Tops out for third straight win vs. Delaware
Published 10:04 am Monday, October 26, 2026
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Western Kentucky quarterback Brock Glenn warms up before an NCAA college football game against Indiana, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bloomington, Ind.
(DOUG McSCHOOLER/AP)
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Western Kentucky’s Jaylen Wester (21) tackles MercyHurst’s Ethen Knox (24) during Western Kentucky’s 52-7 over MercyHurst on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at Houchens Industries–L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Ky. (Caleb Lowndes/Daily News
(Caleb Lowndes)
Momentum meets momentum when Western Kentucky hosts Conference USA football rival Delaware on Tuesday night at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
WKU (3-4 overall, 2-1 CUSA) has won back-to-back games for the first time this season and picked up its first road victory of the year on with a 16-3 decision at Sam Houston on Oct. 14. And after opening the campaign with seven straight games, a long-awaited bye week gave the Hilltoppers had nearly two weeks of rest heading into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. matchup against the Fightin’ Blue Hens.
“Excited to be back home again,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “Another nationally televised game. A big Conference USA matchup. We’re really looking forward to it. Delaware’s a good football team. They had a really good win the other night. It should be a great game and looking forward to getting after it and trying to get a big win.”
Delaware (3-4, 1-2 CUSA) got a huge lift last week with the return of injured starting quarterback Nick Minicucci. The CUSA preseason offensive player of the year lived up to his billing in a 61-38 home win against Missouri State on Oct. 20, tying the Delaware single-game record with five passing touchdowns plus adding another rushing score in the win.
“He’s definitely a really good football player,” Helton said of Minicucci. “I have a lot of respect for him, their head football coach (Ryan Carty), what they do offensively. And he’s the one that makes it go. You could see that the other night. You could see the team had confidence.”
Tuesday’s game could light up the scoreboard, with Delaware ranking eighth in scoring defense (28.4 points per game) and WKU ninth (30.6), although the Tops are coming off arguably their best defensive performance of the season after holding Sam Houston out of the end zone.
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The Blue Hens feature the league’s worst pass defense, allowing 270.3 yards per game.
The Tops have used two quarterbacks this season, with Brock Glenn getting the start for the second straight week as opening-day starter Rodney Tisdale Jr. continues to recover from a nagging ankle injury.
“I feel like Brock is healthy,” Helton said. “I feel like Rodney is getting more healthy. He’s not quite 100%, but I do think he’s a lot healthier than he was before we had a bye week. And he’s always been available. Rodney’s always been available, but this is probably the healthiest he’s been. And we need both those guys for us to go win.”
Delaware ranks second in CUSA in scoring offense, presenting a major challenge for the Hilltoppers. WKU played the last two games without three starters in linebacker Jaylen Wester and defensive linemen Mackavelli Malotumau and Rylen Su’a-Filo, three graduate seniors who have been part of a back-and-forth legal battle with the NCAA to gain a final season of eligibility. After the Kentucky Court of Appeals dissolved a temporary injunction that allowed the trio to play earlier this season, the players won another round in the courts last week and are eligible – for now – to play Tuesday night.
“I hope it’s not this way all year,” Helton said of his players’ uncertain eligibility. “I think it will continue to be back-and-forth. I think the NCAA has been very vocal about where they stand and I think college coaches, whether it’s football, basketball or any other sport have been very vocal about where we stand. And that’s OK. That’s what makes this sport what it is and it’s healthy. Nobody’s wrong and nobody’s right. I think there’s a lot of truth on both sides. I sound like a politician now, don’t I?
“But at the end of the day, those three gentlemen, those three players that are eligible bring a lot to our team. But we have also shown that we can win without those guys.”
Tuesday’s game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Prior to the game, Tyler Hubbard will perform a free pregame concert on South Lawn. The one-hour concert is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.
About Jeff Nations
Sports Editor, Bowling Green Daily News
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