AUDIO: OL Talks For First Time This Season
They had done nothing to merit saying anything. At least that's how WKU's offensive linemen felt.
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From the beginning of fall camp, the linemen all vowed not to speak to the media until the Toppers broke their losing streak. With Saturday's 54-21 win, they can now talk.
"We just decided we needed to stay focused," senior Mychal Patterson said. "We just needed to end the streak."
That was over two months ago. And in the past few weeks, it might have appeared that their silence would continue. There were agonizing defeats to Florida International and Louisiana-Monroe.
Coach Willie Taggart had said last week that his team pressed and tightened up in thee fourth quarter. This time, he knew when to tell his players that the 'W' was coming.
"With two minutes left, he said, 'You can celebrate now,'" redshirt freshman Sean Conway said.
Until then, it was a feeling that had been lost for over two years.
"There's no certain way to act," senior Preston King said. "It was just spur of the moment. But it was on the sideline, to the locker room and the bus. We never stopped celebrating."
The celebration continued from the sideline to when the Toppers arrived back in Bowling Green. Hundreds gathered at the Bowling Green Regional Airport to welcome WKU back on Saturday night.
Those good vibes have carried over.
"There's a better mood on campus," sophomore Adam Smith said. "We've got energy on campus again. It's a good feeling."
But will that feeling continue? The Toppers have an excellent chance this weekend against a reeling North Texas team that fired coach Todd Dodge last week.
"There's a lot of pressure," King said. "But we can't worry about the past. Every Saturday is different. This is a new Saturday."
But now that the Toppers have for the moment righted the ship, there's no sense of letting it slip back even the slightest bit.
"As Coach Taggart said, 'We finally busted the door down of the house of the football Gods,'" Patterson said. "We got a taste of winning and it's pretty addictive."
Click here for the linemen's full audio: PATTERSON, CONWAY AND SMITH NORTH TEXAS PREVIEW
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