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2020 Western Kentucky

5–⁠7 (4–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Tyson Helton.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2020, game by game: lost at Louisville 21–35; lost vs. Liberty 24–30; won at Middle Tennessee 20–17; lost vs. Marshall 14–38; lost at UAB 14–37; won vs. Chattanooga 13–10; lost at No. 11 BYU 10–41; lost at Florida Atlantic 6–10; won vs. Southern Miss 10–7; won vs. Florida International 38–21; won at Charlotte 37–19; lost vs. Georgia State 21–39+18−31Lost 21–35 at Louisville-14LouisvilleLost 24–30 vs. Liberty-6LibertyWon 20–17 at Middle Tennessee+3Middle TennesseeLost 14–38 vs. Marshall-24MarshallLost 14–37 at UAB-23UABWon 13–10 vs. Chattanooga+3ChattanoogaLost 10–41 at No. 11 BYU-31No. 11 BYULost 6–10 at Florida Atlantic-4Florida AtlanticWon 10–7 vs. Southern Miss+3Southern MissWon 38–21 vs. Florida International+17Florida Interna…Won 37–19 at Charlotte+18CharlotteLost 21–39 vs. Georgia State-18Georgia State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atLouisvilleL 21–⁠3544%
Sep 19vsLibertyL 24–⁠3062%
Oct 3atMiddle TennesseeW 20–⁠1757%
Oct 10vsMarshallL 14–⁠3848%
Oct 17atUABL 14–⁠3733%
Oct 24vsChattanoogaW 13–⁠1076%
Oct 31at11BYUL 10–⁠4118%
Nov 7atFlorida AtlanticL 6–⁠1022%
Nov 14vsSouthern MissW 10–⁠765%
Nov 21vsFlorida InternationalW 38–⁠2166%
Dec 6atCharlotteW 37–⁠1944%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsGeorgia StateLendingTree BowlL 21–⁠3953%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia State 39–⁠21 in the LendingTree Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠3 6th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
228–⁠304
Coach
Tyson Helton
Elo
1471 −69 this season
SP+ rating
-3.2 No. 83 of 130; offense No. 117, defense No. 27
SRS
−10.2 No. 62 of 77 in FBS
Returning
32% of last season’s EPA, No. 113 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 80 roster talent No. 84 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Bryan Ellis and Ryan Aplin
Defensive coordinators
Clayton White and Maurice Crum Jr.
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense110th of 127
  • Defense60th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted114th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted57th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0141%0.97110th of 127
Defense0.1041%1.2560th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.10 def		41% off
42% def		—114th off
57th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 2817% allowed
Defense3.7own 2818% caused

CORE rating -8.1, 94th of 127 (offense -12.1, defense -3.9).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsTyrrell Pigrome QB1,615 yds
Passing touchdownsTyrrell Pigrome QB9 TD
Rushing yardsGaej Walker RB645 yds
Rushing touchdownsTyrrell Pigrome QB4 TD
Receiving yardsMitchell Tinsley WR377 yds
Receiving touchdownsMitchell Tinsley WR4 TD
TacklesAntwon Kincade DB86 tkl
SacksDeAngelo Malone DE6 sacks
InterceptionsDevon Key DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Quantavious Leslie OG★★★No. 570
JaQues Evans ATH★★★No. 693
David Ndukwe DT★★★No. 1131
Dakota Thomas WR★★★No. 1167
Kendrick Simpkins S★★★No. 1278

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.791
Running backs13.00.800
Receivers33.00.835
Offensive line33.00.828
Defensive line33.00.821
Linebackers23.00.812
Defensive backs42.50.803
Athletes and specialists23.00.842
Whole class202.90.818

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 109

The 2020 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall4–⁠17–⁠3
UAB3–⁠16–⁠3
UTSA5–⁠27–⁠5
Florida Atlantic4–⁠25–⁠4
Louisiana Tech4–⁠25–⁠5
Western Kentucky4–⁠35–⁠7
Charlotte2–⁠22–⁠4
North Texas3–⁠44–⁠6
Rice2–⁠32–⁠3
Middle Tennessee2–⁠43–⁠6
Southern Miss2–⁠43–⁠7
UTEP0–⁠43–⁠5
Florida International0–⁠30–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.