Western Kentucky Hilltoppers wide receiver K.D. Hutchinson (15) runs the ball as Middle Tennessee redshirt sophomore center back James Monds III (4) closes in to tackle him in the Tops’ 49-21 win over the Blue Raiders at MTSU on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. WKU improves to 2-1, 1-0 in Conference USA play and will play at home against Toledo on Sept. 21. (Grace Ramey McDowell/grace.ramey@bgdailynews.com)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Caden Veltkamp proved his dynamic performance in last season’s Famous Toastery Bowl was no fluke on Saturday night.

Veltkamp, the redshirt sophomore quarterback who went from third string to bowl MVP by passing for five touchdowns and leading the Hilltoppers back from a four-touchdown deficit to beat Old Dominion in that bowl matchup last year, got called on again to provide relief when starter TJ Finley was injured on the first series against Conference USA rival Middle Tennessee.

The Famous Toastery Bowl legend thoroughly toasted MTSU at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium, completing 27 of 30 passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another to boost the Tops to a 49-21 win against their “100 Miles of Hate” rival – the sixth straight victory for WKU in the long-running series.

“Hate that TJ got hurt, we’ll have to see when we can get him back and how everything looks,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “But very proud of Caden Veltkamp coming off the bench; he’s done it before and he did it again. I expect nothing less, but very proud of him for rallying the troops when T.J. went down.”

WKU (2-1 overall, 1-0 CUSA) lost Finley just nine plays into its first drive when the redshirt junior was hit while completing a 22-yard pass to Elijah Young. Helton said after the game he didn’t know the extent of Finley’s ankle injury, but hoped it was just a sprain for the first-year WKU starter who transferred into the program after a breakout season at Texas State.

Veltkamp entered the scoreless game with the Tops in the red zone at the MTSU 12-yard line, and three plays later he got them into the end zone with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end River Helms.

After the Blue Raiders punted away their ensuing possession, Veltkamp connected on passes of 34 yards to Easton Messer and then 22 yards to Kisean Johnson to move his team downfield before ending the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Johnson.

MTSU (1-2, 0-1 CUSA) tried to answer, driving all the way down to the WKU 1-yard line. The Tops stopped them cold four straight downs, with defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler getting the final stuff when he stopped Blue Raiders running back Jaiden Credle for no gain on fourth down.

The Tops got another red zone stop on MTSU’s next drive when cornerback Anthony Johnson Jr. intercepted a Nick Vattiato pass to the end zone with 3:12 left in the first half.

“I felt like we had a good defensive plan going into the game,” Anthony Johnson said. “ … Even last week, we got another big stop on the goal line, so I feel like it just carried over to this week. Once we get to the goal line, we feel like our backs are against the wall so once we get like that we just all stand up together and just make plays.”

The Tops made the most of that second defensive stand, going 99 yards on a drive finished off with Veltkamp’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Easton Messer – a short curl route that Messer stretched to the end zone with a dive toward the pylon. A quick official review of the play ruled Messer had indeed crossed the goal line and the WKU had a three-touchdown lead with just 26 seconds left in the first half.

“We played fast offensively. The (offensive line) played really well, gave me time to throw the ball,” Veltkamp said. “The receivers ran great routes and got open – when the receivers are open you might as well throw it to them. Tight ends did a nice job and we ran the ball really well. I was proud of how we played offensively.”

Veltkamp kept the offense humming to start the second half, needing just two plays to boost the Tops’ lead to four touchdowns when he fired a pass to K.D. Hutchinson toward the left side for a nice gain that the redshirt sophomore wide receiver turned into a 72-yard touchdown reception with a terrific run after the catch.

The Blue Raiders finally got going, with Vattiato finding Omari Kelly on a 37-yard touchdown pass shortly after Hutchinson’s score. That exchange of touchdowns was the first of several in the second half.

Veltkamp capped a 67-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Tops up 35-7, but Vattiato and Kelly hooked up again on a 71-yard touchdown play.

The Tops again responded, but this time wide receiver Dalvin Smith delivered the touchdown pass on a 36-yard deep ball to Kisean Johnson – it was the third career TD pass for Smith, who nearly had one earlier in the game.

“He actually put it right on the mark both times,” Helton said. “But Dalvin’s just that kind of player. You don’t do those things unless you’ve got a guy that you trust to make those plays and Dalvin can definitely do that. So it’s a pretty easy decision for us to do those kind of things.”

WKU got its third fourth-down stop of the night on MTSU’s next possession, and Veltkamp picked up his fifth TD pass of the night on a 3-yard strike to tight end Trevor Borland that pushed the lead to 49-14 with 9:01 to play.

Vattiato (24 of 31 passing for 436 yards, three touchdowns) hit Kelly (nine catches for 239 yards, three TDs) one more time on a 7-yard touchdown pass, but that was the end of the Blue Raiders’ scoring.

The Tops outgained MTSU 631-514 in total offense. Kisean Johnson had his second straight 100-yard receiving game for the Tops with eight catches for 129 yards and a pair of TDs. A total of 12 different Hilltoppers caught a pass in the win.

WKU is back in action this coming Saturday at home against Toledo – the unbeaten Rockets stunned host Mississippi State 41-17 on Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi – for a 6 p.m. matchup.{&end}