Western Kentucky
0-2Conference USA · Tyson Helton, year 8 (57-38) · Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium · 22,113
LastL 20–70 at Georgia · Sat Sep 12 · Brock Glenn 84 pass yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Nextat Indiana · Sat Sep 19 · 4 pm ET · Memorial Stadium (Bloomington, IN) · Indiana by 44 · series 0-5, lost the last 5 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
All 84 stats
FBS rankings · 2026 season · all stats vs 136 FBS programs
| Player | # | G | Cmp/Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | INT | Rate | ZPR | QBR | Adj ANY/A | Sack% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -0.05 EPA/play | 5 | 2 | 30 / 54 | 55.6 | 234 | 4.3 | 0 | 1 | 88.3 | 34 | 34.3 | 2.9 | 6.9 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||||||||
| +0.77 EPA/play | 11 | 2 | 12 / 23 | 52.2 | 84 | 3.7 | 1 | 1 | 88.5 | — | 75.2 | — | — | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||||||||
| Player | # | G | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Stuff% | 10+% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -0.16 EPA/play | 3 | 2 | 32 | 121 | 3.8 | 2 #43 FBS | 23 | — | — | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||||
| Player | # | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Threat · +0.57 EPA/play | 18 | — | 12 | 211 #23 FBS | 17.6 | 0 | 53 | |
Deep ThreatStretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play. 11 of 58 WRs we've classified this way this season. Season receipt Yards / reception17.1 82th percentile · FBS WRs, min. 12 receptions TD rate0.0% bottom 10th percentile · FBS WRs, min. 12 receptions Trait fingerprint Plays like View Marvin Sims's full player page | ||||||||
| +0.01 EPA/play | 4 | 2 | 8 | 74 | 9.2 | 0 | 21 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||
| +0.15 EPA/play | 80 | 2 | 8 | 65 | 8.1 | 0 | 11 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||
| +0.13 EPA/play | 19 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | 0 | 8 | |
Yards by week → | ||||||||
| Player | # | G | Tot | Solo | TFL | Sack | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | # | G | Tot | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sack | PD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced Linebacker | 38 | — | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 #22 FBS |
Balanced LinebackerSolid in every phase without a signature dimension. 46 of 84 LBs we've classified this way this season. Season receipt Tackle volume24 96th percentile · FBS linebackers, min. 15 tackles TFL rate0.0% bottom 16th percentile · FBS linebackers, min. 15 tackles Trait fingerprint Plays like View Kennon Loftin's full player page | |||||||||
| Balanced Linebacker | 33 | — | 17 | 6 | 11 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
Balanced LinebackerSolid in every phase without a signature dimension. The most common profile in its group this season — 46 of 84 classified this way. junior View Eli Jones's full player page | |||||||||
| 21 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 22 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | # | G | Tot | PD | INT | TFL | Sack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 #22 FBS | 1 | 0 | |
| 19 | — | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | |
| 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
No special teams data.
2026 stat leaders · Western Kentucky
through 2 games
2026 stat leaders · Western KentuckyKennon Loftin leads Western Kentucky with 24 tackles through 2 games.
How They Play · 2025Western Kentucky fields a capable pass-first, methodical, ball-control offense behind a strong, gives up the big play defense.
Percentile vs all FBS, based on this season's per-game production. Bar = where this team ranks — right is better.
Western Kentucky reads strongest in success rate allowed (top 13%) and passing epa allowed (top 27%); the crux lives in explosive plays allowed, where Western Kentucky sits at the 16th percentile.
offense · strengths lead
defense · higher bar = harder to play against
hidden math · special situations
Home-field advantage · Western Kentucky · 2018–present · FBS opponents
Western Kentucky is worth +5.0 points more at home than on the road.
Middle of FBS, 66th percentile of 133 programs
63% at home, 47% away against FBS opponents since 2018 (24–14 home, 25–28 away). Interval ±4.3.
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge — per-team modelling was tested and did not survive scrutiny (why) — and the books use about 3. Against the closing line, Western Kentucky has beaten the number by −1.6 more at home than away over 75 games — inside the ±7.5 that many games can resolve. Results here cannot tell the flat number apart from the building, and that is the honest reading of nearly every FBS stadium.
Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium seats 22,113 and has averaged 68% full (14,937, 24 games reported). Visitors cover a median 424 miles to get here since 2018 — 68th-longest of 135 FBS venues, inside the ordinary range. For the home side it is a home crowd more than a home town: only 7% of the 2026 roster (10 of 147 located players) grew up inside 100 miles of the stadium.
Edge = half the gap between average home margin and average road margin, FBS opponents only, non-neutral games since 2018; the interval is 95%. Market line: closing spread, seasons with lines on file. Trip length is straight-line miles from the visiting team's campus to the venue, measured across all 46 home games since 2018.
More in this tab
Scheme claims
Standard downs vs. passing downs
Does Western Kentucky hold up once the down-and-distance turns against them?
25th percentile success on standard downs, 34th on passing downs — little dropoff between the two — a schedule-independent identity.
View all FBS teams as a table
| Team | Standard-downs percentile | Passing-downs percentile |
|---|---|---|
| App State | 44th | 90th |
| Arizona | 92nd | 86th |
| Arkansas | 60th | 80th |
| Auburn | 75th | 55th |
| Ball State | 12th | 24th |
| Baylor | 40th | 96th |
| Boise State | 58th | 46th |
| Boston College | 27th | 56th |
| Buffalo | 7th | 14th |
| California | 9th | 25th |
| Central Michigan | 16th | 6th |
| Charlotte | 73rd | 83rd |
| Clemson | 1st | 19th |
| Coastal Carolina | 61st | 52nd |
| Colorado | 35th | 77th |
| Colorado State | 82nd | 91st |
| Delaware | 70th | 31st |
| Duke | 20th | 29th |
| Eastern Michigan | 52nd | 10th |
| Florida Atlantic | 43rd | 87th |
| Florida International | 46th | 43rd |
| Florida State | 28th | 65th |
| Georgia Southern | 24th | 45th |
| Georgia Tech | 58th | 44th |
| Hawai'i | 18th | 41st |
| Iowa State | 4th | 23rd |
| Jacksonville State | 65th | 82nd |
| Kansas | 70th | 35th |
| LSU | 33rd | 98th |
| Liberty | 14th | 59th |
| Louisiana | 19th | 92nd |
| Louisville | 96th | 70th |
| Memphis | 69th | 65th |
| Michigan | 2nd | 62nd |
| Michigan State | 62nd | 29th |
| Middle Tennessee | 87th | 68th |
| Missouri | 36th | 85th |
| Navy | 98th | 59th |
| Nevada | 77th | 52nd |
| New Mexico State | 45th | 75th |
| Norfolk State | 16th | 9th |
| North Dakota State | 86th | 27th |
| North Texas | 49th | 68th |
| Ohio | 38th | 17th |
| Ohio State | 90th | 40th |
| Oklahoma State | 41st | 49th |
| Ole Miss | 94th | 50th |
| Oregon | 35th | 33rd |
| Oregon State | 10th | 38th |
| Pittsburgh | 30th | 76th |
| Purdue | 83rd | 88th |
| Rutgers | 30th | 71st |
| Sacramento State | 23rd | 14th |
| Sam Houston | 78th | 61st |
| San Diego State | 4th | 40th |
| San José State | 54th | 22nd |
| South Alabama | 50th | 73rd |
| South Florida | 91st | 52nd |
| Stanford | 76th | 15th |
| Syracuse | 48th | 64th |
| TCU | 93rd | 8th |
| Tennessee | 65th | 78th |
| Texas | 72nd | 94th |
| Texas A&M | 85th | 72nd |
| Texas Tech | 88th | 48th |
| Troy | 22nd | 59th |
| Tulane | 31st | 2nd |
| Tulsa | 56th | 1st |
| UAB | 65th | 81st |
| UNLV | 51st | 7th |
| USC | 97th | 99th |
| UTSA | 99th | 29th |
| Utah State | 4th | 93rd |
| Vanderbilt | 80th | 12th |
| Wake Forest | 56th | 97th |
| Washington | 81st | 4th |
| Washington State | 8th | 3rd |
| Western Kentucky | 25th | 34th |
| Western Michigan | 39th | 20th |
| Wisconsin | 13th | 18th |
| Wyoming | 65th | 36th |
Pass defense by zone
Pass-depth identity
What this team throws, and gives up, by depth.
On short throws (≤19 air yards), Western Kentucky’s passing game completes a completion rate below the FBS mean (64.1% vs 68.3% league-wide, shrunk toward the mean for its 69-play sample) — mid-pack, 7 of 41 qualifying offenses.
We won’t show a deep-ball (20+ air yards) leaderboard here, on either side of the ball: even a full season of charted plays gives most teams well under 30 deep attempts — too thin to tell a real tendency from noise, so we won’t guess. Same refusal for yards-after-catch allowed and where a team’s attempts land by zone: both measured and both came back statistically indistinguishable from season-to-season noise.
Ratings
Comparable teams
Most similar programs · Western Kentucky
Most similar programs · Western KentuckyReads like
Matched on how the programs are built — tier, prestige band, kind of fanbase, conference, voice and roster size — not on this season's stats. A calibration, not a prediction.
Conditions
67°F average kickoff temp; 6% of games had measurable precipitation; 6 mph average wind.
Based on 71 home games with weather data.