Both coaches know they are in for a difficult assignment if they are going to leave L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field with a 1-0 conference mark. Regardless of the outcome, neither team will be out of the chase for the Gateway championship.
Case in point — the Leathernecks defeated the Toppers to begin league action in 2001, ’02 and ’03, but WKU would go on to finish no lower than third in the standings and advance to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in each of those years. That includes winning a share of the conference crown in 2002 en route to the school’s first national championship.
“We’re taking things one game at a time, and the next one is the most important and you certainly want to end up being successful,” Hilltopper head coach David Elson says. “In the past, we had three years in a row where we were 0-1 right out of the gates and ended up being near the top of the standings in the end. It’s a long season — a marathon and not a sprint — but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a sense of urgency.”
“I consider Western Kentucky to be one of the most difficult road assignments in the Gateway,” says WIU head coach Don Patterson. “It’s always a monumental challenge to play well in Bowling Green, especially when you’re hoping to get the conference season started on the right foot, and I expect tonight to be no different than any other Western Illinois versus Western Kentucky match-up — a very physical, hard-fought battle.”
While both teams have potent offenses, the play of two improved defensive units could determine the outcome of this contest.
WIU and WKU rank first and second, respectively, in the league in pass and pass efficiency defense, and are also in the top half of the league in yards allowed. The Hilltoppers, led by Andre Lewis and Marion Rumph — both enter the game in the top 10 in the GFC in tackles per game — have allowed just 319.3 yards per contest while holding the opposition to fewer points in each contest than the previous week after defeating Chattanooga 28-21 in their home opener Sept. 16.
The Leathernecks have surrendered 293.8 yards and 17 points per outing thus far after giving up 398 yards and 34 points per game a year ago. Jerome Bennett leads the squad with 32 total tackles, adding two forced fumbles and an interception, despite missing a contest. Kevin Almlie has intercepted two passes — in fact, WIU has forced 13 turnovers already this fall, ranking sixth nationally with a plus-2.25 margin.
“The key to our improved defense is twofold. First is a more thorough understanding of our schemes and concepts now that defensive coordinator Tom Casey is in his second season with us,” says Patterson. “And, second is simply greater physical maturity and greater experience among our players. We only have two seniors in our starting lineup on defense, so that experience continues to grow each and every week.”
“The one thing that I think is a key for WIU is that they finally have some consistency on their defensive coaching staff,” Elson agrees. “We’ve had consistency on our defense with both players and coaches as well. With consistency and good players over time, you should see things improve no matter what phase of the game you are talking about.
“I think it will probably be a little bit of a lower scoring game than it has been in the past.”
Unless the offenses have their way. WKU will be led by the duo of Lerron Moore and Tyrell Hayden, who have combined to rush for 355 yards and three scores in three games this year. And if the Hilltoppers need to go to the air, Justin Haddix has thrown for 450 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to Curtis Hamilton in the second half of the UTC victory. Hamilton leads the Toppers with 16 receptions for 253 yards.
The Leathernecks counter with Herb Donaldson, who has filled in ably for former All-American Travis Glasford. He’s run for 405 yards and five touchdowns while averaging seven yards per carry. Steve LaFalce has completed 57 percent of his passes for 571 yards and six scores, with both Marco Thomas and Carl Sims combining to record 57 percent of WIU’s receptions.
When it comes to special teams play, the Leathernecks offer threats in three phases of the game. Taylor Rowan is second on the team with 29 points, Kris Coffee is averaging 40.8 yards per punt and Paul Anderson returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown in WIU’s 42-28 win at Northern Colorado last week. The Toppers counter with a pair of preseason all-conference honorees in placekicker Chris James and return specialist Dennis Mitchell, and Tanner Siewert has had four punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line in the last two games.
“This is definitely the best Western Illinois team we’ve seen in a few years. They have their quarterback returning and four seniors on the offensive line, and are developing playmakers at wide receiver and tailback — they are very tough to defend, as they always are,” says Elson. “Defensively, WIU is active and doing a good job of getting turnovers, and they also have solid special teams. From top to bottom, this is what you expect when you get into Gateway Conference play — everybody is good. Western Illinois will be a huge challenge for us, we’ve got to play our best game of the year to be able to be successful.”
WKU has won the last two meetings between the two teams by a combined score of 87-10, but neither team has won three straight in the series in 11 all-time meetings. A tougher WIU squad awaits this evening in an effort to keep that intact, though, as the Leathernecks entered the top 25 in both the Sports Network and CSN Coaches polls for the first time this season on Monday — this will mark the first time since both teams were among the top five in the national rankings prior to their October 2003 meeting in Macomb that WIU enters the match-up in the top 25.
The winner of this game will have a leg up in the chase of the Gateway Conference championship and the league’s automatic berth in this year’s playoffs. Although the loser will have another obstacle in that race, it by no means eliminates them from title consideration. All that’s left is for the two teams to decide that fate on the field.
