Sept. 8 • 6:30 p.m. • Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Ill.Â
Game 2 at Illinois
Western Game Notes | Illinois Game Notes
The Series: Western and Illinois have faced each other two times in series history, and both decisions belong to the Illini. Despite four takeaways in their last meeting (three forced fumbles and an interception), the Leathernecks dropped the 2015 decision, 44-0.Â
Steve McShane guided Western's offense with 41 rushing yards on nine attempts while Sean McGuire appeared in his first collegiate game at Memorial Stadium. Familiar faces also saw Xavier Rowe and Pete Swenson at the top of the defensive stats with seven tackles each.Â
Us vs. Them: Western has eight FBS victories under its belt including one in each of the last two seasons. The Leathernecks scored 45 unanswered points en route to a 52-10 win at Coastal Carolina a season ago and defeated Northern Illinois, 28-23, in 2016.Â
FBS Victories
Nov. 7, 1986, at Northern Illinois, 10-0
Sept. 7, 1996, at Northern Illinois,17-0
Sept. 2, 1999, at Northern Illinois, 27-21
Sept. 9, 2000, at Ball State, 24-14
Sept. 21, 2002, at Northern Illinois, 29-26
Sept. 4, 2003, at Eastern Michigan, 34-12
Sept. 24, 2016, at Northern Illinois, 28-23
Sept. 23, 2017, at Coastal Carolina, 52-10
Scouting the Opponent: The Illini outscored Kent State, 28-7, in the second half to post a 31-24, season-opening win at Memorial Stadium. Illinois enters its third season under former NFL head coach Lovie Smith and returns 16 starters from a team that went 2-10 a season ago.Â
The Illini roster includes 78 underclassmen and only five players that entered the season with more than 10 career starts.
Western's Last Outing: The Leathernecks opened their 2018 season under Thursday night lights at Montana State, and never trailed the home team until a game-winning field goal at the four-minute mark of the final quarter. Â
Steve McShane scored all three of Western's touchdowns with two receptions and a run, and the 18 points tied his career-high set last year against South Dakota State.Â
•   Western edged MSU in several categories including total yards (317 vs. 239), first downs (18 vs. 12), fourth-down conversions (2 vs. 0) and time of possession (36:25 vs. 23:35)Â
•   In the decision, the Leathernecks dropped their first season-opener since 2011Â
Pinned Deep: Adam Fellner began the 2018 season with two 50-plus yard punts, and his first kick traveled the farthest at 58 yards. Fellner is coming off of a sophomore slate where he averaged 38.6 yards per punt with nine going for 50+.
At Montana State, he recorded 244 yards on five punts for a 48.80 average.Â
Milestones for McGuire: Sean McGuire appeared in his first collegiate game at Illinois in 2015 and has become quite the accomplished quarterback in his WIU tenure. After the Leathernecks' season-opener at Montana State, he moved to third all-time in both passing yards (7,089) and completions (928).Â
Leathernecks In the Pros: Â Former Leatherneck Lance Lenoir signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys after the 2017 draft and will suit up on the team's practice squad for the 2018 season. During preseason camp, Lenoir led all Cowboys receivers in receptions (12) and yards (91).Â
Heading into the final week of camp, Lenior (Dallas Cowboys), Brett Taylor (Minnesota Vikings), and Jacob Judd (Vikings) were all listed on NFL rosters. Former Leathernecks Tyrin Holloway (DB/Chicago Bears), David Griffith (DB/Los Angeles Chargers), and Jaelon Acklin (WR/Baltimore Ravens) also received mini-camp invites following the 2018 Draft.
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