A charter member since 1985, Western Illinois begins its last season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference Saturday with a game at North Dakota. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
Western Illinois opens the road portion of its final Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule with a game at Grand Forks, N.D. Saturday against a Top 20-ranked opponent.
“Our alumni have talked about what it’s like to play in this great league,” second-year head coach Myers Hendrickson said. “That really resonated with our players. Several players from the ‘90s addressed the team along with our all-time winningest coach, Randy Ball (before WIU’s Sept. 16 home game).”
Western Illinois was one of the charter members of the MVFC, originally named the Gateway Conference. WIU won five league titles, the last coming in 2002.
During that span, the Leathernecks made the playoffs 11 times, last making the postseason field in 2017.
“All of those things have been really special,” said Hendrickson, a former WIU player.
The current edition of the Leathernecks (0-4, 0-1) are mired in the midst of a 17-game losing streak, the longest in FCS.
WIU last won a football game Oct. 30, 2021, a 38-31 win over rival Illinois State.
The Leathernecks will join the Ohio Valley Conference next football season.
This week’s opponent
North Dakota (2-2, 0-1) lost its conference opener last week to No. 1-ranked South Dakota State, 42-21.
The Fighting Hawks are ranked No. 15 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the STATS Perform FCS Poll.
“I think the biggest thing is in this conference any team can beat any team on any given day,” UND tight end Jaden Norby told the Grand Forks Herald. “We saw it happen when (unranked) South Dakota went to (No. 2) North Dakota State and beat them there (last Saturday). Western Illinois is coming to our place, and it’s our homecoming game.
“Our mentality is we’re going 1-0. We’re going to learn from what happened last week and go into this game with a lot of confidence.”
North Dakota quarterback Tommy Schuster has gone 186 pass attempts without throwing an interception.
(Kickoff: 1 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Q981fm.com)
Key matchup to watch
WIU run game vs. the UND front seven
The Leathernecks have struggled mightily to establish an effective ground game. WIU is averaging less than 30 rushing yards per game, last among the 121 FCS programs.
To be fair, WIU has allowed a league-worst 18 sacks, which has greatly reduced the team’s rushing yardage.
What’s at stake
In addition to WIU’s 17-game losing streak, the Leathernecks have not won a road game since Sept. 25, 2021. That win came against Youngstown State.
Quick hits
Western Illinois is coming off its bye week. … Saturday’s game begins a stretch of seven straight MVFC games. … WIU lost its league opener, 34-18, to visiting Illinois State Sept. 9 in Macomb. … Receiver Jaylin Jackson posted a team-high seven receptions for 94 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown catch in the Leathernecks’ 37-17 loss at Southern Utah. … WIU is averaging 24 points a game but giving up 42 per contest. … the Leathernecks have run 277 plays from scrimmage while opponents have snapped the ball 253 times. … Western has gained more first downs by penalty (17) than runs (12) this season. Just 15 percent of WIU’s first downs have come on runs. Fifty-three have been on passes.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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