After suffering a heartbreaking 52-46 loss to UTSA in its Conference USA opener last Saturday, Western Kentucky will look to get back on track – and snap a four-game losing streak – this weekend when it hits the road to Norfolk, Virginia to take on Old Dominion.

ODU (1-5 overall, 0-2 C-USA) is coming off a 20-13 overtime loss at Marshall and has also dropped four straight. The Monarchs are averaging 23.7 points and 345.7 yards per game, while allowing their opponents to score 29.5 points and put up 330.5 yards each outing.

Who: Western Kentucky (1-4 overall, 0-1 C-USA) at Old Dominion (1-5, 0-2 C-USA)

When: Saturday, October 16 | 2:30 PM (CT)

Where: S.B. Ballard Stadium | Norfolk, Virginia

TV: ESPN3 | Radio: SAM 100.7 FM in BG

Line: WKU -11 | Over/Under 69.5

To preview Saturday's game, WKU head coach Tyson Helton met with the media Monday.

You can find the main news, notes and quotes from Helton's press conference below.

– Helton said that it's another big week of Conference USA play with a road game at Old Dominion. He said while WKU is hungry for win, so is ODU – and he was impressed by the Monarchs' performance at Marshall on Saturday. "They gave everything that Marshall could handle," he said. Helton said it'll take everything the Hilltoppers have to get a win in Norfolk.

– Helton said he likes his team's attitude and demeanor right now after dropping four straight games. He said they're not happy by any means and they'll be ready to go play – and earn a win – at Old Dominion. "It should be a good football game," he said.

– Helton said WKU has "the normal bumps and bruises" after last Saturday's game against UTSA, and he's hoping linebacker linebacker Nick Days is back for ODU. Days played on special teams some vs. UTSA, and Helton is hoping he can get back in the defensive rotation this week.

– Helton on his team: "I think we've got a bunch of grown men in our locker room that handle their business professionally. They treat it like pros, and they have the right mentality and the right look in their eye. They understand they've got everything in front of them to go accomplish what they want to go accomplish. They understand what our strengths are, they know what our efficiencies are, and I love walking into that team meeting room with those guys because when I talk to them, every single one of them is looking me in the eye, they’re nodding their head and they’re right there with me. I’m usually pretty good at feeling the demeanor of a football team.

“I know our fans could probably say the same thing when they watch us play. We may not do everything right, and at times it may be hard to look at, but at the end of the day you can’t sit here and say that football team’s not fighting, scratching and clawing – and I hope the full body of work at the end of the season those young men are rewarded with the victories they’re working so hard to achieve. I’m very proud of our locker room, nobody’s blinked, nobody’s batted an eye, they understand the realities of where we’re at, and they’re going to try to fix it and go have a really good season.”

– Helton on quarterback Bailey Zappe: “He’s the best one I’ve ever been around – and that includes Sam Darnold. I love everything about Bailey Zappe. You can check every box: from his competitiveness, to his demeanor, to how he operates, to his unselfishness, to his leadership, to his accuracy ... he’s the best I’ve been around. I don’t mind saying that. I love Sam Darnold, and he’s going to have a great career in the National Football League. If Sam Darnold were sitting here and he watched Bailey Zappe, he would say, ‘I wish I played like Bailey Zappe in college.’

“I think he’s a top-five quarterback in the country. I think the nation needs to know about him, and I think by the end of the season they’re all going to recognize that he’s one of the top-five quarterbacks in the country. He is a guy that, when he’s out on the field, everybody knows that he’s going to give us a chance to go make it happen – and he elevates the play of everybody. That’s the biggest thing.

“Not to put pressure on him, but we’ve been in five games and I can see what the guy can do. He’ll continue to do those things. He’s the best I’ve been around.”

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