Leatherneck Nation

Deceptive score. Game was a much bigger blowout than the final indicated. 

Western won 51-30

Chris Irvin was 13 of 20 for 247 yards.  3 Touchdowns.  1 Interception.

Western had 507 Total Yards:  261 Passing and 246 Rushing.

Valparaiso had 281 Total Yards:  159 Passing and 122 Rushing.

It was 110 degrees in the Press Box.

Attendance at Hanson Field = 5,720

wiu712 wrote: Sun Sep 14, 2025 9:11 am Western won 51-30

Chris Irvin was 13 of 20 for 247 yards.  3 Touchdowns.  1 Interception.

Western had 507 Total Yards:  261 Passing and 246 Rushing.

Valparaiso had 281 Total Yards:  159 Passing and 122 Rushing.

It was 110 degrees in the Press Box.

Attendance at Hanson Field = 5,720

 

Wow, nice crowd. At first I kinda questioned why have a 6pm kickoff, but with it being so hot yesterday, it was a wise decision.
 

Hopefully this game builds some confidence with Irving and he keeps taking a step forward each week.  He did ok, but missed a few, was late on a few and behind on a few.  Having full complement of WR's is going to be very helpful.

Needing some DL guys to really step up as we need to get more pressure on passing plays and force more quick or bad passes. Not saying some of these guys haven't already stepped up in a way, but need more and more consistency.  Have to force some turnovers via INTs and we've only been close on basically 2 or 3 passes this year.  Thought Warden was going to pick a ball, but instead it went for 6 and he wasn't close.  

Glad we got the win and it was never in question.  Would have liked to not give up all the 4th quarter points, but move on and get prepared for EWU.

EWU had a chance to win the UNI game.  Late drive put them in a great spot, but penalty cost them a chance to win and missed (makeable) FG cost them overtime.  This is a winnable game as they're not the super offensively explosive teams they used to be.  Limit the big plays, force some turnovers and we can get to 2-2.

If the attendance is correct that would have been are biggest home crowd in at least a couple years 
 

Wasn't able to find the stats anywhere until today.  They haven't been listed on the WIU site...but WOW was a big night on O. https://goleathernecks.com/sports/footb ... core/14154

NewNeck wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 2:03 pm Wasn't able to find the stats anywhere until today.  They haven't been listed on the WIU site...but WOW was a big night on O. https://goleathernecks.com/sports/footb ... core/14154

 

I didn't listen or follow much of the game as I was busy and just now seeing the box score, so the True Freshman QB didn't play? Are they trying to limit him playing time so he can keep his redshirt?

meganeck wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 5:19 pm

NewNeck wrote: Tue Sep 16, 2025 2:03 pm Wasn't able to find the stats anywhere until today.  They haven't been listed on the WIU site...but WOW was a big night on O. https://goleathernecks.com/sports/footb ... core/14154


 

Are they trying to limit him playing time so he can keep his redshirt?

 

That could be. It's possible that Coach Davis has talked him into playing in a few games this year, keep his redshirt, learn what he can from Irvin, then becoming the starting QB next year (assuming he works hard and does well). That's a risky proposition in the age of the transfer portal where kids can go anywhere they want between seasons though. I've read that it's usually the best practice to just go ahead and play your players, forget about redshirting them, because if they're good, in a couple of years, they'll be moving up to an FBS school anyway.

Was the attendance really 5,720? I saw a couple clips and it looked empty in the stadium. Valpo's football website and espn both report 572, not 5,720. Was anyone there to confirm?

NeckAlum2009 wrote: Thu Sep 18, 2025 7:38 am Was the attendance really 5,720? I saw a couple clips and it looked empty in the stadium. Valpo's football website and espn both report 572, not 5,720. Was anyone there to confirm?

 

I was there. The visitor's side was nearly empty except for maybe 100 Valpo fans and our marching band. The home side, however, had quite a few people, at least in the first half. Lots of people left after halftime or in the 3rd quarter because we were up by so much. There might not have quite been 5,720, but there were FAR more than 572.