The worst thing you can say about Saturday night's win by WKU over Kentucky is that it was the second biggest victory in Hilltopper football history. The only competition for that distinction is the 2002 1-AA national championship game WKU won against McNeese State.
But many observers say the Toppers win in Lexington takes top honors, signaling perhaps a turning point for a program that recently held the nation's longest losing streak and was seen as a laughing stock of collegiate football.
The only people laughing Saturday night were WKU players, coaches, and fans following the team's dramatic 32-31 overtime win over the Wildcats. The game winning play came on a trick-play two-point conversion.
Check out this great article by the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mark Story, who says WKU players were begging head coach Willie Taggart to run the trick-play all game. The players had learned the play only in the week leading up to the UK game and were itching to give it a shot.
Taggart says he realized his defense was exhausted, and probably wouldn't be able to hold on through a second overtime. He says that's why he decided to run the trick-play which would either win or lose the game for the Hilltoppers.
The Bowling Green Daily News says you can't underestimate what knocking off an SEC opponent means to many of the WKU players. The SEC has won six straight BCS national championships, and eight overall since the BCS formula was instituted in 1998. The conference with the second most BCS title winners is the Big 12, which has two.
