| Year: | 2022 |
| Team: | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Conference USA |
| Short Conf: | C-USA |
| Record: | 9–5 |
| Conf Record: | 6–2 |
| Head Coach: | Tyson Helton |
| Hc Year: | 4th |
| Cooff Coach1: | Ben Arbuckle |
| Cooc1 Year: | 1st |
| Cooff Coach2: | Josh Crawford |
| Cooc2 Year: | 1st |
| Off Scheme: | Air raid |
| Def Coach: | Tyson Summers |
| Dc Year: | 1st |
| Def Scheme: | 3–3–5 |
| Stadium: | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium |
| Champion: | New Orleans Bowl champion |
| Bowl: | New Orleans Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 44–23 vs. South Alabama |
The 2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Tyson Helton, who was coaching his fourth season with the team. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The team was led on offense by quarterback Austin Reed who joined the team in 2022 via the NCAA transfer portal.[1] Through the first two games, Reed had 550 passing yards, ranking third in the nation.[2]
The Conference USA media day was held on July 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Hilltoppers were represented by head coach Tyson Helton, tight end Joey Beljan, and defensive end Juwuan Jones.[3] The Hilltoppers were predicted to finish third in the conference's preseason poll.[4]
| Media poll | ||
| 1 | UTSA | |
| 2 | UAB | |
| 3 | WKU | |
| 4 | Florida Atlantic | |
| 5 | North Texas | |
| 6 | UTEP | |
| 7 | Charlotte | |
| 8 | Middle Tennessee | |
| 9 | Louisiana Tech | |
| 10 | Rice | |
| 11 | FIU | |
Western Kentucky and Conference USA announced the 2022 football schedule on March 30, 2022.[5] [6]
See also: 2022 Austin Peay Governors football team.
| Statistics | APSU | WKU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 19 |
| Total yards | 319 | 388 |
| Rushing yards | 163 | 108 |
| Passing yards | 156 | 280 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:39 | 27:31 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay | Passing | Mike DiLiello | 15/21, 156 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Josh Samuel | 20 rushes, 77 yards | |
| Receiving | Drae McCray | 6 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TD | |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | 20/34, 280 yards, 4 TD, INT | |
| Rushing | Davion Ervin-Poindexter | 15 rushes, 49 yards | |
| Receiving | 6 receptions, 124 yards, TD |
See also: 2022 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team.
| Statistics | WKU | HAW |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 20 |
| Total yards | 412 | 360 |
| Rushing yards | 141 | 94 |
| Passing yards | 271 | 266 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 6 |
| Time of possession | 25:52 | 34:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Austin Reed | 22/31, 271 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Kye Robichaux | 7 rushes, 49 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Daewood Davis | 5 receptions, 78 yards | |
| Hawaii | Passing | 22/33, 230 yards, 4 INT | |
| Rushing | Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei | 13 rushes, 64 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Jalen Walthall | 3 receptions, 53 yards |
See also: 2022 Indiana Hoosiers football team.
| Statistics | WKU | IU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 28 |
| Total yards | 545 | 484 |
| Rushing yards | 216 | 120 |
| Passing yards | 329 | 364 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:21 | 27:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Austin Reed | 33/43, 329 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Kye Robichaux | 14 rushes, 135 yards | |
| Receiving | Daewood Davis | 5 receptions, 77 yards, TD | |
| Indiana | Passing | 33/55, 364 yards, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Josh Henderson | 11 rushes, 65 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | 8 receptions, 93 yards, TD |
See also: 2022 FIU Panthers football team.
| Statistics | FIU | WKU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 10 | 32 |
| Total yards | 180 | 688 |
| Rushing yards | 56 | 210 |
| Passing yards | 124 | 478 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:32 | 29:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIU | Passing | Grayson James | 13/23, 85 yards |
| Rushing | Lexington Joseph | 15 rushes, 31 yards | |
| Receiving | Nate Jefferson | 4 receptions, 27 yards | |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Austin Reed | 29/35, 381 yards, 5 TD |
| Rushing | L. T. Sanders | 4 rushes, 73 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | 3 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD |
See also: 2022 Troy Trojans football team.
See also: 2022 UTSA Roadrunners football team.
See also: 2022 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team.
See also: 2022 UAB Blazers football team.
| Statistics | UAB | WKU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 19 |
| Total yards | 327 | 352 |
| Rushing yards | 231 | 224 |
| Passing yards | 96 | 128 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 27:21 | 32:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAB | Passing | 2/2, 63 yards, TD | |
| Rushing | 24 rushes, 200 yards | ||
| Receiving | Samario Rudolph | 1 reception, 59 yards, TD | |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Austin Reed | 14/23, 128 yards |
| Rushing | L. T. Sanders | 16 rushes, 120 yards | |
| Receiving | Malachi Corley | 5 receptions, 77 yards |
See also: 2022 North Texas Mean Green football team.
| Statistics | UNT | WKU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 23 |
| Total yards | 541 | 466 |
| Rushing yards | 196 | 146 |
| Passing yards | 345 | 320 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 29:05 | 30:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Texas | Passing | 20/28, 322 yards, 3 TD | |
| Rushing | Ayo Adeyi | 10 rushes, 72 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Damon Ward Jr. | 4 receptions, 101 yards, TD | |
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Austin Reed | 29/49, 320 yards, TD, INT |
| Rushing | L. T. Sanders | 13 rushes, 76 yards | |
| Receiving | 8 receptions, 97 yards |
See also: 2022 Charlotte 49ers football team.
| Statistics | WKU | CHAR |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 22 |
| Total yards | 592 | 384 |
| Rushing yards | 131 | 161 |
| Passing yards | 461 | 223 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 20:26 | 39:34 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Austin Reed | 23–38, 409 yards, 6 TD |
| Rushing | Davion Ervin-Poindexter | 3 rushes, 49 yards | |
| Receiving | Malachi Corley | 6 receptions, 162 yards, 1 TD | |
| Charlotte | Passing | 17–27, 196 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | James Martin III | 16 rushes, 85 yards | |
| Receiving | 7 receptions, 88 yards |
See also: 2022 Rice Owls football team.
See also: 2022 Auburn Tigers football team.
See also: 2022 Florida Atlantic Owls football team.
See also: 2022 South Alabama Jaguars football team and 2022 New Orleans Bowl.