Watched the game on ESPN+
- Davis's history with QB success makes me think he knows what he's doing with the current situation. I would doubt he would entrust anyone to run the system unless there was full confidence. I agree that WIU will need Carswell at some point.
- McGill is the conference leader and amongst the national leaders in most passing and total offense catagories.
-TSU QB looked like a solid passer with a quick release but finished with similar/worse numbers than WIU guy.
- As I mentioned last week we are missing the downfield playmakers of years past. Anaya drops a deep shot on 2nd drive that would have been a 40 yard td, Coleman gets one broken up after McGill was crushed in the pocket that would have been a 40-50 yard pass play. Too many long drives and not enough big plays to score and get off the field.
- OL not very physical and giving up a lot of QB hits and pressures on basic passing plays. The ESPN replays show McGill getting hit almost every play. Seems like we had 3-4 guys returning from last year but that group looks flustered and has got taken to the wood shed in back to back weeks.
- I like how Davis mentioned in the post game presser that great teams are defensive driven. Our defense has put together 3 pretty solid weeks of football.
- Our run defense continues to be tops in the OVC and if we can stay that stingy vs the run we will have a shot in most games. Good to see another LB in Dobbins step up yesterday and the DB group with Kruger, Keith and Romulous looks fast and feisty.
Have no idea about bye week good or bad but we're 3-3 and should be 4-2 heading into it.
2026 Week 5 - WIU vs Tennessee State
A Lot Can Happen in One Minute: The difference between WIU football’s last two games.
From WGEM Sports:
https://www.wgem.com/2026/10/05/lot-can ... two-games/
From WGEM Sports:
https://www.wgem.com/2026/10/05/lot-can ... two-games/
I'm glad they were able to pull out the win at the end, but it should not have been as difficult as it was. The conference schedule only gets tougher from here on out, but for now at least, we're 1-0 in the conference.
Funny side note - I was at a HS marching band competition in Chillicothe, IL during the game, but was watching the score on my phone. After the 3rd quarter and us being down 21-10, I texted my daughter (who is in the Marching Leathernecks) and told her to tell the football team to do better. A few minutes later she texted back "how's that?"...I checked the score, and we had just had the pick-6 and tied it up. So apparently she needs to tell the team to do better more often.
Just did a quick check of how we did in terms of penalties and apparently this game was the worst one so far...10 penalties for 111 yards (previous worst was 10 for 76 yards against Illinois State). If we want to have any chance of a successful season, we've gotta clean those up.
Funny side note - I was at a HS marching band competition in Chillicothe, IL during the game, but was watching the score on my phone. After the 3rd quarter and us being down 21-10, I texted my daughter (who is in the Marching Leathernecks) and told her to tell the football team to do better. A few minutes later she texted back "how's that?"...I checked the score, and we had just had the pick-6 and tied it up. So apparently she needs to tell the team to do better more often.
Just did a quick check of how we did in terms of penalties and apparently this game was the worst one so far...10 penalties for 111 yards (previous worst was 10 for 76 yards against Illinois State). If we want to have any chance of a successful season, we've gotta clean those up.
Scott Lawson - Board AdminOVC Players of the Week:
OFFENSIVE
Kennedy McGill, QB • 6-1, 225, 5th Year • Bothell, Wash. • Western Illinois
McGill tallied 429 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, including the winning score in the fourth quarter, as Western Illinois opened OVC play with a 28-21 victory over Tennessee State.
The fifth year completed 23-of-43 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown and carried the ball 16 times for 188 yards (11.8 ypc) and a touchdown. He had a 33-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to put his team ahead.
With the score tied at 21 in the fourth quarter, McGill led a 7-play, 55-yard drive that he capped with a 16-yard touchdown run with 52 seconds remaining.
His 429 yards of total offense was the 14th-best in a game in the FCS this season. He has 497 total rushing yards on the season, which ranks third among FCS quarterbacks (and 19th overall).
Others Nominated: Hakeem Watters, Charleston Southern; Cam Bulluck, Tennessee State.
CO-SPECIAL TEAMS
Luke Droegemueller, P • 6-1, 180, Sr. • Cumming, Ga. • Western Illinois
Droegemueller consistently helped pin Tennessee State deep as Western Illinois came from behind to top the Tigers 28-21 in the OVC opener for both teams.
He averaged 39.5 yards on four punts with two downed inside the 20-yard line. The senior had a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter that was downed by the TSU six-yard line, and later in the quarter had a 52-yarder that had the Tigers start deep in their own territory.
The senior is averaging 42.9 yards per punt this season.
Other Notable Performances
• LeBron Morgan (DB, Grad.), Western Illinois. Had a game-high 12 tackles while adding 2.0 tackles for loss and 2 pass breakups in win over Tennessee State.
• Jake Kruger (DB, Jr.), Western Illinois. Had a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown that tied the game in the fourth quarter in a contest WIU eventually won 28-21.
OFFENSIVE
Kennedy McGill, QB • 6-1, 225, 5th Year • Bothell, Wash. • Western Illinois
McGill tallied 429 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, including the winning score in the fourth quarter, as Western Illinois opened OVC play with a 28-21 victory over Tennessee State.
The fifth year completed 23-of-43 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown and carried the ball 16 times for 188 yards (11.8 ypc) and a touchdown. He had a 33-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to put his team ahead.
With the score tied at 21 in the fourth quarter, McGill led a 7-play, 55-yard drive that he capped with a 16-yard touchdown run with 52 seconds remaining.
His 429 yards of total offense was the 14th-best in a game in the FCS this season. He has 497 total rushing yards on the season, which ranks third among FCS quarterbacks (and 19th overall).
Others Nominated: Hakeem Watters, Charleston Southern; Cam Bulluck, Tennessee State.
CO-SPECIAL TEAMS
Luke Droegemueller, P • 6-1, 180, Sr. • Cumming, Ga. • Western Illinois
Droegemueller consistently helped pin Tennessee State deep as Western Illinois came from behind to top the Tigers 28-21 in the OVC opener for both teams.
He averaged 39.5 yards on four punts with two downed inside the 20-yard line. The senior had a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter that was downed by the TSU six-yard line, and later in the quarter had a 52-yarder that had the Tigers start deep in their own territory.
The senior is averaging 42.9 yards per punt this season.
Other Notable Performances
• LeBron Morgan (DB, Grad.), Western Illinois. Had a game-high 12 tackles while adding 2.0 tackles for loss and 2 pass breakups in win over Tennessee State.
• Jake Kruger (DB, Jr.), Western Illinois. Had a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown that tied the game in the fourth quarter in a contest WIU eventually won 28-21.
