Western Kentucky found itself in another tight road battle Friday night, but once again, the Hilltoppers came through with clutch second-half plays. A 25-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Koron Hayward flipped the momentum and carried WKU to a 27–24 win over Delaware, their second Conference USA road victory in six days.
Head coach Tyson Helton praised the resilience of his group. “Well, it’s a great team win. Our guys just kept fighting and battling and we talk all the time if you want to be a good team and make a conference run, you got to win on the road. We did it back-to-back weeks. Really good Delaware football team…our guys fought. We made huge plays when we needed them. The interception by our defense, Koron Hayward made a great interception for a touchdown really kind of turned the tide for us…Just a great team win overall. Really happy for our team.”
Quarterback Maverick McIvor led the way offensively, completing 23 of 31 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown. He added 36 rushing yards on six carries, extending plays when WKU needed it most. For McIvor, the back-to-back road grind only strengthens the Hilltoppers’ championship aspirations.
“I mean, it’s huge. It’s huge for a conference championship run that we’re trying to go on right now. Going back-to-back on the road, it’s huge. Great team win tonight.”
McIvor admitted Delaware’s fourth-down touchdown just before halftime could have shifted momentum, but the locker room message was simple: move on.
“Yeah, play the next play, right? We had a big second half. We got the ball out of halftime. We knew we…obviously didn’t score, but we knew coming out that we had played pretty good in the second half up to this point, so that was good for us.”
Walk in your coop and take over your coop ✔️ pic.twitter.com/4jTiHV5iVa
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) October 4, 2025
The defining sequence came in the third quarter, when Hayward jumped a pass and raced 25 yards for a touchdown. It was the play ultimately decided the game.
“It was a big play all going to God. Every game, man, I always say all glory to God. I just know God always with me, man. Like, I’m truly blessed, man. Thank you, God. Amen.” Hayward said. He added that the defense carried a clear mantra throughout the night: “They don’t score. That’s our motto. They do not score…they do not get in our box. No matter what explosive they get, they just don’t get in the box.”
WKU held Delaware scoreless on its final drives, with the Blue Hens missing a field goal in the fourth quarter that could have tied the game. Now 5–1 overall and 2–0 in C-USA, Western Kentucky heads back home for a short-week matchup with FIU on Wednesday night.
“They’re competitors. They love to play. God is good. He’s been good to us two weeks in a row,” Helton said. “It really says a lot about our football team and the competitiveness and our guys, they just love to play the game.”
More College Football News:
- Tim Tebow has strong words for DJ Lagway
- Golesh knows the spotlight is on USF tonight
- BYU doubles down on trolling Colorado
- Deion Sanders says he's ‘trying to find light in a dark tunnel’ after latest loss