Little has gone right this year for Western Kentucky. But the Hilltoppers can find some solace amid their disappointing season if they score another win against their closest rival.

WKU and Middle Tennessee renew their series for the 68th time Friday in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

The Blue Raiders (5-3 overall, 4-1 Conference USA) hold a 34-32-1 edge in the rivalry over the Toppers (1-7, 0-4). WKU has won three straight meetings in the most-played series between any of C-USA’s current members.

“It’s big, man,” WKU running back D’Andre Ferby said. “No matter how the seasons are going, when rivalry games come, records go out the window. We’re ready.”

The Hilltoppers beat MTSU 41-38 last Nov. 17 on kicker Ryan Nuss’ 37-yard field goal in triple overtime. That contest marked the fourth of the teams’ last six meetings to go into double or triple OT.

Since that night at Houchens-Smith Stadium, WKU’s football program has bottomed out.

Coach Mike Sanford’s squad has lost nine of its last 10 games over the last two seasons, including four straight leading into Friday. The most recent loss was a 38-17 defeat last week to Florida International that kept the Tops in the Conference USA East Division basement.

WKU knows it won’t qualify for bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010. Four games remain on the Hilltoppers’ schedule – at Middle Tennessee on Friday, at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 10, vs. Texas-El Paso on Nov. 17 and at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 24.

The team can, at best, finish 5-7.

Sanford said he wants his players to dedicate their November to WKU’s 10 seniors and giving them a positive end to their college careers.

“There’s no doubt that we’re playing for these seniors,” Sanford said. “We’re playing for their legacy.”

The Toppers last lost to the Blue Raiders on Sept. 13, 2014. MTSU outdueled WKU 50-47 that night at Floyd Stadium to win in three overtimes.

WKU responded by routing the Blue Raiders 58-28 the following year at home.

The teams then played a double-overtime classic in 2016 that WKU won 44-43 in Murfreesboro. Tight end Deon Yelder’s double-OT block of an extra point was the key play in a game that vaulted the Hilltoppers toward a second straight C-USA crown.

WKU made it three in a row last year with its three-point, triple-overtime win. Quarterback Mike White threw for 485 yards and five touchdowns that night in Bowling Green, including overtime TD passes to wide receivers Cameron Echols-Luper and Nacarius Fant.

None of WKU’s 10 seniors – Ferby, Nuss, Mik’Quan Deane, Drew Eckels, DeAndre Farris, Drell Greene, Julien Lewis, Der’Quione Mobley, Evan Sayner and Masai Whyte – have ever played in a loss to MTSU.

The Tops’ senior class is aiming to become the first since the 1976 group to beat the Blue Raiders in all four matchups over their careers.

“We’re trying to keep that going for them before they leave,” freshman linebacker Tre Leslie said.

While WKU sits seventh in the Conference USA East Division, Middle Tennessee is second behind only FIU (6-2, 4-1). The Blue Raiders lost to the Panthers on Oct. 13 in Miami but have defeated FAU, Marshall, Charlotte and Old Dominion in their other four C-USA games.

MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill is 0-3 in his career against WKU despite throwing for an average of 341.3 yards in those games.

The son of coach Rick Stockstill is completing 69.3 percent of his passes this year as a senior. He averages 214.8 passing yards per game with 15 touchdowns against five interceptions.

Brent Stockstill’s health has been a key factor this fall in MTSU’s success. Since 2016, the Blue Raiders are 16-7 in games that he attempts at least 12 passes, including a 5-2 mark this season.

By contrast, Middle Tennessee is 4-7 in games over that time that Stockstill either misses due to injury or is sidelined after throwing 11 or fewer passes. That includes the Blue Raiders’ loss last month at FIU, when he limped off after the first play of the second quarter and didn’t return.

“They go as Brent Stockstill goes,” Sanford said. “He’s a warrior.

“He’s been playing for a long time. I feel like when I was a (graduate assistant), he was playing as a freshman. … I have a lot of respect for Brent Stockstill.”

MTSU’s defense features safety Reed Blankenship, the reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. He totaled 17 tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss and a 100-yard interception return touchdown Saturday in a win over ODU.

Blankenship (63 tackles), linebackers Darius Harris (58 tackles) and DQ Thomas (five sacks) and defensive back Wesley Bush (three interceptions) are among the Blue Raider defenders who’ll test WKU quarterback Davis Shanley and his offense Friday.

“It’s a big deal,” the redshirt freshman Shanley said. “Rivalries are always big whether you’re 0-8 or 8-0. It doesn’t matter. It’s always a rivalry game.

“Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. We’re going to go out and do our best to beat them.”

Broadcast info

TV: CBS Sports Network (play-by-play: Jason Horowitz; analyst: Danny Kanell)

Radio: 100.7-FM/1450-AM (play by play: Jevin Redman; analyst: Leo Peckenpaugh; reporter: Terry Obee)

Notes

Sanford is 7-14 in two-plus seasons as WKU’s coach. He’s on pace to post the worst winning percentage (.333) of any Hilltopper coach since L.T. Smith went 2-5-1 (.313) in 1920-21. … WKU is 21-22-2 all-time in Friday games and has won four of its last five. … Shanley is the first Topper freshman quarterback to start four or more games in a season since Kawaun Jakes started eight in 2009. … WKU’s last conference road win came Oct. 20, 2017, at Old Dominion, 35-31. … No Hilltopper has rushed for 100 yards in a single game under Sanford.{&end}