2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in fifth place.

2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
2018 record	5–6 (4–4 MVFC)
Head coach	Jared Elliott (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Ty Howle (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	David Rocco (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tyler Stockton (1st season)
Home stadium	Hanson Field (Capacity: 17,128)

2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. 3 South Dakota State ^		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^		5	–	3					7	–	6
Indiana State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Western Illinois		4	–	4					5	–	6
Illinois State		3	–	5					6	–	5
Youngstown State		3	–	5					4	–	7
South Dakota		3	–	5					4	–	7
Missouri State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Southern Illinois		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Leathernecks finished the 2017 season 8–4, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Weber State in the first round.

On December 22, head coach Charlie Fisher resigned to become the wide receivers coach at Arizona State.[1] He finished at Western Illinois with a two-year record of 14–9.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Buck Buchanan Award[2]	Khalen Saunders	DE	SR

Preseason MVFC poll

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Leathernecks predicted to finish in seventh place.[3]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	North Dakota State	390 (39)
2	South Dakota State	270
3	Northern Iowa	258
4	Youngstown State	248
5	Illinois State	248
6	South Dakota	206
7	Western Illinois	163
8	Southern Illinois	139
9	Missouri State	90
10	Indiana State	41

Preseason All-MVFC Teams

The Leathernecks placed five at six positions players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[4]

Offense 2nd team Sean McGuire – QB Steve McShane – RB

Defense 1st team Khalen Saunders – DL Justin Fitzpatrick – DB Steve McShane – RS 2nd team Quentin Moon – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	8:00 p.m.	at Montana State*	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	SWX	L 23–26	18,507
September 8	6:30 p.m.	at Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	L 14–34	39,252
September 15	3:00 p.m.	No. 15 Montana*	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	W 31–27	4,011
September 29	3:00 p.m.	Youngstown State*	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN3	W 45–38	4,352
October 6	2:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Illinois State	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN+	L 16–33	8,516
October 13	6:00 p.m.	No. 1 North Dakota State	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 7–34	2,709
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	ESPN+	W 31–14	12,109
October 27	1:00 p.m.	No. 17 Northern Iowa*	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	W 37–17	2,832
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	W 34–31	4,780
November 10	1:00 p.m.	at South Dakota	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	L 12–17	8,761
November 17	1:00 p.m.	Indiana State*	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN3	L 13–15	5,822
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

at Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	7	6	7	3	23
Bobcats	3	3	14	6	26

at Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	7	0	7	0	14
Fighting Illini	0	14	10	10	34

Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 Grizzlies	18	0	3	6	27
Leathernecks	14	3	0	14	31

Youngstown State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penguins	7	0	10	21	38
Leathernecks	6	10	14	15	45

at Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	6	7	3	0	16
No. 15 Redbirds	2	10	0	21	33

North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	3	14	7	10	34
Leathernecks	0	7	0	0	7

at Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	7	3	7	14	31
Bears	7	0	0	7	14

Northern Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Panthers	3	7	0	7	17
Leathernecks	0	16	7	14	37

at Southern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	7	7	0	20	34
Salukis	7	10	14	0	31

at South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	3	0	0	9	12
Coyotes	7	0	3	7	17

Indiana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Sycamores	3	6	3	3	15
Leathernecks	3	0	10	0	13

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
3	84	Khalen Saunders	DT	Kansas City Chiefs

References

1. https://sports.yahoo.com/western-illinois-shows-big-downside-early-signing-period-175419555.html
2. "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
3. http://www.valley-football.org/news/2018/7/19/football-north-dakota-state-tabbed-as-favorite-to-win-2018-mvfc-title.aspx
4. http://valley-football.org/documents/2018/7/31//2018_MVFC_Preseason_Team_and_Poll.pdf?id=41