2024 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

2024 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Conference	Big South–OVC Football Association
Record	1–3 (0–0 Big South–OVC)
Head coach	Joe Davis (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Wilson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Dan McKeown (1st season)
Home stadium	Hanson Field

2024 Big South–OVC football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Tennessee Tech		2	–	0					2	–	2
No. 13 Southeast Missouri State		1	–	0					4	–	1
Lindenwood*		1	–	0					2	–	3
Tennessee State		1	–	1					3	–	2
Western Illinois		0	–	0					1	–	3
UT Martin		0	–	1					2	–	3
Charleston Southern		0	–	1					1	–	3
Eastern Illinois		0	–	1					1	–	4
Gardner–Webb		0	–	1					1	–	4
Note: Lindenwood ineligible for Big South–OVC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. As of September 30, 2024 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2024 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team will represent Western Illinois University as a member of the Big South–OVC Football Association during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They will be led by first year head coach Joe Davis. The Leathernecks will play home games at Hanson Field in Macomb, Illinois. This will be their first season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference after leaving the Missouri Valley Football Conference following last season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	2:30 p.m.	at Northern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	L 15–54	10,828
September 6	6:00 p.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 3–77	39,082
September 14	12:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Illinois State*	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN+	L 34–51	12,440
September 28	6:00 p.m.	McKendree (IL)*	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	W 49–32	4,827
October 5	3:00 p.m.	at Charleston Southern	Buccaneer Field North Charleston, SC	ESPN+
October 12	3:00 p.m.	UT Martin	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+
October 19	3:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+
October 26	2:00 p.m.	at Lindenwood	Harlen C. Hunter Stadium St. Charles, MO	ESPN+
November 2	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+
November 9	1:00 p.m.	Tennessee State	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+
November 16	1:00 p.m.	at Southeast Missouri State	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN+
November 23	1:00 p.m.	Gardner-Webb	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

at Northern Illinois

See also: 2024 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

Game One – Western Illinois Leathernecks (0–0) at Northern Illinois Huskies (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	3	0	5	7	15
Huskies	6	28	13	7	54

at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, Illinois

• Date: Saturday August 31, 2024
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
• Game attendance: 10,828
• Referee: Amanda Sauer
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play) and Ryan Cavanaugh (analyst)

Game information

First quarter NIU – Dane Pardridge 23-yard pass from Ethan Hampton (kick failed), 12:21. Huskies 6–0. Drive: 2 plays, 46 yards, 0:25. WIU – Antonio Chadha 44-yard field goal, 0:51. Huskies 6–3. Drive: 11 plays, 61, yards, 4:35. Second quarter NIU – Cam Thompson 11-yard pass from Ethan Hampton (Kanon Woodill kick), 12:36. Huskies 13–3. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:15. NIU – Trayvon Rudolph 60-yard run (Kanon Woodill kick), 8:47. Huskies 20–3. Drive: 1 play, 60 yards, 0:08. NIU – Keyshaun Pipkin 11-yard pass from Ethan Hampton (Kanon Woodill kick), 1:55. Huskies 27–3. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 5:05. NIU – Trayvon Rudolph 43-yard pass from Ethan Hampton (Kanon Woodill kick), 0:40. Huskies 34–3. Drive: 4 plays, 60 yards, 0:44. Third quarter NIU – Grayson Barnes 60-yard pass from Ethan Hampton (Kanon Woodill kick), 13:28. Huskies 41–3. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:32. NIU – Jaylen Poe 7-yard run (kick blocked), 4:22. Huskies 47–3. Drive: 14 plays, 88 yards, 7:06. WIU – Fredrik Greenhoward defensive PAT conversion, 4:22. Huskies 47–5. WIU – Antonio Chadha 46-yard field goal, 1:39. Huskies 47–8. Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards, 2:36. Fourth quarter NIU – Jalen Macon 5-yard run (Kanon Woodill kick), 8:00. Huskies 54–8. Drive: 12 plays, 64 yards, 5:31. WIU – Torrance Farmer Jr. 27-yard pass from Nathan Lamb (Antonio Chadha kick), 2:59. Huskies 54–15. Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 4:56.

