Western Kentucky experienced some good and some bad another week, but ultimately came out on the wrong side of things again.

The Hilltoppers, hosting Liberty in their home opener and looking to bounce back from a season-opening loss at Louisville, improved in certain areas but still struggled in others and suffered a 30-24 loss on Saturday in front of 4,276 fans at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

WKU (0-2) trailed 10-0 after the opening quarter and 17-10 at halftime. The Toppers tied it at 17-17 early into the third quarter but Liberty later built a two-score advantage and never allowed WKU to jump in front.

WKU was outgained 487-291 and allowed Liberty quarterback Malik Willis to rack up 301 total yards and three touchdowns in his debut with the Flames.

The Hilltoppers now enter a bye week and will return to action Oct. 3 on the road at Middle Tennessee. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Murfreesboro.

After WKU’s opening drive didn’t go anywhere and resulted in negative yardage, Liberty put together a five-play, 52-yard drive and capped it with a four-yard TD run by Willis to give the Flames a 7-0 lead at the 11:27 mark of the first quarter.

The Hilltoppers again went three-and-out on their next series, and Liberty added to its lead with a 24-yard field goal by Alex Barbir, which put WKU in a 10-0 hole after one.

WKU finally got on the board just four seconds into the second quarter, as Brayden Narveson made a 43-yard field goal to cut the Toppers’ deficit to 10-3.

Liberty answered with a lengthy 11-play, 65-yard series that knocked 4:41 off the clock, capping it with a four-yard TD run by Willis. The quarterback kept it himself on a nice designed run and ran untouched into the end zone to put the Flames up 17-3 at the 10:15 mark.

The Hilltoppers responded to Liberty’s long drive by assembling their best one of the game yet.

Covering 88 yards with eight plays in four minutes, Tyrrell Pigrome threw a six-yard TD pass to Mitchell Tinsley to bring WKU within 17-10 with 6:15 remaining in the half — and the score remained the same at the break.

WKU came out of the locker room ready to play.

After the Hilltoppers’ defense forced a quick three-and-out, their offense put together a 7-play, 79-yard drive in 3:00 and topped it off with a 24-yard TD pass from Pigrome to Glasgow High School product Dalvin Smith, who Pigrome found wide open along the right sideline.

Pigrome went 4-for-4 for 52 yards and rushed twice for 25 yards during the series and threw a nearly perfect pass to Smith to help WKU even the scoreboard at 17-all at the 10:56 mark of the third quarter.

Liberty retook the lead with Shedro Lewis’ 29-yard TD run late in the quarter. On the fourth play of a drive that was kickstarted by Willis’ 51-yard run, Lewis took a handoff and easily made his way into the end zone to put the Flames in front 24-17 entering the fourth.

Willis’ third rushing TD of the contest — this one from 18 yards out — capped a six-play, 57-yard drive that lasted 3:17 and pushed Liberty’s advantage to 30-17 with 11:43 remaining.

Pigrome facilitated a nine-play, 87-yard series for the Hilltoppers and connected with Craig Burt for a 36-yard TD to cut their deficit to 30-24 with 3:04 left, but that's as close as WKU would get.

Pigrome finished 18-of-25 passing for 193 yards, while Tinsley made six receptions for 69 yards.