Western Kentucky — Conference USA
HC
Tyson Helton · Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium · Bowling Green, KY · 22,113 cap
PPA off / def
0.17 / 0.10
2025
Class rank
#81
class of 2026
Returning PPA
84%
returning production
2026 schedule
2025 results (9–4)
Statistical comps — 2025 Western Kentucky's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (19 in / 23 out)
| Incoming |
|---|
| Roq Montgomery | IOL | ← Alabama | ★★★ |
| Rhett Larson | IOL | ← Sam Houston | ★★★ |
| CC Ezirim | TE | ← Toledo | ★★★ |
| Jyzaiah Rockwell | WR | ← Prairie View A&M | ★★★ |
| Brock Glenn | QB | ← Florida State | ★★★ |
| D'Cambren Verrett | S | ← Texas A&M-Kingsville | ★★★ |
| Kalib Hicks | RB | ← Oklahoma State | ★★★ |
| Garrison Madden | LB | ← USC | ★★★ |
| + 11 more |
Origins
Feix played quarterback here, coached here for sixteen years, and has the field named after him. Willie Taggart, Jeff Brohm and Mike Sanford all used the job as a springboard.
Founded 1906 · Founded as a state normal school in Bowling Green · first football 1913 · defined by Jimmy Feix
All-time record
Win %
51.8%
55 seasons played
Winning seasons
24
44% of seasons
By level: ii/iii 1–6 (1925–1942) · FCS 46–43 (1963–2007) · FBS 123–109 (2008–2025)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2015 | 12 | 2 | Conference USA |
| 2016 | 11 | 3 | Conference USA |
| 2004 | 10 | 3 | MVFC |
| 2025 | 9 | 4 | Conference USA |
| 2019 | 9 | 4 | Conference USA |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1925 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 371 | 50% |
43% | 78 of 136 | 6.0 | 15% |
| 2nd down | 272 | 44% |
42% | 59 of 136 | 6.1 | 13% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 42 | 33% |
57% | — | 4.3 | 7% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 57 | 14% |
49% | — | 5.2 | 11% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 67 | 16% |
34% | — | 6.1 | 15% |
| 4th down | 16 | 19% |
38% | — | 3.6 | 13% |
165 drives · 37% ended in points · 6.8 plays and 40.7 yards per drive · 0.91 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 1 | North Alabama |
Maverick McIvor pass complete to K.D. Hutchinson for 78 yds for a TD (John Cannon KICK) |
78 | 6.27 |
| 12 | Middle Tennessee |
Matthew Henry 22 Yd pass from Rodney Tisdale Jr. (John Cannon Kick) |
22 | 4.19 |
| CFP | Southern Miss |
Marvis Parrish 54 Yd Run (John Cannon Kick) |
54 | 4.18 |
| 1 | Sam Houston |
Maverick McIvor pass complete to Moussa Barry for 48 yds to the SHSU 22 for a 1ST down Sam… |
48 | 3.91 |
| 1 | Sam Houston |
Maverick McIvor pass complete to Matthew Henry for 26 yds for a TD (John Cannon KICK) |
26 | 3.83 |
| 12 | Middle Tennessee |
(14:31) No Huddle-Shotgun #21 M.Parrish rush middle for 66 yards gain to the MTSU07 (#25 J… |
66 | 3.74 |
| 10 | New Mexico State |
(11:09) No Huddle-Shotgun #16 R.Tisdale Jr. pass complete deep middle to #0 M.Henry caught… |
25 | 3.70 |
| 5 | Missouri State |
Maverick McIvor pass complete to K.D. Hutchinson for 16 yds to the MOST 48 for a 1ST down … |
31 | 3.70 |