1989 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

1989 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
	^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant; Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1989 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
1989 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Conference	Independent
1989 record	6–5
Head coach	Jack Harbaugh (1st season);
Captain	Russell Foster, Xavier Jordan, Mark Marsh
Home stadium	L. T. Smith Stadium
	Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

The 1989 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as an independent during the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season Led by first-year head coach Jack Harbaugh, the Hilltoppers compiled a record of 6–5.^[1]

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	at Illinois State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 17–12	4,452
September 9	at No. 20 Murray State		Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY (Battle for the Red Belt)	L 14–17	8,575
September 16	No. 18 Middle Tennessee		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 31–16	14,700
September 23	at No. 1 Eastern Kentucky	No. 19	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass)	L 3–24	19,200
September 30	Austin Peay	No. T–20	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 49–0	4,200
October 7	at Chattanooga	No. 17	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	L 7–19	6,207	^[2]
October 14	No. 4 Southwest Missouri State		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 42–33	9,000
October 21	Tennessee Tech		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 61–14	18,000
October 28	at No. 14 Youngstown State	No. T–18	Youngstown, OH	W 41–38	9,879
November 4	at Louisville	No. 15	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	L 7–55	36,126
November 18	No. 18 Eastern Illinois	No. 15	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	L 7–10	4,000
Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

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v t Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
Venues	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Eastern Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass Middle Tennessee: 100 Miles of Hate Murray State: Battle for the Red Belt
Culture & lore	Big Red "Stand Up and Cheer" One Second of Laterals
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
	1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
National championship seasons in bold

1989 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Georgia Southern ^		–		12	–	0	–	0
No. 14 Youngstown State ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. T–10 William & Mary ^		–		8	–	3	–	1
Liberty		–		7	–	3	–	0
Western Kentucky		–		6	–	5	–	0
James Madison		–		5	–	4	–	1
Davidson		–		5	–	5	–	0
Lamar		–		5	–	5	–	0
Arkansas State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Nicholls State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Samford		–		4	–	7	–	0
Northeastern		–		3	–	7	–	0
Fordham		–		2	–	6	–	0
Towson		–		2	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll