Junior Dagen Miller (79) is part of a Western Illinois team that amassed a Big South-OVC Association single-game record 713 offensive yards, 564 through the air, against Lindenwood last weekend. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Dan Verdun
The Western Illinois offense has shifted into a higher gear as this season has played out.
The growth Western has achieved this fall was forged in the cold, dark winter months following the hiring of Joe Davis, two of his offensive linemen told Prairie State Pigskin.
Center Joey Treccia admitted Davis and his staff were an unknown this past January. However, the new regime quickly won over the players.
“What stood out to me and most of the guys early on was the weight room,” Treccia said. “Coach Davis was with us at a lot of those morning sessions. We’d were lifting at 6 a.m. or running on the field at 5 a.m. And he’s there with us, encouraging us and pushing us to be better.”
The result has been a much improved offensive line and team as a whole.
When WIU played at Lindenwood last weekend, the five Leatherneck offensive linemen averaged 335 pounds. That figure marks a 13-pound increase in average against the same opponent last season.
The Leathernecks rank second among the nine-team Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association in total offense. Western averages just a shade under 400 yards per game.
And while WIU ranks sixth in rushing offense, it’s a vast improvement to where the team stood a season ago.
The Davis difference
Offensive lineman Dagen Miller points to leadership as the difference.
“Coach Joe Davis has a good understanding (of offense),” Miller said. “It (the system) is very simple so the players understand it more than in past years. He gives us answers to the questions we have.”
Miller, a Montini Catholic High School graduate, transferred to WIU last season after beginning his collegiate career at College of DuPage.
Treccia is also a transfer. He came to Macomb from FBS Colorado State under previous head coach Myers Hendrickson’s watch.
“They (Davis and his staff) came in mid-January. Everything we’ve done in the winter and then summer and transitioning into fall has been huge. It’s showed up in our games,” Treccia said.
The Leathernecks are second only to conference leader Southeast Missouri in passing offense. WIU averages 265.9 passing yards per game. WIU has thrown for 15 touchdowns compared to only four interceptions this season.
Miller said Davis has the same demeanor no matter the result.
“He coaches the same way after a win or loss,” Miller said. “He expects the best out of us. He gets more out of us come practice time.”
Renewed rivalry
Western (3-5 overall, 2-2 in Big South-OVC) travels to Charleston Saturday to face Eastern Illinois (1-7, 0-4). EIU has lost six straight games.
The game marks the first matchup of the two rivals as members of the same conference since 1995 when both schools were in the Gateway Athletic Conference.
Eastern left the league in 1996 to join the Ohio Valley Conference. Western remained in the Gateway, including when it morphed into the Missouri Valley Football Conference, through 2023.
The Leathernecks and Panthers last met in 2016 with Western posting a 38-21 season-opening win.
Davis was hired by WIU in December after spending two seasons as offensive coordinator under EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson.
“My family and I had a great two years at Eastern,” Davis said. “I loved working for Coach Wilkerson. I still consider him a great friend and mentor. I know what that program is all about; they’re about the right things. I learned a lot there in two years.”
The opponent
A year after posting an 8-3 overall record, Eastern Illinois has stumbled to a 1-7 record this season.
The Panthers have been hit hard by injuries, factoring into six straight losses including a 52-17 loss at UT Martin Oct. 26.
EIU is led by quarterback Pierce Holley on offense. The senior has passed for 300 or more yards in four straight games.
Senior linebacker Anthony Shockey’s 67 tackles lead the Panthers and ranks second in the Big South-OVC.
Kickoff: 2 p.m.; TB: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Q981fm.com
Key matchup to watch
WIU quarterback Nathan Lamb vs. EIU defense
Lamb is coming off a 42-completion, 564-yard passing yard game Oct. 26 against Lindenwood. Both numbers are WIU records.
“There’s a few times in your career when you see greatness, when you see an athlete truly in the zone,” Davis said. “Nate had that Saturday.”
Lamb ranks 12th nationally in pass yards (1,954) this season, 19th in completion percentage (66.9%) and 24th in passing efficiency (147.82).
Receiver Matthew Henry set Big South-OVC records with 15 receptions and 226 receiving yards against Lindenwood.
Eastern, meanwhile, ranks 115th against the pass among the 123 FCS teams. The Panthers are yielding 268.2 yards per game to date.
“Joe’s done a really good job establishing an identity with that offense,” EIU head coach Chris Wilkerson said. “They know exactly what to do, but Nate Lamb makes them go. He’s got a complete, high level understanding of what they’re doing.”
Last season, EIU’s defense fed off turnovers. That has not been the case this year.
“Very, very rarely does he (Lamb) make a poor decision,” Wilkerson said. “It’s going to be extremely important that we try to disrupt him, but we certainly haven’t been very successful at disrupting anyone offensively this year.”
What’s at stake?
WIU has won the five meetings with EIU in-between conference contests including a win in the 2002 FCS playoffs, the last collegiate game for Eastern quarterback Tony Romo.
Quick hits
Western leads the all-time series, 42-24-4. … This marks the third different conference that the two schools have faced each in as members starting with the defunct IIAC, followed by years in the Gateway Conference and now Big South-OVC. … Western last lost to Eastern in 1995 when the Panthers claimed a 20-17 win. … Henry trails only Lindenwood’s Jeff Caldwell in receiving yards per game average. … WIU kicker Antonio Chadha has made 9 of 11 field goal attempts this season with a long of 48 yards.
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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