UTSA running back Sincere McCormick runs for a touchdown against Lamar on Sept. 11 in San Antonio.

Western Kentucky has already had to face off with Army’s run-heavy triple-option offense and the nation’s leading rusher, and the Hilltoppers are preparing to go up against another challenging rushing attack Saturday.

The Hilltoppers are scheduled to face off with an undefeated UTSA team led by Preseason Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year Sincere McCormick at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

“He’s definitely one of the premier backs in the country,” WKU football coach Tyson Helton said Monday at his weekly news conference. “He’s just as good as the backs we’ve played.”

WKU (1-3) currently ranks 120th of the 130 FBS teams in rushing defense, allowing an average of 216.5 yards on the ground per game. The Hilltoppers have faced some of the top rushing attacks in the country to this point, however.

WKU’s current three-game losing streak started with a 38-25 loss at Army on Sept. 11. The Black Knights had 339 yards rushing in the game and are currently second nationally with 318.2 yards rushing per game.

Following a bye week, the Hilltoppers fell 33-31 at home to Indiana after struggling to stop the Hoosiers in the first half, and on Saturday, WKU lost 48-31 at Michigan State – a team with the nation’s current leading rusher in Kenneth Walker III. Walker rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in the game.

“Our run defense wasn’t very good at all,” Helton said after the loss to the Spartans. “That’s pretty obvious, but we’ll keep working on it, keep trying. You’ve got to be able to stop the run. If you can’t stop the run you’re going to have a hard time.”

The next opponent on the schedule is led by another elite rusher – UTSA’s McCormick.

The 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior back was voted the Preseason C-USA Offensive Player of the Year after receiving Offensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2020. He was also a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and Phil Steele last season.

“He’s shifty and elusive, and if you try to arm tackle him he’s just going to run through it,” WKU defensive tackle Darius Shipp said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s just another week of tackling practice that we’ve just got to make sure we’re doing our job soundly and if we do that we’ll take care of everything.”

McCormick is currently second in C-USA in rushing yards per game with 108.2, a number that ranks 12th in the country. He’s rushed for 541 yards and six touchdowns on 131 carries this season, and is averaging 4.1 yards per carry.

“I would say he’s closest to (Stephen) Carr from Indiana – has that same motor, has that same patience, that same vision, that same burst, bounces off a lot of tackles,” WKU defensive coordinator Maurice Crum said. “More compact, but does a good job of running behind his pads and running with power. Even though he’s not 6-foot, he does run with a lot of power and runs behind his pads.”

Carr rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries against WKU in the Sept. 25 game at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

“I think of a Stephen Carr. Stephen gave us a hard time versus Indiana. I think he’ll give us a hard time, and that’s OK. That’s what a good running back’s supposed to do,” Helton said. “But in critical downs, we’ve got to be able to stop them and be able to get the ball back to the offense. When they make drives or they make explosive plays, we’ve got to keep them out of the end zone. And if we can keep them out of the end zone – that’s the main thing, keep them out of the end zone – I think we’ll have a great chance at the end of the game.”

McCormick has been a workhorse for UTSA this fall. The only time he’s rushed fewer than 23 times in a game was when he had 46 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries in a 54-0 shellacking of Lamar. That came after he had 117 yards on 31 attempts in a season-opening win at Big Ten foe Illinois. He added 105 yards on 23 attempts against Middle Tennessee, 184 yards and three touchdowns on 41 attempts at Memphis and 89 yards and a score on 29 carries against UNLV last weekend.

“He’s a great running back. He’s quick, very agile in the hole. He has nice vision,” WKU defensive back Kaleb Oliver said. “I feel like if we all run to the ball, get 11 hats to the ball, we’ll be able to stop the run.”

Saturday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m.{&end}