VS 
Date/Time: Saturday, March 13 at 12 PM
Location: Hanson Field, Macomb, IL
Weather Forecast at Kickoff (as of 3/12) - 55° and mostly cloudy, ~11 mph wind, 0% chance of precipitation
WIU Radio: Mixlr
TV/Video Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: https://goleathernecks.com/sidearmstats ... ll/summary
Game Notes: Western Illinois, North Dakota
Well...another week, another top 10 opponent, although this one will be back at Hanson Field. North Dakota is a newcomer to the MVFC, joining up this season after 7 years in the Big Sky conference. UND is 3-0 this season after taking down Southern Illinois (44-21), South Dakota State (28-17), and South Dakota (21-10)...all at home. This weekend will be UND's first road game and their first outdoor game of the season.
Last full season (2019), UND finished 7-5 overall after exiting the playoffs in the first round at the hands of Nicholls State. They were picked 7th in the conference preseason poll and had 3 players with preseason all-conference honorable mentions: OL Ryan Tobin, LB Jaxson Turner, and DB Jordan Canady. UND currently has the top scoring offense in the conference, averaging 31 ppg, and has the #3 defense, giving up 16 ppg. The offensive output is due in large part to the performance of RB Otis Weah, who is averaging 114 ypg with 5 rushing TDs. QB Tommy Schuster has thrown for 173.67 ypg with 4 TDs and 2 INTs, with a completion rate of 64.44%, and his top receiving target is WR Garett Maag, who has 67.33 ypg and 1 TD. On defense, LB Devon Krzanowski has 17 tackles including 1.5 for loss and 1 fumble recover, and the previously-mentioned DB Jordan Canady has 16 tackles with 2 interceptions.
We have played North Dakota one time before in our history, a 28-7 home loss against the then Fighting Sioux in 1979.
Going into this season, I wouldn't have expected UND to be one of the toughest teams in the conference, but so far they've proven themselves to be the team to beat this spring. After the first 3 weeks, they've emerged as the highest-ranked of a pretty highly-ranked conference at #3 in the Stats Top 25 poll, ahead of #4 UNI, #5 NDSU, and #8 SDSU. So, this game has the potential to be another difficult one for our Leathernecks.
Current Predictions
Massey Ratings gives us about a 23% chance of winning, with a predicted score of 31-20 for the Hawks.
Sagarin Rankings lists us at #197 out of all DI teams, with North Dakota at #94. UND is given ~90% chance of winning.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin