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2024 Western Kentucky

8–⁠6 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Tyson Helton.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2024, game by game: lost at No. 5 Alabama 0–63; won vs. Eastern Kentucky 31–0; won at Middle Tennessee 49–21; won vs. Toledo 26–21; lost at Boston College 20–21; won vs. UTEP 44–17; won at Sam Houston 31–14; won vs. Kennesaw State 31–14; won at New Mexico State 41–28; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 7–12; lost at Liberty 21–38; won vs. Jacksonville State 19–17; lost at Jacksonville State 12–52; lost vs. James Madison 17–27+31−63Lost 0–63 at No. 5 Alabama-63No. 5 AlabamaWon 31–0 vs. Eastern Kentucky+31Eastern KentuckyWon 49–21 at Middle Tennessee+28Middle TennesseeWon 26–21 vs. Toledo+5ToledoLost 20–21 at Boston College-1Boston CollegeWon 44–17 vs. UTEP+27UTEPWon 31–14 at Sam Houston+17Sam HoustonWon 31–14 vs. Kennesaw State+17Kennesaw StateWon 41–28 at New Mexico State+13New Mexico StateLost 7–12 vs. Louisiana Tech-5Louisiana TechLost 21–38 at Liberty-17LibertyWon 19–17 vs. Jacksonville State+2Jacksonville St…Lost 12–52 at Jacksonville State-40Jacksonville St…Lost 17–27 vs. James Madison-10James Madison
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at5AlabamaL 0–⁠6321%
Sep 7vsEastern KentuckyW 31–⁠081%
Sep 14atMiddle TennesseeW 49–⁠2154%
Sep 21vsToledoW 26–⁠2149%
Sep 28atBoston CollegeL 20–⁠2148%
Oct 10vsUTEPW 44–⁠1787%
Oct 16atSam HoustonW 31–⁠1454%
Oct 30vsKennesaw StateW 31–⁠1492%
Nov 9atNew Mexico StateW 41–⁠2875%
Nov 16vsLouisiana TechL 7–⁠1287%
Nov 23atLibertyL 21–⁠3839%
Nov 30vsJacksonville StateW 19–⁠1754%
Dec 6atJacksonville StateConference USA ChampionshipL 12–⁠5241%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsJames MadisonBoca Raton BowlL 17–⁠2741%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to James Madison 27–⁠17 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
349–⁠345
Coach
Tyson Helton
Elo
1522 −8 this season
SP+ rating
-2.2 No. 78 of 134; offense No. 101, defense No. 62, special teams No. 10
SRS
−5.4 No. 89 of 134 in FBS
Returning
38% of last season’s EPA, No. 83 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 111 roster talent No. 107 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Will Friend and Drew Hollingshead
Defensive coordinator
Tyson Summers
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense64th of 134
  • Defense89th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted70th of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted111th of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1141%1.3364th of 134
Defense0.1445%1.1889th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.19 def		40% off
47% def		—70th off
111th 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
Offense3.8own 3016% allowed
Defense3.7own 2912% caused

CORE rating -12.3, 108th of 134 (offense -2.1, defense 10.1).

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 yardsCaden Veltkamp QB3,108 yds
Passing touchdownsCaden Veltkamp QB25 TD
Rushing yardsElijah Young RB883 yds
Rushing touchdownsCaden Veltkamp QB7 TD
Receiving yardsKisean Johnson WR925 yds
Receiving touchdownsKisean Johnson WR7 TD
TacklesDevonte’ Mathews DB99 tkl
SacksDarius Thomas LB4 sacks
InterceptionsAnthony Johnson Jr. DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Chukwunedu Okeke DL★★★No. 1581
Cameron Flowers WR★★★No. 1682
Harper Holloman DL★★★No. 1682
Xavion Griffin S★★★No. 1794
Jaylen Hampton WR★★★No. 1880

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.828
Running backs23.00.838
Receivers43.00.835
Offensive line13.00.830
Defensive line33.00.836
Defensive backs13.00.844
Whole class133.00.835

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 3Upton Stout CBSan Francisco 49ers

Roster 113

The 2024 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2024 portal
Kisean Johnson WR★★★from Alabama State
T.J. Finley QB★★★from Texas State
Devonte’ Mathews CB★★★from Nicholls
Jalil Rivera-Harvey DL★★★from Marshall
Demarko Williams S★★★from Ole Miss
Kent Robinson CB★★★from Texas A&M
Keyshawn Swanson S★★★from Troy
Stacey Wilkins OT★★★from UL Monroe
Terreance Ellis LB★★★from Alcorn State
Bryce Childress WR★★★from Troy
C.J. Kiss TE★★★from Notre Dame College
Zach Edwards DL★★★from Troy

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 29

Kendrick Simpkins S★★★to Baylor
Jaques Evans DE★★★to Baylor
Anthony Johnson Jr. CB★★★returned to Western Kentucky
Taron Keith RB★★★to South Florida
Vincent Murphy OL★★★to Tulane
Wes Dorsey OT★★★to UCF
Desmyn Baker LB★★★to Southern Miss
Aaron Key LB★★★to UConn
L’Christian Smith WR★★★★no new school on file
Ze’Vian Capers WR★★★★to Gardner-Webb
Abdul-Lateef Audu CB★★★no new school on file
Caden Veltkamp QB★★★returned to Western Kentucky

And 17 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2024 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Jacksonville State7–⁠19–⁠5
Sam Houston6–⁠210–⁠3
Western Kentucky6–⁠28–⁠6
Liberty5–⁠38–⁠4
Louisiana Tech4–⁠45–⁠8
Florida International3–⁠54–⁠8
UTEP3–⁠53–⁠9
Middle Tennessee2–⁠63–⁠9
New Mexico State2–⁠63–⁠9
Kennesaw State2–⁠62–⁠10

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