DALLAS, Texas — WKU Football quarterback Bailey Zappe was voted Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. He becomes the fifth different Hilltopper quarterback to earn the honor since WKU joined the league prior to the 2014 season.
A week after throwing for 424 yards against UT Martin, Zappe one-upped himself against one of the FBS’ best defenses from a year ago. At Army on Saturday, he completed 28-of-40 passes (70%) for 435 yards and three touchdowns – compared to one interception – while also adding a touchdown rush. His 435 yards were the most allowed by an Army defense to a single quarterback since at least 2000 (as far back as records go on www.Sports-Reference.com).
The 435 yards were the 12th-most by a WKU quarterback and the 17th 400-yard passing game in Hilltopper history. He surpassed his 424-yard effort in the Hilltoppers’ first game against UT Martin, which now stands 13th all-time in program history. The 435 passing yards were the fifth-most in his collegiate career, the most being 567 at Texas Tech in 2020. It was the seventh time he surpassed the 400-yard mark and the fifth time in his past six games dating back to 2020.
Through two full weeks of the college football season, Zappe has two of the five 400-yard passing games by all FBS quarterbacks, and is the only one with a pair of 400-yard efforts. He leads the FBS with 429.5 passing yards per game, 40.5 yards ahead of the second-best mark of 389.0 by Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
Zappe shares the Offensive Player of the Week honors with Florida Atlntics quarterback N’Kosi Perry, who threw for 332 yards – 103 fewer than Zappe – and four touchdowns in a 38-6 win vs. Georgia Southern. Completing 19-of-27 attempts (70.4%), Perry did have a 222.5-to-181.1 passing efficiency rating advantage over Zappe on Saturday.
Former Hilltoppers Brandon Doughty (eight times in 2014 and 2015), Mike White (twice in 2016 and 2017), Ty Storey (once in 2019) and Tyrrell Pigrome (once in 2020) previously earned Offensive Player of the Week nods from C-USA. Overall, WKU Football has won 17 Offensive, eight Defensive and 11 Special Teams Player of the Week awards over the past seven-plus seasons.
Zappe and the Hilltoppers have their bye week on September 18, but will return to action on Saturday, September 25 vs. Indiana at Houchens-Smith Stadium. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted nationally on CBS Sports Network.How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Football, follow the program via social media @WKUFootball on Twitter and Facebook.
-@WKUSports-
