BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Western Kentucky senior running back Leon Allen left Thursday night's 41-38 win against Louisiana Tech following a gruesome left leg injury that left the Hilltoppers stunned before they regrouped to earn their seventh straight victory.
Allen, who rushed for 1,542 yards last season, sustained the injury with 12:47 remaining in the third quarter. Quarterback Brandon Doughty threw incomplete to Allen with linebacker Nick Thomason covering him, and Allen was tackled cleanly. But as he went down with Thomason's arms wrapped around his left leg, it bent backward at an awkward angle.
Houchens-Smith Stadium was silent while medical personnel tended to Allen as he lay on the turf. Allen eventually rose to limp off the field to cheers before heading to the locker room. He left the stadium for observation at a hospital before the end of the game.
Western Kentucky coach Jeff Brohm didn't know Allen's status immediately postgame but said, "I'm not very optimistic. It's unfortunate. You can ask anyone within our program: He's our most valuable player on offense. ... Without him, it's going to be a challenge."
Allen had rushed for 81 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown, on 12 carries before the injury.
Initially numbed by the sudden loss of a star player who rushed for 1,542 yards and 13 touchdowns, Doughty and other Hilltoppers chipped in to lead an emotional comeback that kept the stubborn Bulldogs at bay.
Doughty threw for 441 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman D'Andre Ferby relieved Allen to add a short touchdown among several key runs to help Western Kentucky (2-0, 1-0 C-USA) earn an important yet costly league win. Ferby rushed four times for 13 yards on a critical, third-quarter drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run and two-point conversion catch for a 38-24 lead with 54 seconds left.
The Bulldogs scored twice (1-1, 0-1) late in the fourth but ran out of time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.