2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

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

2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

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

The 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jared Elliott, the Leathernecks compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the MVFC. Western Illinois played home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois.

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

^[1]^[2]

Preseason

Preseason MVFC poll

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

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

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Buck Buchanan Award^[5]	Khalen Saunders	DE	SR

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

^ "Western Illinois Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
^ "2018 Football Schedule". Western Illinois University. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
^ "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".
^ "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).
^ "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.

[1] "Western Illinois Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2026.

[2] "2018 Football Schedule". Western Illinois University. Retrieved March 15, 2026.

[3] "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".

[4] "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).

[5] "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.

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Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Venues	Hanson Field (1950–present)
Culture & lore	Colonel Rock Rocky "We're Marching On" WIU Marching Leathernecks
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026