2001 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

The 2001 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were coached by Jack Harbaugh. This was the school's first season as a member of the Gateway Football Conference, having won the Ohio Valley Conference championship the previous year. The Hilltoppers were the preseason favorites to win the conference but finished tied for 2nd.[1] They qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs where they were defeated by eventual runner-up, Furman.[2] The team was originally scheduled to play Wisconsin on September 14, however, due to the September 11 attacks, all college football games were suspended the following weekend, and the game was played on the 29th.[3]

2001 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
FCS CoachesNo. 12
Record8–4 (5–2 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumL. T. Smith Stadium
2001 Gateway Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^  6 –1   11 –3  
No. 12 Western Kentucky ^  5 –2   8 –4  
No. 15 Youngstown State  5 –2   8 –3  
Western Illinois  4 –3   5 –5  
Southwest Missouri State  3 –4   6 –5  
Indiana State  2 –5   3 –8  
Illinois State  2 –5   2 –9  
Southern Illinois  1 –6   1 –10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

This team included future NFL players Joseph Jefferson, Mel Mitchell, Sherrod Coates, and Brian Claybourn. Mitchell, Eric Dandy, and Chris Price were named to the AP All American team and Jefferson was selected to play in the Blue-Gray Football Classic. The All-Conference team included Coates, Dandy, Jefferson, Mitchell, Price, Patrick Reynolds, Buster Ashley, Claybourn, Peter Martinez, Kyle Moffatt, and Daniel Withrow.[4]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 30at No. 13 Western IllinoisNo. 3
L 13–1711,832[5]
September 8Kentucky State*No. 10
W 48–011,000
September 22Southwest MissouriNo. 8
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 23–79,500
September 29at Wisconsin*No. 7
L 6–2475,662
October 6Elon*No. 11
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 24–77,700
October 13at Indiana StateNo. 11
W 22–93,545
October 20No. 11 McNeese State*daggerNo. 10
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 21–014,000[6]
October 27at No. 5 Youngstown StateNo. 10
W 24–1416,591
November 3at Illinois StateNo. 7
W 58–146,493[7]
November 10No. 15 Northern IowaNo. 6
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
L 23–2410,300
November 17Southern IllinoisNo. 12
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 36–65,800[8]
December 1at No. 4 Furman*No. 11
L 20–246,143

References
  1. WKU tops Gateway, By the Daily News Online, Jul 26, 2001, retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. Western hoping to make up game, By Deborah Highland and Mitchell Plumlee, The Daily News, Sept 14, 2001, retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. 2019 MVC Football Records, retrieved 30 April 2020
  5. "Toppers lose opener at Western Illinois". Messenger-Inquirer. August 31, 2001. p. 1B. Retrieved January 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Western silences, taunts McNeese". The Courier-Journal. October 21, 2001. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Herbst, Rob (November 4, 2001). "WKU explodes against ISU". Park City Daily News. p. 1B. Retrieved December 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Pickens, Jim (November 18, 2001). "Toppers throttle Salukis". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 1B. Retrieved January 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.


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