Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe shatters single-season passing records in Boca Raton Bowl

Update: Bailey Zappe has now set the single-season passing touchdown record in FBS. The Hilltoppers quarterback his 61st touchdown of the season in the third quarter of Saturday’s Boca Raton Bowl, breaking the record set by LSU’s Joe Burrow in 2019. Mitchell Tinsley was the recipient of the historic TD.

Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe laid claim to history in Saturday’s Boca Raton Bowl against Appalachian State on Saturday. The Hilltoppers gunslinger set the single-season passing yards record in FBS, surpassing the previous record set by Texas Tech’s BJ Symons in 2003.

Zappe ending up with greatest statistical season an FBS QB has ever had will bookmark a successful2021 campaign for WKU that was defined by a a coaching hire and a savvy use of the transfer portal.

The team brought in Houston Baptist’s Zach Kittley as the offensive coordinator this season and along with him, they imported a handful of HBU offensive skill position players including Zappe himself. That resulted in the team emerging with one of the most explosive offenses in the country, earning a spot in the Conference USA Championship Game just two weeks ago. As a result, Kittley earned himself the OC gig at Texas Tech while Zappe may have put himself on some NFL Draft radar. We’ll see if what WKU did this season will spread through college football as the transfer portal era unfolds.