WKU's Bailey Zappe sets FBS records for passing TDs, yards

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers quarterback Bailey Zappe's remarkable season led to new records. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe sets FBS records for passing TDs, yards

By Adam Stites | Last updated 12/18/21

Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe needed 289 yards and five touchdowns in the Boca Raton Bowl to set two FBS single-season records, and he checked both of those boxes before the end of the third quarter.

Zappe had 311 passing yards and four touchdowns by halftime against Appalachian State. The yardage was enough to top the 5,833 yards that B.J. Symons had for Texas Tech in 2003.

Here it is! pic.twitter.com/tHKmiGCkBD
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) December 18, 2021

In the third quarter, Zappe threw his 61st touchdown of the season when he found Mitchell Tinsley in the end zone. That throw broke Joe Burrow's record of 60 touchdowns set during his 2019 Heisman Trophy-winning season. Burrow did it in 15 games, while Zappe played just 14.

.@MitchTinsley15 on the receiving end: pic.twitter.com/TXjwnBPbA5
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) December 18, 2021

Zappe played the first four seasons of his collegiate career in the FCS level with Houston Baptist. He joined Western Kentucky in 2021 as a graduate transfer and finished his first and only season with team as Conference USA's most valuable player.

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