Statistics	WIU	NIU
First downs	17	30
Total yards	298	706
Rushing yards	94	312
Passing yards	204	394
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	28:26	31:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Illinois	Passing	Nathan Lamb	17/29, 204 yards, TD
	Rushing	Cameren Smith	14 rushes, 51 yards
	Receiving	Tristin Duncan	5 receptions, 68 yards
Northern Illinois	Passing	Ethan Hampton	18/20, 328 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	Antario Brown	8 rushes, 69 yards
	Receiving	Trayvon Rudolph	4 receptions, 104 yards, TD

at Indiana

See also: 2024 Indiana Hoosiers football team

Game Two – Western Illinois Leathernecks (0–1) at Indiana Hoosiers (1–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Leathernecks	0	3	0	0	3
Hoosiers	28	14	14	21	77

at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana

• Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 73 °F (23 °C) • Wind: N at 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
• Game attendance: 39,082
• Referee: Jeremy Valentine
• TV announcers (BTN): Lisa Byington (play-by-play), Jeremy ‘J’ Leman (analyst), and Melanie Ricks (sideline)

Game information

First quarter 12:53 IND - Andison Coby 38-yard pass from Kurtis Rourke, (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 68 yards, 01:58; Indiana 7–0) 09:30 IND - Justice Ellison 2-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 53 yards, 02:22; Indiana 14–0) 07:41 IND - Elijah Sarratt 71-yard pass from Kurtis Rourke, (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 1 plays, 71 yards, 00:09; Indiana 21–0) 02:03 IND - Ty Son Lawton 19-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 04:11; Indiana 28–0) Second quarter 09:40 IND - Elijah Green 11-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 04:33; Indiana 35–0) 02:27 IND - Kurtis Rourke 1-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 60 yards, 05:13; Indiana 42–0) 00:30 WIU - Antonio Chadha 31-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 69 yards, 01:50; Indiana 42–3) Third quarter 8:58 IND - Justice Ellison 47-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards, 01:36; Indiana 49–3) 1:02 IND - Tayven Jackson 13-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 03:46; Indiana 56–3) Fourth quarter 13:34 IND - Omar Cooper Jr. 69-yard pass from Tayven Jackson, (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 74 yards, 00:45; Indiana 63–3) 11:29 IND - Rolijah Hardy 12-yard interception return (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 1 plays, 0 yards, 00:06; Indiana 70–3) 9:10 IND - Charlie Becker 3-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 10 yards, 01:23; Indiana 77–3)

Statistics	WIU	IND
First downs	8	33
Total yards	121	701
Rushing yards	12	323
Passing yards	109	378
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	13–26–2	19–21–0
Time of possession	25:29	34:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Illinois	Passing	Nathan Lamb	13/25, 109 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Torrance Farmer Jr.	5 carries, 20 yards
	Receiving	Christian Anaya	5 receptions, 56 yards
Indiana	Passing	Kurtis Rourke	15/17, 268 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Justice Ellison	9 carries, 117 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Elijah Sarratt	6 receptions, 137 yards, TD

at No. 18 Illinois State

See also: 2024 Illinois State Redbirds football team

Game Three – Western Illinois Leathernecks (0–2) vs No. 18 Illinois State Redbirds (1–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Illinois	7	14	7	6	34
No. 18 Illinois State	14	10	14	13	51

at Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL

• Date: September 14, 2024
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• Game attendance: 12,440
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WIU	ILST
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

McKendree (IL) (DII)

See also: McKendree Bearcats

Game Four – McKendree Bearcats (DII) (2–1) vs Western Illinois Leathernecks (0–3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bearcats (DII)	0	0	0	0	0
Leathernecks	0	0	0	0	0

at Hanson Field • Macomb, IL

• Date: September 28, 2024
• Game time: 6:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MCK	WIU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McKendree (IL)	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Charleston Southern

See also: 2024 Charleston Southern Buccaneers football team

Game Five – Western Illinois Leathernecks (1–3) vs Charleston Southern Buccaneers (1–3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
Charleston Southern	0	0	0	0	0

at Buccaneer Field • North Charleston, SC

• Date: Saturday October 5, 2024
• Game time: 4:00 p.m.
• TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	WIU	CSOU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Charleston Southern	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Tennessee State

See also: 2024 Tennessee State Tigers football team

Game Ten – Tennessee State Tigers (0–0) vs Western Illinois Leathernecks (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	0	0
Leathernecks	0	0	0	0	0

at Hanson Field • Macomb, IL

• Date: November 9, 2024
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	TSU	WIU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Western Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving