A group of Western Kentucky football alumni recently stopped by practice to address the current Hilltopper team.

Right guard Miles Pate said the former WKU players had a clear message when it came to the Toppers’ 2017 opener against Eastern Kentucky.

“It was like, ‘Just make sure you all kill them for us,’ ” the redshirt sophomore Pate said. “They killed them back then. They want us to continue the tradition.”

The Hilltoppers and Colonels, who haven’t met since 2008, will renew their classic rivalry Saturday for a single game. Kickoff from Houchens-Smith Stadium is set for 6 p.m., with the game to be streamed on Flofootball.com.

WKU is 47-35-3 all-time against its old rival from Richmond. The Tops have faced Eastern Kentucky more than any other program.

The rivalry was defined in the 1960s and ’70s when Jimmy Feix’s Hilltoppers and Roy Kidd’s Colonels slugged it out in the Ohio Valley Conference.

WKU beat EKU on its way to OVC titles in 1952, ’63, ’70, ’71, ’73, ’78, ’80 and 2000.

“Having the alumni come back and talk about what it meant to them, we have to embrace that same feeling,” wide receiver Lucky Jackson said. “We have to come into the game with the same intentions they did when they were facing Eastern consistently.

“It definitely means a lot to us and we’re going to take that into Saturday.”

The two schools last met in 2008, when WKU claimed a 37-13 win in Richmond. The Tops completed a transition to Division I-A (now the Football Bowl Subdivision) the next season, while the Colonels stayed in Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision).

Saturday’s EKU at WKU battle is the only contest between the two schools currently scheduled.

The rivalry has been billed as the “Battle of the Bluegrass” and features dozens of players on both teams from the state. WKU listed 40 Kentuckians on its preseason roster, making the Bluegrass home to more Toppers than any other state.

Meanwhile, the Colonels starting lineup includes players from Barbourville, Bardstown, Louisville, Russell Springs and Somerset.

WKU cornerback Joe Brown, a Louisville native, said he knows some of Eastern Kentucky’s players, including wide receiver Derius Jones – his cousin.

Jones plays in the slot and Brown on the outside, so the two cousins are unlikely to be matched up man-to-man.

“But if he comes out there, he knows what’s happening,” a smiling Brown said.

Saturday also marks the head coaching debut for WKU’s Mike Sanford. The 35-year-old has coached college football in various assistant roles since 2005, but never as the man leading the program.

Sanford has built his WKU program on “The Pursuit” of graduating every player, serving the community, beating Power Five teams each year, winning the Conference USA title and winning a New Year’s Six bowl game for the first time.

The Colonels aren’t a Power Five or C-USA school, but Sanford has talked all offseason how excited he is for the Hilltoppers to begin his first season against an old rival.

“This is a team we’re facing where there are some significant rivalry moments in the history of this game,” Hilltopper coach Mike Sanford said. “It’s been played a significant amount of times, dang near 100. It’s in the mid-80s.

“We’ve got an opportunity against a great opponent with a great tradition to get out there and establish how we want to play the game of football.”

Roster Notes

WKU running back D’Andre Ferby (ankle) practiced this week and is expected to play. “D’Andre looked great,” Sanford said. “Having that lower extremity injury early in camp and then coming back, he’s got fresh legs. It’s going to be fun to cut him loose.”

Running back Quinton Baker, wide receiver Xavier Lane and linebacker Tyler Obee are all suspended for the EKU game. They pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor charges stemming from a March fight at the Pi Kappa Alpha house.

Former Hilltopper Drew O’Bryan is listed on the Colonels’ depth chart as a second-team linebacker. The redshirt freshman was also charged with a misdemeanor for his involvement in the March altercation that resulted in Baker, Lane and Obee’s suspensions. The Ashland native left the WKU program during spring practice and transferred to EKU.

Notes

WKU is seeking its 59th win in a season opener. The Hilltoppers are 58-33-6 all-time in season openers and have won five straight. … Quarterback Mike White needs five completions to crack the Top 10 career chart for passing completions at WKU. The redshirt senior sits at 416, trailing Willie Taggart at 420. … White is making his second straight opening day start. He’s the Toppers’ third opening day starter this decade, alongside Kawaun Jakes (2010-12) and Brandon Doughty (2013-15). … Since 2012, WKU is 14-1 against nonconference opponents from outside the Power 5 conferences and is 9-0 against such teams at Houchens-Smith Stadium. … The Hilltoppers will open the year at home against Eastern Kentucky for the first time since 1994.

Broadcast information

Live stream: Flofootball.com (Play-by-play: Joe Brunk; Color: Billy Rutledge)

Radio: 105.3 FM/1450 AM (Play-by-play: Randy Lee; Analyst: Leo Peckenpaugh; Sideline: Terry Obee){&end}