Toppers come away with 13-10 win over FCS program Chattanooga
Western Kentucky may have recorded a win Saturday, but it sure didn’t feel like it.
The Hilltoppers weren’t at their best — at all. They were never in a consistent rhythm, couldn’t capitalize on drives, never took control of the game and had to fight and claw to barely come away with a 13-10 victory over FCS program Chattanooga in front of 3,905 fans on a chilly, rainy night at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
WKU — now 2-4 overall on the season — allowed UTC to score on its first drive of the game and trailed 7-3 at halftime. The Toppers were later down 10-6 with just 1:25 remaining, but were able to score with quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome’s four-yard touchdown pass to Craig Burt Jr. that put them up 13-10 and helped them escape.
The Hilltoppers finished with 254 yards, went 3-for-12 on third downs and were behind 32:21-27:39 in time of possession. Pigrome — who replaced starting QB Kevaris Thomas in the second half — finished 4-of-8 passing for 73 yards and a TD. Thomas went 12-for-17 for 59 yards and fumbled once.
WKU has a tough task next week as it travels to Provo, Utah for a Saturday night matchup with No. 12 ranked BYU. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:15 p.m., with the game being broadcast nationally on ESPN.
UTC — which was playing its one and only game of the year due the FCS moving their season to the spring — was the aggressor in the first half.
After it received the opening kick, the Mocs put together a 14-play, 75-yard drive right out of the gate and capped it with a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Drayton Arnold. UTC converted multiple third downs on the series and knocked 7:16 off the clock, all while taking a 7-0 lead over WKU at the 7:44 mark.
WKU followed UTCs successful drive with a solid one of its own, but only recorded three points with a 32-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson. Running back Gaej Walker had back-to-back runs for gains of 38 and 10 yards to put the Hilltoppers at the Mocs’ 16-yard line, but they wouldn’t be able to convert on third down soon after and had to settle for the kick, which cut the deficit to 7-3 with 4:06 left in the first.
The Toppers had a nice, lengthy drive going throughout a majority of the second quarter, but after 19 plays and 7:46 the series came to an end with a fumble by Thomas. WKU had a first and goal at the 10 looking to score, but ran an option play with receiver Craig Burt Jr. — which resulted in a loss of eight yards — and then Thomas coughed up the ball to throw the drive away.
WKU’s production didn’t improve any in the second half.
The Hilltoppers’ first drive of the third quarter went absolutely no where — they actually lost eight yards, with seven of those coming on a Thomas sack. The defense made up for the bad offensive series by forcing a UTC three-and-out, but the punt was touched by WKU and the Mocs recovered at the WKU 9. The Tops were able to hold them to a field goal, but the 22-yarder by Victor Ulmo made it 10-3 in UTC’s favor at the 9:35 mark.
WKU found itself back in the red zone following UTC’s field goal, but yet again came away with just three points with a 32-yard field goal from Narveson. Running back Jakari Moses broke off a 23-yard run to get the Hilltoppers to the Mocs’ 11, but Thomas threw incomplete to wideout Xavier Lane on third down and they had to settle for the kick, which made it 10-6 with 4:57 left in the period.
After the scoreboard remained the same for quite a while, WKU was finally able to jump in front — using a four-yard TD pass from Pigrome to Burt to make it 13-10 with 1:21 remaining in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff UTC looked to have returned the kick for a touchdown, but it was ruled that the returner called for a fair catch and the touchdown didn’t stand. The Mocs’ drive then went nowhere as it turned it over on downs and the Hilltoppers took over and survived against the FCS program.