Western’s offense will see a change on the depth chart this week in the quarterback position.

In place of junior quarterback David Wolke, redshirt freshman K.J. Black will suit up against Bowling Green State on Saturday for his first collegiate start.

“It means a lot,” Black said of the promotion. “It’s something that you work for, especially after last season.”

The Toppers (3-1) take on the Falcons (2-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Bowling Green, Ohio.

As a backup in the last four games, Black was 28-of-39, throwing for 356 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He has also rushed for 68 yards this season.

As the starter, Wolke is 26-of-46 for 287 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. He has rushed for 130 yards on 25 attempts this season, despite missing a majority of the Florida game after suffering a concussion on the first drive of the contest.

Wolke collected more yards on offense than Black against Middle Tennessee State, but he also recorded a fumble and an interception.

“When K.J.’s in the game, we move the ball and we’re scoring points,” head coach David Elson said. “It’s just that simple.”

Black was the only one of the two quarterbacks to put the ball in the end zone against the Blue Raiders.

“We’re still planning on David playing and David being a part of the offense,” Elson said. “We’re going to figure that out as we go.”

This Saturday, the Topper defense will face an offense that values its passing game.

Unlike Western’s offense, which has rushed the ball 182 times against 89 passing attempts this season, Bowling Green has thrown the ball 151 times with 74 rushing attempts.

The Falcons have collected 1,058 yards through the air with eight touchdowns over three games. They have also rushed for 243 yards for two touchdowns.

Through four games this season, the Toppers have recorded 654 yards passing with four touchdowns and 749 yards on the ground for eight scores.

Even though Bowling Green favors the pass, sophomore linebacker Blake Boyd said Western cannot neglect the run.

“We still have to stop the run first,” Boyd said. “Because if we let a team that passes the ball a lot run on us, we definitely aren’t going to be good out there.”

Black said he and Wolke have spoken to each other on the issue, and there is no animosity between the two.

“We’re both behind each other. We support each other,” Black said. “And if one’s not doing well, then the other has to step up.”

Western enters the contest on a three-game winning streak, including back-to-back wins against rival Eastern Kentucky and Football Bowl Subdivision affiliate Middle Tennessee.

“There’s a lot of momentum and it always feels good,” Boyd said. “But you don’t win games on momentum.”

Even though the role of starter has changed in the quarterback position, individual accomplishments do not override team goals for players.

“It doesn’t matter to me who starts; I just want to win,” Black said.

Reach Will Perkins at sports@chherald.com.