CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2022 Western Kentucky

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Tyson Helton.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2022, game by game: won vs. Austin Peay 38–27; won at Hawai’i 49–17; lost at Indiana 30–33; won vs. Florida International 73–0; lost vs. Troy 27–34; lost at UTSA 28–31; won at Middle Tennessee 35–17; won vs. UAB 20–17; lost vs. North Texas 13–40; won at Charlotte 59–7; won vs. Rice 45–10; lost at Auburn 17–41; won at Florida Atlantic 32–31; won vs. South Alabama 44–23+73−27Won 38–27 vs. Austin Peay+11Austin PeayWon 49–17 at Hawai’i+32Hawai’iLost 30–33 at Indiana-3IndianaWon 73–0 vs. Florida International+73Florida Interna…Lost 27–34 vs. Troy-7TroyLost 28–31 at UTSA-3UTSAWon 35–17 at Middle Tennessee+18Middle TennesseeWon 20–17 vs. UAB+3UABLost 13–40 vs. North Texas-27North TexasWon 59–7 at Charlotte+52CharlotteWon 45–10 vs. Rice+35RiceLost 17–41 at Auburn-24AuburnWon 32–31 at Florida Atlantic+1Florida AtlanticWon 44–23 vs. South Alabama+21South Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 27vsAustin PeayW 38–⁠2784%
Sep 3atHawai’iW 49–⁠1768%
Sep 17atIndianaL 30–⁠3366%
Sep 24vsFlorida InternationalW 73–⁠089%
Oct 1vsTroyL 27–⁠3474%
Oct 8atUTSAL 28–⁠3143%
Oct 15atMiddle TennesseeW 35–⁠1754%
Oct 21vsUABW 20–⁠1758%
Oct 29vsNorth TexasL 13–⁠4075%
Nov 5atCharlotteW 59–⁠773%
Nov 12vsRiceW 45–⁠1078%
Nov 19atAuburnL 17–⁠4157%
Nov 26atFlorida AtlanticW 32–⁠3155%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsSouth AlabamaNew Orleans BowlW 44–⁠2343%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat South Alabama 44–⁠23 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Led the nationAustin Reed: passing yards (4,746 yds)

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
510–⁠328
Coach
Tyson Helton
Elo
1586 −6 this season
SP+ rating
1.7 No. 65 of 131; offense No. 52, defense No. 83, special teams No. 46
SRS
0.0 No. 66 of 131 in FBS
Returning
31% of last season’s EPA, No. 109 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 94 roster talent No. 80 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Ben Arbuckle and Josh Crawford
Defensive coordinator
Tyson Summers
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense24th of 131
  • Defense24th of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted38th of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2045%1.3724th of 131
Defense0.0243%1.1124th of 131
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.06 def		44% off
44% def		—38th off
42nd 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
Offense3.5own 2916% allowed
Defense4.0own 2816% caused

CORE rating 3.6, 52nd of 131 (offense 3.7, defense 0.2).

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 yardsAustin Reed QB4,747 yds
Passing touchdownsAustin Reed QB40 TD
Rushing yardsDavion Ervin-Poindexter RB526 yds
Rushing touchdownsAustin Reed QB8 TD
Receiving yardsMalachi Corley WR1,293 yds
Receiving touchdownsMalachi Corley WR11 TD
TacklesJaques Evans LB107 tkl
SacksJaques Evans LB9 sacks
InterceptionsKaleb Oliver DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Caden Veltkamp QB★★★No. 841
Darius Thomas S★★★No. 891
K.D. Hutchinson ATH★★★No. 1040
Virgil Marshall ATH★★★No. 1376
L.T. Sanders RB★★★No. 1731

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

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.867
Running backs13.00.832
Receivers22.50.800
Offensive line23.00.813
Defensive line23.00.813
Linebackers13.00.809
Defensive backs33.00.835
Athletes and specialists33.00.839
Whole class152.90.826

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.

Drafted in 2023

The 2023 draft
Rd 3Brodric Martin DTDetroit Lions

Roster 112

The 2022 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2022 portal
Austin Reed QB★★★from West Florida
Jarret Doege QB★★★from West Virginia
Michael Mathison WR★★★from Akron
Jaylen Hall WR★★★from Western Michigan
Rome Weber CB★★★from Wyoming
Desmyn Baker LB★★★from Rice
Derrick Smith S★★★from Illinois
Upton Stout S★★★from North Texas
Vincent Murphy OL★★★from South Carolina
Davion Ervin-Poindexter RBfrom Indiana

Transfers out 15

Cole Spencer OT★★★★to Texas Tech
Mason Brooks OT★★★★to Ole Miss
Mitchell Tinsley WR★★★to Penn State
Shannon Bishop CB★★★to Minnesota
Dayton Wade WR★★★no new school on file
Carson Baker QB★★no new school on file
Grady Robison QB★★no new school on file
Cardavion Myers CB★★★no new school on file
Jarrett Lucombe DL★★★no new school on file
Marcus Bragg DL★★★to Auburn
Nicholas Days LB★★★no new school on file
Noah Whittington WR★★★no new school on file

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2022 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
UTSA8–⁠011–⁠3
Western Kentucky6–⁠29–⁠5
North Texas6–⁠27–⁠7
Middle Tennessee4–⁠48–⁠5
UAB4–⁠47–⁠6
Florida Atlantic4–⁠45–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠55–⁠8
Florida International2–⁠64–⁠8
Charlotte2–⁠63–⁠9
Louisiana Tech2–⁠63–⁠9

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