Western Kentucky wrapped up its 2019 regular-season slate with a 31-26 win over longtime rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday afternoon at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
With the victory, the Hilltoppers improved to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in Conference USA ahead of their postseason bowl game later this month. That destination and matchup will likely be announced on Sunday.
Let's reflect on WKU's win over MTSU with five main takeaways.
1.) STOREY SHINES -- AGAIN
WKU quarterback Ty Storey has been quite impressive since taking over as the starting quarterback -- especially as of late.
After helping lead the Hilltoppers to road wins over Arkansas and Southern Miss, Storey piloted his team to a third straight victory Saturday over Middle Tennessee. Storey registered another outstanding performance in that game, completing 23-of-30 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 62 yards and a TD on 12 carries.
The way Storey has performed and directed the offense is a big reason why Western is an eight-win squad entering the postseason.
2.) LUCKY AND QUIN BOTH FIND THE END ZONE
Lucky Jackson and Quin Jernighan -- both veteran wide receivers for WKU, but also great friends -- did something Saturday that they hadn't been able to yet do throughout their time on The Hill.
While the two were in their hotel room Friday night prior to Saturday's rivalry contest, the wideout duo was discussing how they had never both scored a touchdown in the same game. Well, that finally changed on their Senior Day.
Jackson caught eight passes for 110 yards and a TD, and Jernighan made four receptions for 76 yards and a score in their final game at Houchens-Smith Stadium and accomplished their goal.
"It was a big deal," Jackson said after the game. "I feel like what made it such a big deal is that me and Quin just talked about this last night. It was great that was able to happen for us."
3.) WALKER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Gaej Walker has had a pretty remarkable season, especially considering that he's played an entirely different position.
The redshirt junior running back Walker, who was a part of the defensive unit last season, has transformed into WKU's primary back in 2019 and has made the most of it. On Saturday against MTSU, Walker rushed for 119 yards and a TD on 14 carries in another strong outing.
With a bowl game -- and all of next season -- still to come, expect more big things out of Walker.
4.) DAVIS LEADS THE DEFENSE
Redshirt junior linebacker Clay Davis anchored the Western defense Saturday vs. Middle.
Registering 13 total tackles -- 7 of those solo -- to go along with two tackles-for-loss and a sack, Davis, a Louisville native, made his presence felt from start to finish.
5.) WHAT A REGULAR SEASON, MAN
I knew Tyson Helton was the man for the job -- and he's proved it.
In his first year at the helm of the WKU program, and after taking over a team that won just three total games in 2018, Helton led the Hilltoppers to an eight-win regular season with a postseason bowl game still to come. It's pretty amazing what he's been able to do in such short time.
Helton after the game Saturday: "I expect to win 'em all. Everybody says, 'Did you expect to be sitting here with eight wins?' Well, I hope I did. We took a big step this year."
