GAME AND SERIES NOTES
• WKU’s team captains for the game were Ben Holt, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Derik Overstreet and Mike White,
along with honorary team captain Steve Spurrier, Sr.
• There was an attendance of 19,585 in Camping World Stadium for the 2:36 p.m. ET kick off.
• WKU fell to 1-1 all-time against Georgia State.
TEAM NOTES
• WKU lost a bowl game for the first time since the 2012 Little Caesars Bowl (Central Michigan, 24-21).
The Hilltoppers had won bowl games in each of the past 3 seasons.
• WKU failed to reach 7 wins in a season for the 1st time since 2010. The Hilltoppers had been 1 of 5
teams in the nation to reach that mark in 6 consecutive seasons.
• WKU had 10 different players catch a pass. The Hilltoppers had 8 players with at least 1 reception in
12-of-13 games this season. The game that the Hilltoppers failed to reach that mark was against
Marshall, when they had 7.
• WKU tied a season-high with 9 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.
• The senior class finished with 37 wins, the 4th-most in program history.
PLAYER NOTES
MIKE WHITE
• Completed 26 of 39 passes for 351 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
• His marks of 26 completions, 39 attempts and 351 yards were all Cure Bowl records.
• Threw for 300+ yards in 8 consecutive games to end the season, which leads the nation, and 17 times
in 27 games overall as a Hilltopper.
• His 560 attempts this season were a program record, and his 976 career attempts finished 4th in
program history.
• Also finished 4th in program history with 648 career completions, while his 368 completions this
season were the 3rd most in a WKU single-season.
• Finished 3rd in program history with 8,540 passing yards, while finishing with 4,177 this season to post
a 4,000+ yard campaign by a Hilltopper for the 4th consecutive year.
• Set an all-time WKU record by going 161 passes in-between interceptions, with the streak ending on
his 39th and final attempt of the day.
DEON YELDER
• Had 5 receptions with career-highs of 112 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a career-long 54-yard
touchdown catch in the 1st quarter. It was his 1st career game of 100+ yards.
• Finished the season with 52 receptions for 688 yards and a team-high 7 touchdowns after not
recording an offensive statistic in his first 3 seasons on the field.
NACARIUS FANT
• Had a team-high 7 receptions for 70 yards.
• Finished the season with team highs of 74 receptions and 704 yards, to go along with 4 touchdowns.
His 74 catches are the 5th-most in a single season in program history.
POST-GAME NOTES | WKU (17) vs. Georgia State (27) – 2017 AutoNation Cure Bowl | Dec. 16, 2017
WKUSports.com | @WKUFootball
BRANDON RAY
• Set the all-time program record with his 54th career/consecutive start, the most by any player. He
started a bowl game in each of his 4 seasons on The Hill.
JOEL IYEIGBUNIWE
• Led WKU with 12 tackles for the 2nd consecutive week, his 5th game this season with 10+ tackles.
• Also added 2.5 tackles for loss, including his 2nd sack of the year.
DERIK OVERSTREET
• Had 5 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. He also added his 3rd sack of the year, which was the 11th of his
career.
• Started his 45th career game, the most by a Hilltopper defensive player in the FBS Era. He started a
bowl game in each of his 4 seasons on The Hill.
JAKE COLLINS
• Booted a career-long 62-yard punt in the 3rd quarter. Netted 5 punts for 214 yards total on the day.
by Bryan Fyalkowski
