There hasn’t been much not to like about Western Kentucky’s offense at the midpoint of the 2021 season.

Despite the high point totals the Hilltoppers are putting up, the team is still looking for ways to improve with the ball in their hands, however.

WKU hopes to clean up execution in the red zone in preparation for a trip to Miami to face FIU at 6 p.m. Saturday after missing out on opportunities to reach the end zone in a 43-20 victory at Old Dominion last weekend.

“When you get in those close games, you can’t have that,” WKU head coach Tyson Helton said Monday at his weekly news conference. “We’re going to play some games down the stretch here where it’s going to be back and forth and the execution in the red zone is going to be critical for us.

“That’s definitely a point of emphasis for us this week. I know our offensive staff is really looking hard into that. I know Bailey (Zappe) wasn’t very happy at the end of the game, to be honest with you, and that’s a good thing. To have the numbers he had and score 40-plus points with your quarterback not being happy – you want that mindset for sure. There’s a lot of men in our building that’ve got their jaw set that want to make sure that we’re always hitting on all cylinders, always doing everything right.”

In the win in Norfolk, Va., the Hilltoppers went 5-for-7 on scoring opportunities once reaching the red zone, but WKU was left looking back at the opportunities it missed out on punching in touchdowns, specifically in the second half.

After trailing by two scores in their four previous games – all of which were losses – the Hilltoppers jumped on the Monarchs early and built a 30-3 halftime lead. Chances to put the game away early in the second half fell short, however.

WKU held Old Dominion to a field goal to start the second half before marching to the Monarchs’ 1-yard line. From there, Zappe and running back Adam Cofield each had a run for no gain, and Zappe followed by throwing an interception in the end zone.

“It feels good to win, no matter how you get it. We still have a bunch of stuff that we need to clean up on the offensive side, especially in the red zone,” Zappe said after the game. “We left 21, 28 points out there on the field.”

After forcing a three-and-out on Old Dominion’s ensuing possession, DeAngelo Wilson returned a punt 64 yards to the 4-yard line. It was followed by a fumbled snap that backed the Hilltoppers up to the 18, and WKU eventually settled for a 31-yard field goal from Brayden Narveson.

Old Dominion got as close as 33-20, but WKU eventually pulled away in the victory.

“We’ve got to be better in the second half. A lot of that’s on me,” WKU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley said Tuesday after practice. “I got a little conservative in the second half with some of the rain moving in and some of the high winds and some of that stuff. Plus being up by four scores, as almost all coaches would do, they’d want to bleed a little bit of clock, too. We got to the goal line on two different occasions, threw an interception on the 1-yard line, which can’t happen, and then the next drive did the wildcat formation, we dropped the snap and that forced the three points, too.

“Overall, clearly happy. I think I said it after game one – any time you get a win against anybody, it’s a great job here. Love the win, but we’ve got to clean up some stuff and get better this week.”

WKU’s offense has been one of the best in the nation this season. The Hilltoppers are ninth nationally with 40.8 points per game and fourth in total offense with 545 yards per game. Zappe leads the country with 438.7 passing yards per game, and receiver Jerreth Sterns is the nation’s leading receiver.

The Hilltoppers aren’t nearly as high in red zone efficiency, however.

WKU ranks tied for 47th in the country in the category – tied for second in Conference USA, though – scoring 87.5% of the time, with touchdowns 59% of the time. Of the 28 times WKU has scored in 32 attempts once it reached the red zone, four times it has rushed for a touchdown and 15 times it has passed for one.

In addition to those missed opportunities to score, the Hilltoppers had a chance to score on their first possession – something they have done just once this season – but missed out. WKU reached the Old Dominion 25-yard line on the game’s opening possession, but Narveson missed a 43-yard field goal attempt.

The Hilltoppers had also failed to score when in opponent territory at different times during their four-game losing streak, with the most notable coming at the end of the Conference USA opener against UTSA. Down 52-46, WKU got the ball back with 3:21 to play and made it to the UTSA 5-yard line. The Hilltoppers were backed up 15 yards with an illegal block penalty, and the ball went back to the Roadrunners with an interception from Zappe three plays later to close out the game.

WKU believes it’s come down to execution once it reaches the red zone, and it’s an area of emphasis this week leading up to a game at FIU.

The Panthers have struggled defensively this year, ranking 13th of 14 teams in C-USA in scoring defense, allowing 36.8 points per game, and last in total defense with 480.7 yards allowed per game. FIU has the 11th-ranked red zone defense in C-USA, allowing opponents to score on 24 of 26 attempts, which includes 18 touchdowns.

“I think it’s just more execution-wise. I feel like we had a good plan (against Old Dominion). They were a good defense, too,” Kittley said. “They did a really good job of covering up some of our receivers on some of the deep balls we threw. We struggled a little bit in the deep ball area against those guys and we’ve just got to clean up better in execution, and as always as coaches we’ve got to try to put our guys in the best situations to be successful as we can. We’re looking forward to improving that this week.”{&end}