It’s easy to see Bobby Petrino in WKU’s head coach position and predict a 10-win season. As a WKU fan, I have to remind myself that the Hilltoppers will have a new leader under center and they don’t have the receiving corps that Petrino is used to having. Nonetheless, an 8-win season is a safe estimate for Petrino’s first year on the Hill. Here’s how I got my 8 wins:

Week 1 vs Kentucky in Nashville, TN.

WIN (1-0) Despite the weakness at the WR position, WKU will be able to rely on their strong defense led by Team JDowl and President Jackson to slow down Neal Brown’s offense. This game is definitely a toss up but I like the Hilltopper’s chances.

Week 2 @ Tennessee in Knoxville, TN.

LOSS (1-1) It was pretty tough for me to put this as an L. If Petrino knocked off back-to-back SEC opponents to open the season, the program would get a huge lift. Even if WKU lost to UK but beat UT, I’d be satisfied. I’m not confident on either of these two picks, but I do feel confident that WKU will be AT LEAST 1-1 after Week 2.

Week 3 @ South Alabama in Mobile, AL.

WIN (2-1) The Jaguars should be one of the easier wins on the year for the Tops. This will be USA’s first season as a full member of D-I college football.

Week 4 vs Morgan State in Bowling Green, KY.

WIN (3-1) Morgan State is an FCS team and therefore, Petrino’s offense should air it out all over them. This game could be a good chance for Doughty and his receivers to gain confidence with one another.

Week 5 vs Navy in Bowling Green, KY.

WIN (4-1) WKU wasn’t able to defend the option the last time these two teams met. Dowling didn’t play that game and Jackson was still growing into his role as leader of the defense. Also, Petrino has more experience defending the option than Taggart did. Once again, WKU’s defense will need to win this game.

Week 6 @ Louisiana-Monroe in Monroe, LA.

LOSS (4-2) ULM quarterback Kolton Browning was named as one of 34 quarterbacks on the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List. So far during the preseason, Browning has been named the Sun Belt Conference’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while earning a spot on the conference’s preseason all-conference team. He led the Warhawks to a very painful victory over WKU in OT last season.

Week 7 Bye Week

Week 8 vs Louisiana in Bowling Green, KY.

LOSS (4-3) The Ragin’ Cajuns have been near the top of the conference since I’ve been at WKU. I’ve seen WKU go 2-1 against them in my 3 years and I would love to see the Tops take them down this year. Unfortunately, QB Terrance Broadway is really good. ULL and ULM shared first place on top of the preseason Sun Belt poll. The two Louisiana schools could do some damage to WKU this season, much like last year.

Week 9 vs Troy in Bowling Green, KY.

WIN (5-3) After losing 2 straight, WKU will look to rebound against the Trojans. Troy will likely finish fifth in the conference, behind ULM, ULL, ASU, and WKU (in no particular order). It’ll be a tough game, but the Tops come out on top to start their bowl game push.

Week 10 @ Georgia State in Atlanta, GA.

WIN (6-3) The Hilltoppers will look to get bowl eligible in Week 10 against the Panthers in GSU’s first year in the FBS. The most exciting story from this game will be Petrino’s return to the Georgia Dome.

Week 11 @ Army in West Point, NY.

WIN (7-3) As good as they are at defending our freedom, Army struggles a bit at football. Should be another easy win for the Tops.

Week 12 Bye Week

Week 13 @ Texas State in San Marcos, TX.

WIN (8-3) This is a dangerous game for WKU. They could find themselves looking ahead to the season finale with ASU and get caught off guard by the Bobcats. Barring a big upset, WKU gets their 8th win of the season in Week 13.

Week 14 vs Arkansas State in Bowling Green, KY.

LOSS (8-4) There’s a reason the Sun Belt scheduled this game for the last week of the year.This game will make or break each of these two team’s seasons. A 9-3 WKU will go to a decent bowl game while an 8-4 WKU might pull an 2012 MTSU and watch a team with a worse record play in December. This will be a very hard fought game by both sides and could potentially decide the conference championship.

Summary

An 8-4 season is my conservative estimate. If WKU doesn’t win at least 8 games, I’d consider that a under-achieving team. The Tops could mesh in week 2 and pull off an amazing 11-1 year. A lot of their success will depend on how Doughty leads the team and how the receivers adapt to Petrino’s system. There’s a ton of potential in the Tops’ offense, they just have to buy in to the coaching staff.