Sports

Central Michigan scored what proved to be a game-winning touchdown with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and a fourth-down pass play for WKU fell incomplete as the Hilltoppers fell 24-21 Wednesday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field.

WKU ended the 2012 season with a 7-6 record, playing in the first Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision game in school history.

"I am so proud of this group.  The have been through so much in the last few weeks," said WKU interim head coach Lance Guidry.  "I'm proud of the way we played tonight.  We left some plays out of the field that might have changed the outcome, but sometimes that's how the cookie crumbles."

The WKU football team takes on Central Michigan Wednesday night in the Little Caesar's Bowl--the first ever major college bowl game for the Hilltoppers. WKU will look for another big game from their do-everything running back, receiver, and kickoff/punt returner Antonio Andrews, who is looking to set the NCAA record for total yards in a season.

The Little Caesar's Bowl is being televised nationally on ESPN, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30pm central time Wednesday evening.

Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry is coaching the Hilltoppers following the departure of former coach Willie Taggart, who left WKU to become the new head coach at South Florida. WKU made national news when they hired former Louisville and Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino just three days after Taggart's depature.

WKU shot 50% in the second half and had just seven second-half turnovers Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., but the 5th-ranked Louisville Cardinals earned a 78-55 win to wrap up WKU's non-conference slate for 2012-13.

A crowd of 10,728 was on-hand to see WKU and Louisville begin a new four-year series of games. The loss is WKU's third-straight, all coming against teams that went a combined 90-19 and won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament a season ago, and drops the Hilltoppers' record to 8-5. Louisville improves to 11-1.