BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Western Kentucky took their early season frustrations out on Morgan State behind 291 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns from Antonio Andrews in a 58-17 win Saturday night.
Andrews' five scores broke the WKU (2-2) record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game. Andrews wasted no time getting things started with a 65-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage against the Bears (0-4). The senior finished with 17 carries for 213 yards on the ground.
True freshman quarterback Todd Porter earned his first collegiate start for the Hilltoppers and all four quarterbacks saw time on the field. In Porter's NCAA debut, he completed five of 10 passes for 76 yards and threw one interception.
WKU amassed 588 yards of total offense while Morgan State tallied 317 yards.
Linebacker Xavius Boyd led all defenders with 10 tackles and Andrew Jackson followed closely with nine in the Hilltoppers' victory.
WKU's 58 points were the most points the team has scored since becoming a Football Bowl Championship school in 2009.
Coach Bobby Petrino was proud of the way his team practiced throughout the week and said Andrews is one of the guys that was well-deserving of a night like the Hilltoppers had.
"To see him run and play the way that he did and break the record is great," Petrino said. "He's a guy that comes to practice every day with a smile on his face and works hard and enjoys his work. He enjoys practice and he enjoys playing in the game so I was happy for him."
Andrews' record-breaking night started early with three touchdowns in the first quarter.
The Bears then attacked the WKU defense with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Seth Higgins to Nate Ingram to put Morgan State on the board and cut the score to 21-7.
WKU had no trouble running the ball, even with the quarterbacks. Sophomore junior college transfer Nelson Fishback found open space on a bootleg keeper from 11 yards out to add to the WKU lead.
Petrino was pleased with the play of all four of his quarterbacks and said Fishback has "the best understanding of the offense" next to Brandon Doughty, who started the first three games of the year for WKU.
When it came to his freshman quarterback Porter, the coach said he did a good job setting the tempo early.
"I thought Porter came out and did a good job," Petrino said. "You did see his ability to move and the arm strength throwing the ball deep."
Morgan State's field goal attempt late in the second quarter was blocked by Tyree Robinson and scooped up by safety Jonathan Dowling, who then returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to extend the WKU lead to 42-7.
Linebacker Chuck Franks later got the defense on the board by bringing down Morgan State's Tracy Martin for a safety.
Freshman running back Anthony Wales capped WKU's night with a one-yard touchdown run in the game's final minutes.
Western Kentucky continues their homestand next week when they host Navy at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.