‘We might see some hatred.’ Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky renew football rivalry.

One of the most history-rich rivalries in Kentucky sports is set for a fresh installment this weekend.

For the first time since September 2017, Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky will play each other on the football field. The longtime rivals are set for a 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. local time) kickoff in Bowling Green at WKU’s Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.

What was once an annual fixture on both teams’ schedules has become a game played sparingly in recent times, especially since 2007, when the Hilltoppers began the process of moving from the FCS level to the FBS level.

EKU, of course, has remained at the FCS level despite the widely known goal of trying to move up to college football’s top division.

Since that FBS transition process began for the Hilltoppers in 2007, EKU and WKU have played only three times. All three games have been won by WKU in 2007 (Bowling Green), 2008 (Richmond) and 2017 (Bowling Green).

EKU’s last win in the rivalry came in 2006, when the Colonels won an early-season matchup in Richmond.

As the Battle of the Bluegrass resumes in 2024, both the Colonels and Hilltoppers will be licking their wounds. Both teams traveled to play SEC opponents in Week 1, and both left on the wrong end of some lopsided scores.

EKU began the post-Parker McKinney era with a 56-7 loss at Mississippi State in which the Bulldogs scored a touchdown just 32 seconds into the game.

WKU failed to get on the scoreboard in a 63-0 loss at then-No. 5 Alabama. As a team, Western Kentucky generated just 145 yards of total offense compared to the 600 yards gained by the Crimson Tide.

Safe to say, both teams are looking to turn the page this week as they prepare for the long-awaited renewal of this rivalry series.

Eastern Kentucky needs more from new-look offense, veteran defense

There was some good, and bad, from Matt Morrissey’s first game at quarterback for the Colonels.

The former Trinity Valley Community College (Texas), Northern Iowa and Western Illinois signal caller went 22-for-38 passing for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception (a pick six) last weekend at Mississippi State.

Morrissey completed a pass to 11 different receivers in the loss.

“I was really pleased with him,” Wells said Tuesday of Morrissey’s performance. “… He did a great job of sitting in the pocket, for the most part, on Saturday. (He) controlled his footwork, throwing with some accuracy.”

EKU also got plenty of reps with Morrissey now behind center: The Colonels ran 76 plays Saturday and controlled the football for more than 38 minutes. This included a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half.

Unfortunately for EKU, this ball control dominance was also the result of a defense that was repeatedly gashed for explosive plays.

Mississippi State had three offensive touchdowns of 40-plus yards, and the Bulldogs averaged more than 16 yards per completion through the air.

Wells, who is now in his fifth season coaching the Colonels , often champions the improvement that teams make from Week 1 to Week 2 of a season. That’s especially relevant for an FCS program like EKU: In four of Wells’ five seasons at Eastern Kentucky, the Colonels have opened the season with consecutive FBS opponents.

Last season offered a relevant data point in this regard. After losing 66-13 at Cincinnati to begin the 2023 season, EKU rallied to play Kentucky to a competitive 28-17 loss that saw the Colonels lead the game in the third quarter.

“I’m not discouraged with our football team,” Wells said. “Am I discouraged with our results? Totally. But, am I discouraged with our football team? No.”

Western Kentucky hosts EKU for 2024 home opener

Saturday’s heavy defeat at Alabama for Western Kentucky can be attributed, in part, to the amount of new faces who were playing their first-ever games at WKU.

Helton, Western Kentucky’s sixth-year head coach, has 53 new players in his program this season. This includes 33 transfer portal additions and 20 true freshmen.

One of those transfer portal pickups was veteran college quarterback TJ Finley, who made previous stops at LSU, Auburn and Texas State. A former three-star high school recruit, Finley went 18-for-31 passing for 92 yards and two interceptions (including one in the red zone) against the Crimson Tide.

“I thought he had good poise. I thought he didn’t seem nervous,” Helton said Tuesday. “… He forced the ball a couple times (when) I think he was just trying to make a play, and like all of us, we’d like to have those throws back. I thought there was good leadership out on the field. I thought he put us in some good situations.”

