Western Illinois head football coach Joe Davis guided the Leathernecks to a 4-8 record in his first season in Macomb. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Barry Bottino
The Western Illinois offense put up numbers galore, opened plenty of eyes and broke a historic losing streak this fall.
All of it came under the direction of first-year head coach Joe Davis, the former offensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois.
Despite four wins this fall – the same number for WIU in the last five seasons combined – Davis hopes this is just the start for his Leathernecks.
“When you win four games, I don’t think any coach will tell you that they’re satisfied or happy with that,” he said. “I think the university and community are very excited. Folks say, ‘Wow, what a season. Four wins!”
Amid the positive vibes in Macomb, thanks to an offense that led the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association in six categories and produced five all-league players, there are challenges ahead.
In our annual series, Prairie State Pigskin examines five burning questions facing the Leathernecks this off-season.
How can the Leathernecks fix their defense?
While the offense had a breakthrough season, the defense was another story.
After giving up 46.3 points and 478.3 yards a game while going 0-11 in 2023, Western improved to 43.4 points allowed this fall. But they gave up nearly 15 more yards a game, 70 touchdowns and allowed opponents to successfully convert almost 54% of third-down attempts.
“We need to take a wholesale look at everything on defense,” Davis said. “When it comes to scheme, process, talent, every piece of the puzzle on defense is going to be evaluated.”
That starts with the transfer portal, where WIU already has been active, and with the high school signing period in the first week of December.
Western must start with its run defense, which allowed a whopping 229.3 yards a game. That ranks 116th among 123 FCS programs. The Leathernecks also gave up 37 rushing touchdowns, the second-highest number in the nation.
Who’s the next man up at QB?
Senior Nathan Lamb was a revelation this fall, throwing for 21 touchdowns and more than 3,300 yards while leading the revived offensive attack.
With his eligibility exhausted, two internal candidates likely will get the first chance at grabbing the keys to the offense.
Sophomore Chris Irvin, an Idaho native who began his career at FBS Washington State before a detour to a California junior college, played in seven games as Lamb’s backup. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions.
True freshman Tanner Zolnosky, who was playing prep football in Minnesota last fall, appeared in two games and pleasantly surprised the coaching staff by leading a touchdown drive against league champion Southeast Missouri this month. On his second-quarter drive, Zolnosky was 3-for-3 passing for 51 yards and tossed a 29-yard TD to Demari Davis.
“Both Chris and Tanner performed well when they came in this year,” Davis said. “Tanner’s drive at SEMO, we were all like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ Both those guys will be competing.”
Davis said the coaches could also bring in a transfer to join the competition.
However the job plays out, Davis expects a smoother transition into the 2025 season.
“I don’t know that we completed a pass for four, five practices last spring,” he said. “Now you have quarterbacks who know the system and you have receivers back and coaches back.”
Is the Big South-OVC a good fit for Western?
This is an obvious yes, both from a competition standpoint and the fact that Western is no longer in a league where national powerhouses outspend them by millions.
The Western offense kept the team in multiple games this fall and had the league’s best offense after going 0-11 two years in a row.
But Western is seeking even bigger strides. When fans in the community applaud Davis for a four-win season, he thinks about missed opportunities that included three conference losses by 11 points or fewer.
“My gears are grinding a little because of the shoulda, coulda, woulda in a few games,” he said.
Is Davis the right man for the job?
Emphatically, yes. The team’s 27-game losing streak of the Myers Hendrickson era is now a memory. That was put to rest this fall vs. McKendree.
Among the many voices who praised Davis this year was Tom Matukewicz, the longtime head coach of Big South-OVC automatic playoff qualifier Southeast Missouri.
“I’m really impressed with Western Illinois, specifically their coach,” Matukewicz said last month. “At the end of the day, they got the right guy. So now, are you going to support him, help him keep solving all the problems?
“If so, I think he can deliver Western Illinois a winning program. It’s not easy and it’s going to take several years,” Matukewicz said.
Will WIU’s financial challenges impact athletics?
In August, the university laid off 89 employees – 57 faculty members and 32 staff, including the lead media relations representative for the athletic department.
Two months earlier, 36 contingent faculty were let go.
Will WIU’s financial situation, which some have called a crisis, impact athletics more deeply? Time will tell, but it’s a concern for a football program that earned plenty of new admirers this fall and sparked a renewed pride in numerous fans and football alums.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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