How Will Bobby Petrino do as Western Kentucky Head Coach?

After a messy split from Arkansas and surprise hiring at Western Kentucky, the college football world will be watching the Hilltoppers closely to see how coach Bobby Petrino will perform. While many may not like him, no one can dispute his coaching ability.

Western Kentucky finished fifth in the Sun Belt last season going 7-5 overall (4-4 Sun Belt) and suffered a heart breaking 24-21 loss to Central Michigan in the Little Caesars Bowl. Petrino will be looking
to improve upon Willie Taggart's last season as coach of the Hilltoppers before departing for South Florida.

Luckily for Petrino, Western Kentucky has several skilled players returning. Senior running back Antonio Andrews led the nation with 3,161 all purpose yards, joining Barry Sanders as the only players to ever eclipse 3,000 all purpose yards.

Receiver Willie McNeal returns after recording six receiving touchdowns last season. Joining him on the other side will be Austin Aikens, a sophomore who averaged 27 yards on just eight catches last season.

Petrino has always used tight ends as a focal point of his offensive schemes, and he will have plenty of options at the position. Converted receiver Tyler Higbee is tall and has good hands, while Mitchell Henry and Tim Gorski also expect to see the field.

The only question on offense comes at quarterback, although it's expected junior Brandon Doughty , who actually started as a freshman before an injury sidelined him, will likely fill the position.

Petrino's defense is largely intact, from the previos season, with the exception of the line. This was a talented squad, and one can assume it can only get better when Petrino finds the right "hogs" to anchor
the line, if you'll pardon the reference.

With all the returning talent, some early projections have Western Kentucky finishing third in the Sun Belt before leaving for Conference USA next season. The real question is, will Petrino be satisfied with
the possibility of finishing third or will he do something rarely achieved by a coach in his first season and win the conference outright? With new defensive coordinator Nick Holt, formerly of USC and Washington, implementing what is coming together as an aggressive 4-3 set, and offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm running the offense under Petrino's watchful eye, chances are Petrino has a team that should be more than capable of making the Hilltoppers last run in the Sun Belt a memorable one.

- Kevin Hicks

@kevinhicks77

kevin.projectcfb@gmail.com

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Preview

Saturday night at 7:00 the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns play host to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Both teams are in the middle of the Sun Belt conference standings. The Hilltoppers have already became bowl eligible with an overall record of 6-4, while the Ragin' Cajuns need one more win to gain their sixth of the season.

ULL dual-threat QB Terrance Broadway has 12 pass & 5 rushing TDs.

Although these teams don't have the "big names" that some fans maybe looking for, they are two decent teams, and will play hard against each other on Saturday night. They match up pretty well. ULL is ranked higher in passing yards and points scored, but WKU is higher in rushing yards and points scored against.

Basically we are going to be looking for ULL to try to air it out on WKU with their sophomore quarterback Terrance Broadway, who has thrown for nearly 1,800 yards, and rushed for another 328. Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers will be looking to give the ball to their junior running back Antonio Andrews, who has rushed for 1,141 yards and hit pay dirt eight times this season.

WKU will look to Senior Kawaun Jakes to lead them past ULL Saturday.

WKU also has a very capable senior quarterback by the name of Kawaun Jakes. Jakes is 162/241 for 1,967 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions. Jakes has been a staple in the WKU offense for many years. Two of his favorite targets are fellow senior Jack Doyle, who is a tight end. Doyle has reeled in 41 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns. And sophomore wide receiver Willie McNeal, who has 34 receptions, 448 yards and six touchdowns.

Although ULL is atop WKU in passing yard standings, the Hilltoppers seem to be able to score touchdowns through the air as well as on the ground. As far as the Ragin' Cajuns' running game, aside from Broadway who has rushed for quite a few touchdowns, they have sophomore running back Alonzo Harris, who has carried the ball 118 times for over 500 yards. He has also punched the ball into the endzone five times this season, just as many as Terrance Broadway.

Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off of a very close loss to the #6 Florida Gators. If you didn't catch it, the Ragin' Cajuns went into The Swamp and almost pulled an amazing upset, but with 0:02 left on the clock, the Gators blocked a ULL punt attempt and returned it for a touchdown to win the game 27-20. ULL will definitely have that on their mind this weekend when they attempt to gain bowl eligibility against the Hilltoppers.

Using the loss to Florida as motivation may not be a bad idea, but they need to remember not to let Florida beat them twice by keeping that in their minds instead of keeping their mind at the task at hand.

I think Saturday night at Cajun Field, we will be treated to a very well balance game. Both teams seem almost dead even on paper. It could wind up being a high scoring affair, or it could be a highly defensive game (although I'm going with the offensive type). The Hilltoppers are allowing an average of 25 points this season while the Ragin' Cajuns are allowing an average of 28. Seems pretty close. This looks to be an unbelievable matchup. Should be an exciting game!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle