Hilltoppers crush FIU, 73-0

Sep. 25—BOWLING GREEN — Still smarting from last week's heartbreaking overtime loss at Indiana, the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky took their frustrations out on Florida International with a 73-0 demolition of the overmatched Panthers on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

WKU improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Conference USA play heading into next Saturday's 6 p.m. non-league matchup with visiting Troy.

"I thought our players responded really, really well," Western head coach Tyson Helton said. "We checked all the boxes today, offensive, defense, special teams, and it was just a fantastic day for our football team. I'm very happy for our guys."

"All week long the point of emphasis was for the defense to get the ball back for the offense, for the offense to take advantage of their opportunities to score, and we were pretty sharp all day in getting that done — our overall execution was outstanding."

The Hilltoppers dominated this one from start to finish.

Western's first score came at 5:16 of the first period when Malachi Corley caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Austin Reed, capping a quick four-play, 94-yard march.

Following a three-and-out for the Panthers, WKU drove 84 yards in just 17 plays — taking a 14-0 lead when Reed connected with tight end Joey Beljan for a 9-yard scoring toss on the final play of the opening quarter.

It went from bad to much worse for punchless FIU in the second period, with the Hilltoppers scoring four more touchdowns.

Corley snared a 19-yard scoring aerial from Reed at 10:36 to make it 21-0.

On the Panthers' ensuing possession, WKU's Kahlef Hailassie intercepted a Haden Carlson pass at the FIU 42. From there, the Hilltoppers needed just four plays to reach the end zone — Reed connecting with Dalvin Smith from 11 yards out to make it 28-0 at 8:23.

With just over four minutes remaining in the half, Davion Ervin-Poindexter scored on a 19-yard jaunt, and Western took a 35-0 advantage at 0:36 when Daewood Davis caught a 3-yard TD pass from Reed.

The massacre continued unabated in the third period.

Western increased its lead to 49-0 at 12:30 on a 7-yard scoring run by Ervin-Poindexter. Midway through the stanza, Brayden Narveson booted a 30-yard field goal, and the Hilltoppers went on top 59-0 at 0:26 when Easton Messer was on the receiving end of a 44-yard scoring pass from backup QB Darius Ocean.

Early in the fourth period, the Hilltoppers' Aaron Key recovered a Panthers fumble and raced 50 yards for a scoop-and-score to make it 66-0, and LT Sanders scored on a 30-yard run inside the final two minutes to account for the final margin.

"We feel like we should have won last week at Indiana, so we wanted to come back here today and play a complete football game," WKU junior nose tackle Brodric Martin said. "I thought we were solid on both sides of the ball. I believe the way we played this game showed how good a football team we can be — and we can be very, very good."

Reed was fantastic for WKU, completing 29-of-35 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns, with no interceptions.

"Austin was exceptional for us today," Helton said. "I was very pleased with his performance the whole time he was out there. Our offensive line gave him a lot of time in the pocket and we also did a great job running the football today, which also enhanced our passing attack."

The Toppers rushed for 210 yards, and Sanders led a balanced attack with 73 yards on only four carries with a TD.

Western finished with a whopping 688 yards of total offense and rolled up 32 first downs, while limiting FIU (1-2, 0-1 C-USA) to only 180 yards and a mere 10 first downs. The Panthers' deepest penetration in the game was the Hilltopper 47-yard line.