Spring 2021 - Week 4 - vs North Dakota

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ST_Lawson
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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
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
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sealhall74
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Still early too learn much from stats but UND shows up #1 in my combined stat ranking. About the only offense we can muster is through the air and that is where they are weakest. I see a hell of lot more "red" from our own defense than I do on the other side of the ball. So often it seems that if a team is lousy at one thing (e.g. running the ball), they are also lousy at stopping the run.

http://ip-198-12-248-7.ip.secureserver. ... c/statRank
Embrace the pace of the race.
wiu712
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Saturday's game will also be on WIUS Radio, 88.3 FM.
Lakesbison
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sealhall74 wrote: Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:45 pm Still early too learn much from stats but UND shows up #1 in my combined stat ranking. About the only offense we can muster is through the air and that is where they are weakest. I see a hell of lot more "red" from our own defense than I do on the other side of the ball. So often it seems that if a team is lousy at one thing (e.g. running the ball), they are also lousy at stopping the run.

http://ip-198-12-248-7.ip.secureserver. ... c/statRank
Chuck the Pigskin ,
WIU used to always have some physicality in you. is that missing this year?
rocki
Posts: 1510
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:08 pm

Lakesbison wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:09 pm
sealhall74 wrote: Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:45 pm Still early too learn much from stats but UND shows up #1 in my combined stat ranking. About the only offense we can muster is through the air and that is where they are weakest. I see a hell of lot more "red" from our own defense than I do on the other side of the ball. So often it seems that if a team is lousy at one thing (e.g. running the ball), they are also lousy at stopping the run.

http://ip-198-12-248-7.ip.secureserver. ... c/statRank
Chuck the Pigskin ,
WIU used to always have some physicality in you. is that missing this year?
I don't know exactly what is going on. Lost a few through transfers. Looks like a lot of inexperience as well. For some reason, I'm wondering if they are holding back some people for the fall season (not risking injury and the like) since this spring season seems like more of a practice run than a real football season. A lot of we Leatherneck fans are asking the same questions you are, believe me.
wiu712
Posts: 6864
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 pm

Another challenging test awaits WIU Leathernecks.
From Prairie State Pigskin:
https://www.chicagonow.com/prairie-stat ... thernecks/
Lakesbison
Posts: 121
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 4:09 pm

rocki wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 3:07 pm
Lakesbison wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:09 pm
sealhall74 wrote: Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:45 pm Still early too learn much from stats but UND shows up #1 in my combined stat ranking. About the only offense we can muster is through the air and that is where they are weakest. I see a hell of lot more "red" from our own defense than I do on the other side of the ball. So often it seems that if a team is lousy at one thing (e.g. running the ball), they are also lousy at stopping the run.

http://ip-198-12-248-7.ip.secureserver. ... c/statRank
Chuck the Pigskin ,
WIU used to always have some physicality in you. is that missing this year?
I don't know exactly what is going on. Lost a few through transfers. Looks like a lot of inexperience as well. For some reason, I'm wondering if they are holding back some people for the fall season (not risking injury and the like) since this spring season seems like more of a practice run than a real football season. A lot of we Leatherneck fans are asking the same questions you are, believe me.
cool Rocki. Just over the years, you always had some mean son of bitches in the trenches and I dont see that this year.
rocki
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Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:08 pm

Lakesbison wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:26 pm
rocki wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 3:07 pm
Lakesbison wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:09 pm

Chuck the Pigskin ,
WIU used to always have some physicality in you. is that missing this year?
I don't know exactly what is going on. Lost a few through transfers. Looks like a lot of inexperience as well. For some reason, I'm wondering if they are holding back some people for the fall season (not risking injury and the like) since this spring season seems like more of a practice run than a real football season. A lot of we Leatherneck fans are asking the same questions you are, believe me.
cool Rocki. Just over the years, you always had some mean son of bitches in the trenches and I dont see that this year.
Yeah, we have. It's disappointing, but given the weirdness of a spring season, I guess it doesn't bug me as much as having this type of thing in the fall. Still holding out hope that - provided the whole virus thing stays on the positive trend - we'll see a scrappier team on the turf this fall. I'm tired of this slump. (And I'm old, so I have seen some damn good teams in the past)
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ST_Lawson
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Just FYI, I've heard that the athletics department sent out an email to students saying that they would be allowing 200 students to get tickets to the game tomorrow. So, a few more people than just the family members this time.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
wiu712
Posts: 6864
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 pm

"Winners and Whiners" has North Dakota as a 20-point favorite:
https://winnersandwhiners.com/games/nca ... tion-2334/
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