Perhaps WKU’s most impressive newcomer in that Alabama game was redshirt junior punter Cole Maynard. The former North Carolina Tar Heel punted nine times Saturday night, with three of those punts traveling 50-plus yards.

On Wednesday, Maynard was named to the Ray Guy Award watchlist as a contender to be named the nation’s best college punter.

Given the newness on this WKU roster, along with the quality of the opponent the Hilltoppers played, long-term judgment about what this 2024 season could become for Western Kentucky can’t be made yet, especially given WKU’s recent track record of success.

Western Kentucky is one of only 16 teams to play in a bowl game in each of the last five seasons, and the Hilltoppers are one of only seven teams to win a bowl game in three straight seasons.

“One thing I’ve always liked about our group is they’re very mature, they get the big picture,” Helton said. “Big, physical Alabama football team, we just got out-manned at times.”

EKU, WKU rivalry has always featured big atmospheres, crowds

If one thing has remained a constant during the EKU-WKU football rivalry — a series that began in 1914 — it’s the big-time atmospheres the games have produced.

Each of the five biggest crowds in EKU’s football history at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond (1979, 1977, 1971, 1975 and 2004) came when the Colonels clashed with the Hilltoppers. From 1990 to 2007, the five largest crowds for WKU football home games were all when EKU was the opponent.

When WKU and EKU last played in 2017 in Bowling Green, 18,614 fans showed up.

“I hope that the respect for the rivalry is still there. … I still hope the rivalry is something that’s important to the fans,” Wells said. “We don’t have a rivalry with Kentucky or Louisville. They don’t have a rivalry with Kentucky or Louisville. It might as well be us two still going at it.”

“I hope we have a really good crowd, it should be a really good atmosphere,” Helton, WKU’s coach, said. “… Kind of a longtime rivalry game over the years, there’s a lot of history there.”

From EKU’s perspective, Wells has spent time in the lead-up to this week’s game trying to educate his players about the history of the rivalry, and how Saturday’s game environment will be turned up a few notches from normal.

“I just tried to let them know that this is what it might feel (like),” Wells said. “It may not be like our typical, go to a Group of Five stadium where it’s half full, maybe a fourth full, and play. It might be packed. It might be loud. We might see some hatred. And that’s a good thing.”

The last time EKU won in Bowling Green was 1998.

Wells said Tuesday that he doesn’t believe a game against Western Kentucky is on EKU’s schedule in the next four or five years..

Uniform controversy develops ahead of EKU-WKU game

On Wednesday afternoon, a uniform controversy developed between the two teams ahead of the Battle of the Bluegrass.

In July, Saturday night’s game was announced by WKU as being a White Out, which normally comes with the Hilltoppers wearing all-white uniforms and WKU fans being encouraged to wear white to the game.

But, on Tuesday, EKU told WKU that the Colonels “would be exercising their right as the visiting team to wear white uniforms,” according to a WKU football statement. This would force WKU to wear red for Saturday’s game.

WKU said it hoped to reach an agreement with EKU in order for the Hilltoppers to wear white on Saturday. According to NCAA rules, both teams must agree to a uniform switch.

But, it appears an agreement won’t be reached and EKU will be donning white uniforms for Saturday’s contest. WKU is still encouraging its fans to wear white to the game.

An EKU Athletics statement referenced the game contract agreed upon by the two schools in March 2019, and how WKU “did not stipulate in the contract that they would be wearing white.”

The Herald-Leader obtained the game contract for Saturday’s matchup via the Kentucky Open Records Act on Wednesday. The contract makes no reference to the uniform color that’s to be worn by either team.

The game contract states that WKU is paying EKU $325,000 for the game. It also says EKU will receive 300 complimentary tickets for Saturday’s game.

Next game

Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. EDT Saturday

Online: ESPN+

Records: Western Kentucky 0-1, Eastern Kentucky 0-1

Radio: WCYO-FM 100.7

Series: Western Kentucky leads 48-34-3. This includes a WKU win by forfeit over EKU in 1932.

Last meeting: Western Kentucky won 31-17 on Sept. 2, 2017, in Bowling Green.

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