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2025 Western Kentucky

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Tyson Helton.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2025, game by game: won vs. Sam Houston 41–24; won vs. North Alabama 55–6; lost at Toledo 21–45; won vs. Nevada 31–16; won at Missouri State 27–22; won at Delaware 27–24; lost vs. Florida International 6–25; won at Louisiana Tech 28–27; won vs. New Mexico State 35–16; won vs. Middle Tennessee 42–26; lost at LSU 10–13; lost at Jacksonville State 34–37; won vs. Southern Miss 27–16+49−24Won 41–24 vs. Sam Houston+17Sam HoustonWon 55–6 vs. North Alabama+49North AlabamaLost 21–45 at Toledo-24ToledoWon 31–16 vs. Nevada+15NevadaWon 27–22 at Missouri State+5Missouri StateWon 27–24 at Delaware+3DelawareLost 6–25 vs. Florida International-19Florida Interna…Won 28–27 at Louisiana Tech+1Louisiana TechWon 35–16 vs. New Mexico State+19New Mexico StateWon 42–26 vs. Middle Tennessee+16Middle TennesseeLost 10–13 at LSU-3LSULost 34–37 at Jacksonville State-3Jacksonville St…Won 27–16 vs. Southern Miss+11Southern Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 23vsSam HoustonW 41–⁠2459%
Aug 30vsNorth AlabamaW 55–⁠689%
Sep 6atToledoL 21–⁠4551%
Sep 20vsNevadaW 31–⁠1677%
Sep 27atMissouri StateW 27–⁠2262%
Oct 3atDelawareW 27–⁠2455%
Oct 14vsFlorida InternationalL 6–⁠2579%
Oct 21atLouisiana TechW 28–⁠2749%
Nov 1vsNew Mexico StateW 35–⁠1674%
Nov 15vsMiddle TennesseeW 42–⁠2687%
Nov 22atLSUL 10–⁠1331%
Nov 29atJacksonville StateL 34–⁠3740%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsSouthern MissNew Orleans BowlW 27–⁠1661%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Southern Miss 27–⁠16 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Consensus All-AmericanCole Maynard, P

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
384–⁠297
Coach
Tyson Helton
Elo
1524 +10 this season
SP+ rating
1.6 No. 69 of 136; offense No. 56, defense No. 78, special teams No. 23
SRS
−4.2 No. 89 of 136 in FBS
Returning
13% of last season’s EPA, No. 118 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 96 roster talent No. 100 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rick Bowie
Defensive coordinators
Da’Von Brown and Davis Merritt
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense78th of 136
  • Defense39th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted90th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted65th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0743%1.2078th of 136
Defense0.0437%1.3439th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.09 def		41% off
40% def		—90th off
65th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense45%7.6 yds13%3.1017%
Defense37%9.1 yds15%2.8019%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.2own 2815% allowed
Defense2.7own 2916% caused

CORE rating -4.6, 81st of 136 (offense -5.6, defense -1.0).

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 yardsMaverick McIvor QB2,062 yds
Passing touchdownsMaverick McIvor QB12 TD
Rushing yardsMarvis Parrish RB576 yds
Rushing touchdownsLa’Vell Wright RB10 TD
Receiving yardsMatthew Henry WR888 yds
Receiving touchdownsMatthew Henry WR6 TD
TacklesJaylen Wester LB106 tkl
SacksDominic Oliver LB3 sacks
InterceptionsJaylen Lewis DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Sharlandiin Strange DE★★★No. 700
Brandon Thomas DE★★★No. 1133
Cross Nimmo TE★★★No. 1133
Dylan Vickerson WR★★★No. 1243
Fonzy Smith WR★★★No. 1299

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.838
Receivers33.00.863
Offensive line23.00.809
Defensive line43.00.852
Linebackers13.00.843
Defensive backs13.00.834
Whole class133.00.844

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 104

The 2025 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 42

The 2025 portal
Avarion Cole S★★★from App State
Matthew Henry WR★★★from Western Illinois
Maverick McIvor QB★★★from Abilene Christian
Al-Ma’Hi Ali S★★★from Charlotte
Eric Etienne DL★★★from Norfolk State
Isaiah Myers WR★★★from Purdue
Jackson West TE★★★from Florida State
Josaiah Knight DE★★★from Mississippi State
La’Vell Wright RB★★★from Austin Peay
Jaden McGill RB★★★from Tennessee State
Jayden Gray DE★★★from Louisiana Tech
Kelby Williams WR★★★from Old Dominion

And 30 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 39

Rodney Newsom OL★★★★to South Carolina
Deante McCray DE★★★to Florida State
Dallas Walker IV DL★★★to Auburn
Jayden Loving DL★★★to Wake Forest
Evan Wibberley OL★★★to Kentucky
Hosea Wheeler DL★★★to Indiana
Koy Moore WR★★★to UNLV
River Helms TE★★★to Georgia Southern
Easton Messer WR★★★to Florida Atlantic
Kylan Guidry DE★★★no new school on file
Montreze Smith LB★★★to Austin Peay
Brandon Buckhaulter WR★★★to UL Monroe

And 27 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Kennesaw State7–⁠110–⁠4
Jacksonville State7–⁠19–⁠5
Western Kentucky6–⁠29–⁠4
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Florida International5–⁠37–⁠6
Missouri State5–⁠37–⁠6
Delaware4–⁠47–⁠6
Liberty3–⁠54–⁠8
New Mexico State2–⁠64–⁠8
Middle Tennessee2–⁠63–⁠9
Sam Houston1–⁠72–⁠10
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠10

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