#10 Western Illinois

Western Illinois RB, Nikko Watson (Photo: Tom Loftus)

Western Illinois has experienced a very up and down last 5 years; they just can't remain consistent. In 2008 Western Illinois went a mediocre 6-5, the next year the Leathernecks reached a low going 1-10 with their only win coming against Sam Houston State. In 2010, things looked up again; Western finished the season 8-5 after a nice playoff run. However, last year things went downhill again. The Leathernecks finished the season 2-9 with their only wins coming from non-scholly Jacksonville and a struggling Southern Illinois team.

In 2012, Western Illinois will have an extremely easy non-conference schedule which should be a confidence builder for the Leathernecks. Western has had very good teams in the past which makes them unlike Missouri State, however, I believe that the Leathernecks are a couple seasons away from contention for the Missouri Valley Football Conference crown.

After the previous four years, logic would dictate that 2012 should be a winning season for the Leathernecks. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disagree with that logic. Western Illinois has alot of work to do before they can come back into contention. They lacked many key aspects last year and the result was a two win season. After looking through some of last season's stats, I was shocked when I saw the "points by quarters". 

It appears as though Western Illinois got themselves in a hole before games even started. Momentum is a huge part of football; it can lead to upset victories, winning streaks, a loud and vocal crowd, and the rise of new talent. The Leathernecks need to find a way to grab some momentum and run with it. A couple players that could reignite the Leatherneck presence in the MVFC are, QB Josh Hudson and RB Nikko Watson. 

Josh Hudson was an okay QB last season for the Leathernecks. He completed 119 of 207 passes for 1528 yards, 12 TDs and 11 INTs. We've all seen worse stats, however, with the state of the Western Illinois defense last year, those stats needed to be much better. In 2012, it will be interesting to see how Hudson develops. He will be missing his favorite target from last year, former WR Terriun Crump. 

I got to see Niko Watson in action last year when I watched the SDSU-WIU game. Taking into account that I already knew that the Jackrabbit defense wasn't exactly stellar, I was still impressed with how hard Watson ran. Niko Watson only played four games last year. In those games he ran the ball 90 times for 485 yards and scored three times. That averages out to 121 yards a game, a definite momentum builder. 

Defensively the Leathernecks will need to perform much better than they did in 2012. Western Illinois will rely on playmaker Kieron James to provide momentum shifts. Last year James had three picks and ten pass deflections. Dwight Harris provided four sacks at DL last season for the Leathernecks as well. The defense is going to need to play with more heart to keep Western Illinois in games and give their offense a chance to win the game. 

As stated before, Western Illinois will enjoy an easy schedule in 2012. They begin 2012 with two easy games against non-scholly Butler and D-II opponent University of Indianapolis. They will, however, play Big 12 Iowa State the following week. Coming out of non-conference play I see Western Illinois at 2-1. The conference schedule is relatively easier for Western Illinois than for other MVFC teams. Missing from their MVFC slate is projected conference winner, North Dakota State. Conference games that Western Illinois could win are road games against South Dakota, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois. By the end of the season I see Western Illinois going anywhere between 2-9 and 4-7.