Courtesy of WKU Athletics
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football is heading to the Conference USA Championship Game after Lucas Carneiro made a 50-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining to give the Hilltoppers a 19-17 win over Jax State on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
The make was Carneiro’s fourth of the game, and sends WKU (8-4 overall, 6-2 CUSA) to its first CUSA Championship Game since 2021. The Hilltoppers will face Jax State for the title next Friday, Dec. 6, in Jacksonville, Alabama.
WKU caps off the regular season with an 8-4 overall record, a 6-2 record in CUSA play and a 5-1 record at home in 2024. It is WKU’s best home record since 2016 and the best home record under Tyson Helton.The game was a win-and-get-in opportunity for the CUSA Championship Game, which will be WKU’s fourth CUSA Championship Game appearance. The Hilltoppers hosted and won the title in 2015 and 2016, and fell at UTSA in the final in 2021.
Seven different WKU players caught passes in the win, led by eight catches for 51 yards from Kisean Johnson and seven catches for 78 yards and a touchdown from running back Elijah Young. Former Glasgow standout Dalvin Smith caught a pass for 15 yards and threw a pass for 20 yards.
WKU scored first with a 21-yard reception by Elijah Young off a pass from Caden Veltkamp with 8:48 to go in the first quarter. Jax State got on the board with 3:19 to play in the opening quarter with a 46-yard field goal. The Gamecocks took the lead with 3:42 to play in the second quarter on an 8-yard run. Carneiro made his 12th consecutive field goal – a 50-yard attempt with 41 seconds left in the second quarter – to tie the game going into halftime. He added a 21-yard field goal with 7:31 to play in the third quarter, giving WKU a 13-10 lead over the Gamecocks that lasted through the remainder of the quarter.
WKU extended its lead to 16-10 with a 35-yard field goal from Carneiro with 11:37 remaining. Jax State took a 17-16 lead on the ensuing possession with a 17-yard scoring run with 9:44 to play, before Carneiro nailed the game-winner with three seconds to play.
“Like I say, celebrate all wins. We’re very happy to be able to represent WKU in the Conference USA Championship Game. What a great way to win. It definitely was not easy. There was a lot of adversity and a lot of things that makes you want to pull your hair out, to be quite honest with you, but we overcame it and that’s what good teams do,” said WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton. “Our guys fought and battled. I’m very proud of them for what they did. The work is not done. We’ve got to now go find a way to go win this championship. I know we’re excited to go do that. Got some bumps and bruises and injuries and all those things, but we’re really excited to go be in this conference championship game.”
WKU will face Jax State in the CUSA Championship Game on Friday, Dec. 6, in Jacksonville, Alabama. Kickoff at AmFirst Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally on CBSSN.
