Western Kentucky’s football team will likely go to No. 1 Alabama this week shorthanded in its backfield.

Coach Jeff Brohm said Monday that he’s “not optimistic” that redshirt sophomore running back D’Andre Ferby will be ready at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for the Hilltoppers.

Ferby left WKU’s 46-14 season-opening win Thursday against Rice after his first carry and didn’t return. Brohm said after the game that the Nashville native injured his shoulder.

“He’s rehabbing right now,” Brohm said Monday at his weekly news conference in E.A. Diddle Arena. “I’m not optimistic that (Ferby playing against Alabama) is going to happen.

“But we’ll see as we get later in the week. Unfortunately, I think he hurt it on the first time he ran the ball. He got hit with a helmet on the shoulder. So we’ll see how that plays out.”

Ferby’s one carry against the Owls went for one yard. He’s listed on WKU’s depth chart as the backup to redshirt senior Anthony “Ace” Wales.

Ferby was expected to be a big piece of the Hilltoppers’ 2016 offense after rushing for 650 yards and 11 touchdowns in ’15 as a redshirt freshman.

Ferby’s absence Saturday would put more of the rushing load on Wales, who carried 15 times for 58 yards and two touchdowns against Rice.

Young running backs Quinton Baker and Marquez Trigg saw their first college action Thursday after Ferby left the game. The redshirt freshman Trigg, a Glasgow native, ran two times for a single yard, while the freshman Baker ran nine times for 42 yards.

“I feel like they got all the jitters out, which will make them a little more comfortable going into the game knowing it’s not their first snap,” wide receiver Kylen Towner said of Baker and Trigg. “… So I feel like they’re going to be comfortable and make some big plays, hopefully.”

Redshirt senior running back Leon Allen, who has been rehabbing after suffering a serious knee injury last September, is still unavailable.

Tunnel entrance goes viral

WKU’s 32-point win against Rice on Thursday went about as well as the Hilltoppers could’ve hoped. But it was a moment before the game that got national attention.

Several WKU players tripped while running out of an inflatable tunnel before the game. Freshman offensive lineman Adam Raschilla was the first to tumble through the man-made fog, with some of his teammates then piling up behind him.

Video of the incident was spread all over social media during the game before making it on to SportsCenter that night, College Gameday on Saturday morning and several other national TV shows over the weekend.

Brohm laughed Monday when asked about his team’s tunnel entrance, saying he didn’t realize until after the game that it had caught national attention.

“I was in the front and I didn’t trip myself but I think I did get out of there before the fog took over,” Brohm said. “Unfortunately our guys were jacked up and ready and once one falls and the other is right behind it, it’s going to be a domino effect.

“A few people, according to the video, found a way to get around it, but others didn’t. It looked like to me there were quite a few big fellas in there. Normally they fall down anyway. So it was interesting to see after the game and see the attention it got and it’s been pretty fun after.”

Raschilla’s fellow freshmen Drew O’Bryan and Tyler Witt – making their first entrance out of the locker room for a college game – were among those that went to the ground.

“I’m sure they will make sure it doesn’t happen again based on the coverage they got out of it,” Brohm said with a smile.

QB White named C-USA Offensive Player of Week

Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White was named Monday as the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week.

The redshirt junior White earned that distinction after completing 25 of 31 passes for 517 yards and three touchdowns against Rice.

The game was White’s debut for the Hilltoppers. He sat out the 2015 season after transferring from South Florida.

White leads the country in passing yards (517) and yards per pass attempt (16.7), while ranking second in passer rating (252.67). The WKU offense amassed 649 total yards, which ranks eighth nationally, and averaged 9.98 yards per play from scrimmage, tops in the nation.

White’s 517 passing yards rank third for a single game in program history and rank 10th in the history of C-USA football. He became one of seven players across college football to throw for 500-plus yards with a completion percentage of 80 percent or better since 2000

According to ESPN Stats and Info, White’s QBR of 98.3 was the best by an FBS quarterback in a Week 1 game over the past 10 years.

In 2015, a WKU player won C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on five occasions – quarterback Brandon Doughty four times and Wales once.

The Toppers in 2015 also earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors to Marcus Ward and Nick Holt, as well as C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week awards to Towner and Garrett Schwettman.

-Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @BradBGDN or visit bgdailynews.com.