2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football

Conference	Conference USA
Division	East Division
Record	3–9 (2–6 C-USA)
Head coach	Mike Sanford Jr. (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Junior Adams (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Clayton White (2nd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Conference USA football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Middle Tennessee x	7	–	1	8	–	6
Marshall	6	–	2	9	–	4
FIU	6	–	2	9	–	4
Charlotte	4	–	4	5	–	7
Florida Atlantic	3	–	5	5	–	7
Old Dominion	2	–	6	4	–	8
Western Kentucky	2	–	6	3	–	9
West Division
UAB x$	7	–	1	11	–	3
North Texas	5	–	3	9	–	4
Louisiana Tech	5	–	3	8	–	5
Southern Miss	5	–	3	6	–	5
UTSA	2	–	6	3	–	9
UTEP	1	–	7	1	–	11
Rice	1	–	7	2	–	11
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

The 2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team (WKU) represented Western Kentucky University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers played their home games at the Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky as members of the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by second-year head coach Mike Sanford Jr. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the East Division.^[1]

On November 25, head coach Mike Sanford Jr. was fired after only two seasons.^[2] He finished at WKU with a record of 9–16.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
John Mackey Award^[3]	Mik'Quan Deane	TE	SR
Wuerffel Trophy^[4]	Julien Lewis	DL	SR

Preseason media poll

Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Hilltoppers predicted to finish in fourth place in the East Division.^[5]

Predicted finish	Team
East Division
1	Florida Atlantic
2	Marshall
3	Middle Tennessee
4	FIU
5	Western Kentucky
6	Old Dominion
7	Charlotte

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	8:00 p.m.	at No. 4 Wisconsin*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN	L 3–34	74,145
September 8	6:30 p.m.	No. 22 (FCS) Maine*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	L 28–31	15,178
September 15	6:30 p.m.	at Louisville*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ACCRSN	L 17–20	54,923
September 22	2:00 p.m.	at Ball State*	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPN3	W 28–20	15,873
September 29	6:30 p.m.	Marshall	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Stadium	L 17–20	20,811
October 13	2:30 p.m.	at Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC	ESPN+	L 14–40	11,610
October 20	6:30 p.m.	Old Dominion	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	L 34–37	13,269
October 27	6:30 p.m.	FIU	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	beIN	L 17–38	15,138
November 2	7:00 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	CBSSN	L 10–29	16,617
November 10	4:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	Stadium	L 15–34	14,400
November 17	6:30 p.m.	UTEP	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	beIN	W 40–16	6,221
November 24	11:00 a.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	CBSSN	W 30–15	11,459
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[6]

Game summaries

At Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	0	3	0	3
No. 4 Badgers	7	17	3	7	34

Maine

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 (FCS) Black Bears	0	14	14	3	31
Hilltoppers	21	0	0	7	28

At Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	7	0	3	17
Cardinals	0	3	3	14	20

At Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	7	7	14	28
Cardinals	7	3	3	7	20

Marshall

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	7	3	0	10	20
Hilltoppers	3	7	0	7	17

At Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	0	0	7	14
49ers	6	3	21	10	40

Old Dominion

	1	2	3	4	Total
Monarchs	14	3	2	18	37
Hilltoppers	7	17	3	7	34

FIU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	7	14	10	38
Hilltoppers	0	3	0	14	17

At Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	3	0	7	0	10
Blue Raiders	10	10	3	6	29

At Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	9	0	6	15
Owls	10	0	7	17	34

UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	0	0	8	8	16
Hilltoppers	27	13	0	0	40

At Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	14	9	0	7	30
Bulldogs	0	12	3	0	15

References

^ WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ "WKU firing Mike Sanford 2 seasons after he replaced Jeff Brohm". November 25, 2018.
^ "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
^ "FB: Preseason Media Poll".
^ "2018 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 4, 2018.

v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Venues	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Eastern Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass Middle Tennessee: 100 Miles of Hate Murray State: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Big Red "Stand Up and Cheer"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold