Western Kentucky (6-5 overall, 4-3 Conference USA) at Florida International (6-4, 4-3)

6 p.m. CST Friday

Riccardo Silva Stadium

Miami

TV broadcast: BeIN Sports

Radio: WPTQ-105.3 FM, WWKU-1450 AM

Starting lineups

HILLTOPPERS

OFFENSE

Ht. Wt. Yr.

QUARTERBACK

14 Mike White 6-4 225 r-Sr.

RUNNING BACK

32 D’Andre Ferby 6-1 225 r-Jr.

WIDE RECEIVERS

16 Quin Jernighan 6-3 210 r-So.

23 Cameron Echols-Luper 6-0 195 Gr.

-or- 9 Xavier Lane 6-4 200 r-Fr.

1 Nacarius Fant 5-9 185 Sr.

-or- 8 Kylen Towner 5-8 175 r-Sr.

TIGHT END

19 Deon Yelder 6-4 255 r-Sr.

LEFT TACKLE

75 Jimmie Sims 6-4 295 r-Sr.

LEFT GUARD

51 Brandon Ray 6-2 300 r-Sr.

CENTER

64 Dennis Edwards 6-1 315 r-Jr.

RIGHT GUARD

74 Tyler Witt 6-2 300 r-Fr.

RIGHT TACKLE

70 Cole Spencer 6-4 285 Fr.

KICKER

37 Ryan Nuss 5-9 200 r-Jr.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE ENDS

42 Derik Overstreet 6-2 250 Sr.

95 Heath Wiggins 6-2 265 r-So.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

96 Julien Lewis 6-3 300 r-Jr.

3 Chris Johnson 6-1 285 Sr.

LINEBACKERS

25 Masai Whyte 6-0 225 r-Jr.

4 Joel Iyiegbuniwe 6-1 230 r-Jr.

NICKELBACK

15 Ta’Corian Darden 5-9 180 r-So.

CORNERBACKS

7 Joe Brown 5-10 195 Sr.

22 DeAndre Farris 5-10 190 r-Jr.

SAFETIES

9 Drell Greene 5-11 200 Jr.

2 Devon Key 6-1 205 r-Fr.

PUNTER

49 Jake Collins 6-1 210 r-Jr.

PANTHERS

OFFENSE

Ht. Wt. Yr.

QUARTERBACK

12 Alex McGough 6-3 218 Sr.

RUNNING BACK

1 Alex Gardner 5-10 195 Sr.

FULLBACK

34 Jacob Kraut 6-0 245 Jr.

HALFBACK

80 Zach Armour 6-3 220 R-Fr.

WIDE RECEIVER

9 Bryce Singleton 5-10 193 Fr.

15 Austin Maloney 5-11 190 So.

TIGHT END

88 Pharoah McKever 6-6 248 Gr.

LEFT TACKLE

65 Daquane Wilkie 6-4 275 Jr.

LEFT GUARD

66 Jordan Budwig 6-4 311 Sr.

-or- 69 Chris Miller 6-4 338 Jr.

CENTER

76 Neal Mars 6-3 305 Jr.

RIGHT GUARD

60 Dallas Connell 6-3 285 So.

RIGHT TACKLE

79 Kai Absheer 6-5 310 Jr.

-or- 58 Devontay Taylor 6-4 305 R-Fr.

KICKER

30 Jose Borregales 5-10 206 R-Fr.

-or- 39 Sean Young 6-1 190 Jr.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE END

7 Fermin Silva 6-2 235 Jr.

-or- 90 Noah Curtis 6-5 248 Fr.

97 Newton Salisbury 6-3 265 Sr.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

91 Anthony Johnson 6-3 291 Jr.

46 Milord Juste 6-1 285 Jr.

-or- 78 Josh Little 6-3 260 So.

SAM LINEBACKER

52 Treyvon Williams 6-0 230 Sr.

MIKE LINEBACKER

53 Anthony Wint 6-0 230 Sr.

WILL LINEBACKER

47 Sage Lewis 6-1 240 So.

CORNERBACK

27 Brad Muhammad 5-11 185 Sr.

-or- 38 Richard Dames 5-11 185 Fr.

3 Andrew Brown 5-9 190 Sr.

-or- 20 Emmanuel Lubin 6-1 190 Jr.

SAFETY

28 Bryce Canady 6-0 190 Sr.

33 Niko Gonzalez 6-0 195 Sr.

PUNTER

6 Stone Wilson 5-10 185 Jr.

-or- 39 Sean Young 6-1 190 Jr.

*Starting lineups subject to change

WKU Stats

Points per game:

O: 27, 75th

D: 25.5, t-56th

Yards per carry:

O: 2.18, 130th

D: 4.61, 82nd

Yards per pass attempt:

O: 7.5, t-49th

D: 6.5, t-27th

Yards per play:

O: 5.3, t-99th

D: 5.44, t-55th

FIU Stats

Points per game:

O: 22.6, 108th

D: 28, t-75th

Yards per carry:

O: 3.99, t-88th

D: 4.89, 99th

Yards per pass attempt:

O: 7.5, t-49th

D: 7.4, t-75th

Yards per play:

O: 5.57, t-69th

D: 5.98, t-92nd

Position-by-position breakdown

QUARTERBACK: Western Kentucky’s Mike White threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers last week in a win against Middle Tennessee. That marked the third time this season he’d accomplished that feat. Florida International’s Alex McGough has been steady, throwing 11 TDs against four INTs in Conference USA play. ADVANTAGE: WKU

RUNNING BACK: The Toppers are the only team across the 130-team FBS without a rushing play of at least 20 yards. Every other team has at least four such plays. Panthers RB Alex Gardner averages 63.5 yards per game, which ranks No. 9 among C-USA backs. The Hilltoppers’ top rusher, D’Andre Ferby, ranks No. 23 with 34.22 ypg. FIU

RECEIVERS: WKU is one of 11 teams nationally with five or more receivers with 25 or more receptions. Washington State and Connecticut lead the nation with eight and six receivers, respectively. Nacarius Fant (60 catches), Deon Yelder (43), Lucky Jackson (36), Cameron Echols-Luper (34) and Quin Jernighan (29) have all reached that mark for the Tops. WKU

OFFENSIVE LINE: WKU’s offense surrenders 3.36 sacks per game, which ranks No. 125 nationally and is a nearly a sack-and-a-half more per game more than FIU allows (1.9, No. 57 nationally). Cole Spencer and Tyler Witt have solidified starting spots on the right side of the Hilltopper line in recent weeks. FIU

DEFENSIVE LINE: FIU defensive end Fermin Silva ranks No. 8 across C-USA in sacks per game (0.45). No WKU D-lineman ranks higher than No. 38 (Derik Overstreet, 0.2). Overstreet’s six tackles for loss rank second on the team behind linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe. FIU

LINEBACKERS: Joel Iyiegbuniwe led WKU last week with 15 tackles, tied for second-most all-time in a single game for the Hilltoppers. That marked the second straight week he reached 15 tackles, having also done so Nov. 11 in a loss at Marshall. WKU

SECONDARY: The Toppers rank No. 7 nationally in 20+ yard passes allowed (24) despite ranking No. 127 in quarterback sacks (0.91 per game) – a testament to their defensive backs’ ability to cover downfield without help of a pass rush. WKU cornerback DeAndre Farris ranks second in C-USA with 13 pass breakups. WKU

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Hilltoppers’ Ryan Nuss is coming off the kick of his life, a 37-yarder in triple overtime to beat MTSU. FIU’s Jose Borregales has hit 12 of 14 field goal attempts this season as a freshman. FIU

Brad’s pick

Western Kentucky got its season back on track last week, snapping a three-game losing streak with a triple-overtime win against Middle Tennessee. The win rejuvenated the Hilltoppers and gave them momentum heading into the regular-season finale.

Look for the good feelings to continue, as WKU will take care of Florida International and grab a seventh win.

Western Kentucky 28, Florida International 14

Season record: 9-2