2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Conference USA East Division 6–7 (4–4 C-USA) Mike Sanford Jr. (1st season) Junior Adams (1st season) Multiple Clayton White (1st season) 4–2–5 Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
The 2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team (WKU ) represented Western Kentucky University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Hilltoppers played their home games at the Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Mike Sanford Jr. The Hilltoppers finished the season 6–7, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. They received an invite to the Cure Bowl where they lost to Georgia State .
On December 5, head coach Jeff Brohm resigned to become the head coach at Purdue . He finished at WKU with a record of 30–10, two bowl wins, and two C-USA titles. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt led WKU in the Boca Raton Bowl. On December 14, the school hired Mike Sanford Jr. as head coach.
In a preseason media vote, the Hilltoppers were picked to win the East Division again, receiving 20 of 28 first place votes.
Western Kentucky announced its 2017 football schedule on January 26, 2017. The 2017 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Hilltoppers will host CUSA foes Charlotte , Florida Atlantic , Louisiana Tech , and Middle Tennessee , and will travel to FIU , Marshall , Old Dominion , and UTEP .
The Hilltoppers will host two of the four non-conference opponents, Ball State from the Mid-American Conference and Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio Valley Conference and travel to Illinois of the Big Ten Conference and Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference .
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
September 2 6:00 p.m. Eastern Kentucky* Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass) FloSports W 31–17 18,614 September 9 7:00 p.m. at Illinois* Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL BTN L 7–20 41,923 September 16 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY Stadium L 22–23 16,223 September 23 6:00 p.m. Ball State* Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY Stadium W 33–21 17,590 October 7 7:00 p.m. at UTEP Sun BowlEl Paso, TX CUSA.TV W 15–14 20,418 October 14 3:30 p.m. Charlotte Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY FloSports W 45–14 16,754 .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}October 20 5:00 p.m. at Old Dominion Foreman FieldNorfolk, VA CBSSN W 35–31 20,118 October 28 3:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY Stadium L 28–42 12,441 November 4 11:00 a.m. at Vanderbilt* Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN ESPNU L 17–31 26,350 November 11 5:30 p.m. at Marshall Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV Stadium L 23–30 19,516 November 17 7:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate) CBSSN W 41–38 3OT 12,612 November 24 6:00 p.m. at FIU Riccardo Silva StadiumMiami, FL beIN L 17–41 16,199 December 16 2:30 p.m. vs. Georgia State* Camping World StadiumOrlando, FL (Cure Bowl) CBSSN L 17–27 19,585 *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Central time
Schedule source:
1 2 3 4 Total
Colonels 0 0 14 3 17 Hilltoppers 0 17 7 7 31
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 0 0 7 7 Fighting Illini 3 10 7 0 20
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 3 10 0 10 23 Hilltoppers 8 7 7 0 22
1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 7 0 7 7 21 Hilltoppers 7 10 0 16 33
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 0 8 7 0 15 Miners 0 14 0 0 14
1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 7 7 0 0 14 Hilltoppers 14 24 0 7 45
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 14 0 14 35 Monarchs 7 7 17 0 31
1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 10 10 0 22 42 Hilltoppers 7 14 7 0 28
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 7 3 0 17 Commodores 14 7 7 3 31
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 0 3 13 23 Thundering Herd 0 13 17 0 30
1 2 3 4 OT 2OT 3OT Total
Blue Raiders 0 3 0 21 7 7 0 38 Hilltoppers 7 0 3 14 7 7 3 41
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 3 7 7 0 17 Panthers 3 10 21 7 41
1 2 3 4 Total
Hilltoppers 7 3 0 7 17 Panthers 10 3 7 7 27
Name Title
Mike Sanford Jr. Head Coach Clayton White Defensive Coordinator Junior Adams Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Steve Spurrier Jr. Quarterbacks Mike Sanford Sr. Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs Geoff Dartt Offensive Line Jimmy Lindsey Defensive Line Jami DeBerry Safeties/Recruiting Coordinator Ryan Mahaffey Tight Ends Maurice Crum Jr. Linebackers
Source
Want to explore this topic further?
Ask Mako anything about 2017 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Free with your Surf account
This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.