week’s game where the Tops barely beat UTEP 15-14.

Sanford described the week following the loss as “challenging” for a number of reasons but did not divulge any other information “out of respect for the individuals involved on our staff”.

On the field, WKU put forth their best offensive performance of 2017 with 627 total yards, 506 of which were threw the air. Mike White was 33 of 47 for 398 yards with 5 passing TDs. Each of those five TD passes went to a different receiver. White also added a 2-yard rushing TD to his tally for the day.

Tight end Deon Yelder continued his strong year with 7 catches for 92 yards and touchdown. WKU wideout Kylen Towner had something of a breakout game with 6 grabs for 111 yards and a touchdown. 15 different WKU players caught a pass in this game. Leading the WKU rushing attack was running back Quinton Baker with 14 carries for 74 yards.

Charlotte QB Brooks Barden was 9 of 18 on the day for 61 yards with an interception by Juwan Gardner. The bulk of Charlotte’s offense came from their ground game which netted 248 yards. Running back Aaron McAllister had 22 carries for 157 yards and both of the 49ers’ scores. This marked the first time that any team had rushed for more that 200 yards against WKU since South Florida did it in the 2015 Miami Beach Bowl.

On the surface, WKU had their best offensive day of the year and it was a return to form in terms of what WKU fans have become accustomed to in recent years. The win does, however, have to come with a grain of salt because of the opponent. Charlotte hasn’t put up much of a fight against any FBS opponents save for a 1 point loss at FIU.

WKU, now 4-2 overall and 2-1 in league play, next hit the road for a Friday night date with Old Dominion at 6 PM ET on October 20th. Charlotte’s next game is at home on Saturday against UAB at 6:30 PM ET. The 49ers are now 0-7.