WKU pumped to play in The Big Easy

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As the 2025 college football season comes to a close, Western Kentucky is in a familiar mode — preparing for the postseason.

Tyson Helton has been head coach of the Hilltoppers for seven seasons, and WKU (8-4) will be making its seventh consecutive bowl appearance when it tangles with Southern Miss (7-5) at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 23 in the New Orleans Bowl at the legendary Caesars Superdome.

The game will air nationally on ESPN, coincidentally, following Louisville’s 1 p.m. matchup with Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Three years ago, Western pounded a 10-win South Alabama team 44-23 in the New Orleans Bowl, and WKU athletic director Todd Stewart is thrilled that the Hilltoppers will be making a return trip to The Big Easy.

“It’s something we never take for granted.” Stewart said. “It’s an honor to appear in a bowl game, and this team has earned it, going 8-4 against the schedule we played. The six road games we played all turned out to be against bowl-eligible teams, and we won three of those games. This program deserves another bowl game and I’m very happy we have one.”

As is Helton, who has engineered the WKU program with remarkable consistency during his tenure — producing eight or more victories in each of the past five seasons.

“We’re really excited to get back to the New Orleans Bowl — we had a great experience here a few years ago,” Helton said. “The people connected with the bowl do a fantastic job, and we get to play against a great opponent in Southern Miss, so we’re just really excited about this opportunity. We don’t take it lightly — it’s something we take a lot of pride in.”

And, the proof’s in the pudding.

Not only will this be Western’s seventh straight bowl appearance, it will be the program’s 11th bowl appearance in the past 12 years. Moreover, since 2014 the Hilltoppers have won seven bowl games — a feat matched by only Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota among the 136 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

“We love playing in bowl games, and, of course, our perspective is different,” Stewart said. “From 2008 to 2010 we went 4-32, and at one point in the 2010 season we had a 26-game losing streak, which at the time was the longest active streak in college football.

“Now, fast forward — we have gone from a struggling program to one that had success but was snubbed (going 7-5 in 2011 and 8-4 in 2013 but not receiving a bowl bid), to one that is now a regular postseason participant.

“Our football program has been strengthened through all of that, and we are very proud of where we are now, and certainly very proud to be playing again this year in the postseason.”

Helton, meanwhile, expects a tough battle with Southern Miss, which won seven of its first nine games, before closing out the regular season on a three-game losing streak.

“Statistically, we’re pretty even — we score the same amount of points per game and we give up a few less points, defensively, but not by much,” Helton said. “To have success, we need to make them turn the ball over and not give up turnovers. We’ve got to hit some explosive plays on offense and finish our drives in the end zone.”

WKU had a surprisingly large contingent of fans in Baton Rouge on Nov. 22 to witness the Hilltoppers’ surprisingly competitive 13-10 loss to LSU, and also had huge fan support at the 2022 New Orleans Bowl, where game Most Valuable Player Austin Reed threw for 497 yards and four touchdowns.

Helton expects another great turnout later this month.

“Our fans will be really excited about traveling to a destination city like New Orleans — they’ll understand that it’s a celebration of a great season,” he said. “When you walk into our football facility, there are numerous banners hanging, and several of them are in recognition of the great bowl wins this program has achieved.

“We’ll take a championship mentality down there, and everyone associated with our football program will fully recognize this. I know our fans will be excited to make the trip and we’re equally excited to be making it — we’ll do everything we can to return from New Orleans with another bowl victory.”

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