MIAMI – It wasn’t pretty at times, but Western Kentucky did enough to record a second straight win Saturday night.

Facing an FIU team that had lost five straight games and had just one win over FCS program Long Island, the Hilltoppers certainly weren’t at their best but were able to come out with a 34-19 win over the Panthers at FIU Stadium in Miami.

“Going on the road and getting a win is always hard,” WKU head coach Tyson Helton said. “We talked all week about having that complete team win. I thought we got really close to that tonight. Defense had another really good night – that was great to see. Offensively, early we struggled – they were playing drop-eight coverage, and I thought our offense did a good job of slowing it down. We started having success when we did that.

“Those are things that smart football teams need to do to win, and I was happy with just the overall performance of everybody. Can’t say enough, again, about the defense and their performance.”

The Hilltoppers (3-4 overall, 2-1 Conference USA) had just 35 yards of offense and trailed 6-0 after the first quarter but played significantly better in the second half to lead 17-12 at halftime. WKU ultimately remained in front throughout the half – outscoring the Panthers (1-6, 0-3) 17-7 – to seal it.

WKU finished with 530 yards as Bailey Zappe completed 39 of 49 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns and Jerreth Sterns made 14 receptions for 115 yards and two TDs to lead the way on that side of the ball. Defensively, the Tops held FIU to 290 yards and recorded seven sacks.

“The feeling’s awesome,” Zappe said. “Everybody loves to win and we were able to pull two out back-to-back weeks. For our offense, we’ve just got to continue to start fast – and we didn’t do that today. We’ll get back, study film and get ready for Charlotte next week. Hopefully we’ll come out with another win against a quality opponent in Charlotte.”

FIU won the coin toss, elected to receive the opening kick and quickly went to work – covering 75 yards with 12 plays in 4:32 and scoring on a one-yard keeper by quarterback Max Bortenschlager, who completed four passes for 44 yards to set up his TD. The extra point was blocked by Mike Allen, which helped WKU be down 6-0 instead of 7-0 at the 10:28 mark of the opening quarter.

“It was a great defensive performance,” WKU defensive end Michael Pitts said. “Just all week, studying their film and going through it and making sure we knew what was to be expected.”

After the Hilltoppers had back-to-back drives result in three-and-outs, they were moving the ball and looking to score their first points, but WKU coughed up the ball and FIU regained possession. While Zappe completed a 15-yard pass to Malachi Corley to put WKU on the Panthers’ 35-yard line, Corley lost possession and Andrew Volmar recovered it for FIU to halt the series.

“Right there, the first couple drives, we were doing our normal thing – kind of trying to throw it around, and they were dropping – and it’s hard,” Helton said. “So, we slowed it down and started looking at them and found the balance there.”

WKU’s first score of the game came at the 7:13 mark of the second quarter as Adam Cofield took a handoff from Zappe and scored from eight yards out to give the Tops a 7-6 lead, but FIU quickly answered it with a 75-yard TD pass from Bortenschlager to Randall St. Felix. Bortenschlager was sacked by Allen on the two-point conversion attempt, but the Panthers were back in front at 12-7 with 7:04 remaining in the period.

The Hilltoppers facilitated a drive that got them down to the FIU 3-yard line, but they weren’t able to put a TD on the board. On third-and-goal from that spot, Zappe threw a pass to Sterns, but it was for a loss of two yards and WKU had to settle for a field goal. Brayden Narveson’s 23-yard kick was good, but the Tops still trailed 12-10 with 1:22 left in the half.

WKU finally found the end zone again just before halftime, scoring on a 32-yard TD toss from Zappe to Mitchell Tinsley to go into the locker room at the break up 17-12.

“I thought kicking the field goal was big,” Helton said. “Then, we had the two-minute drive right there at the end and scored real quick, and that gave us momentum going into the locker room. We came right back out – opening drive – and scored in the third quarter … that was huge. Those are the things you need to do on the road to win and that’s why I was happy with our team tonight.”

The Hilltoppers scored on their first drive of the second half, using a 20-yard TD pass from Zappe to Sterns to push their lead to 24-12 at the 11:35 mark of the third quarter – and that score remained the same heading into the fourth.

WKU finally ended the scoring drought early into the final frame as Zappe connected with Sterns for a two-yard TD, extending the Hilltoppers’ advantage to 31-12 with 11:08 remaining.

Narveson’s field goal with 4:08 left in the contest – a 26-yarder – made it 34-12 WKU, and although FIU scored on a three-yard TD run by Shaun Peterson Jr. with 1:39 to go to cut the lead to 34-19, the Hilltoppers had already sealed it.

WKU will try to win a third straight game next Saturday as they host Charlotte (4-3, 2-1) for Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Houchens-Smith Stadium, with the game being broadcast on ESPN+.

“Well, it’s right … it’s right,” Helton said about the mood in WKU’s locker room right now. “... And it’s always been right, but winning games solves a lot of problems. When you win games and do like we’ve done back-to-back weeks, it gives you momentum. Now you get to go home and get to play a tough Charlotte team.

“You want to have that momentum, you want to have that good look in your eye, you want to feel good about what you’re doing. Our locker room right now is in a really good place.”

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