Game Preview: Western Illinois University

This week the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits (5-2 and 2-2) look to build on an impressive second half against Missouri State and travel to Macomb, Illinois to take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks (5-2 and 2-2).  WIU is a loaded with talented upperclassmen.  All but one of their starters on offense or defense is a junior or senior.  WIU is coming off of a tough loss to NDSU (24-12) and will be looking to stay in playoff contention, just like the Jackrabbits.  In 2016, the Jacks won this matchup 52-14 in Brookings to open MVFC play.

Offense
WIU features a balanced offensive attack.  QB Sean McGuire and RB Steve McShane are equally capable of taking a game over and winning it.  The Leathernecks average 37.57 ppg with 172.9 yards per game and 260 passing yards per game.  They are efficient in the redzone, converting on 23 of 25 opportunities and are good for a 41% conversion rate on 3rd down.  So far, McGuire has only been sacked 14 times, 5 of which were from NDSU last week.

#18 Sean McGuire is now a junior and has really grown in his time as the starter at Western.  So far in 2017 he has passed for 1796 yards, 15 touchdowns, with a completion percentage of 66%.  He is a very good QB who can also function as a runner if needed having rushed for over 100 yards on the season (before sacks).  Last year, McGuire struggled against the Jacks going just 15-27 for 113 yards and 2 TDs.

#5 Steve McShane (5-8, 185) is also now a junior.  The shifty back was a preseason All-MVFC pick but has so far struggled to get much going averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, 311 rushing yards, and 4 TDs.  The thunder to McShane's lightning is sophomore #36 Max Norris (5-10, 207).  On the season Norris has rumbled for 459 yards for a 5.7 ypc average and 4 touchdowns.  The Leathernecks use a fullback, #34 Larry Harleston.

The wide receiver position is certainly in transition for WIU after the loss of four year starter Lance Lenoir and his side kick Joey Borsellino.  Senior wide receiver #17 Jaelon Acklin has burst onto the scene for his final season.  As a junior, he only had 8 receptions but for a whopping 192 yards.  This season he has 52 receptions for 943 yards, 8 TDs and an amazing average of 134.71 yards per game.  The Leathernecks have four others who have caught more than 10 passes.  #2 Isaiah LeSure has caught 12 passes for 188 yards and 2 TDs including a 46 yarder.  #10 Brandon Gaston is a sophomore who has collected 13 for 168 and 1 TD.  The startering tight end #87 Cal Breedlove has no receptions on the season but his backup, #83 Adam Conrady has 7 for 122 and 2 TDs.

The offensive line is certainly an area of strength for Western.  They will also be coming in with a chip on their shoulder after getting dismantled by NDSU's defense.  Left tackle #55 Josh Baldus (6-5, 300), left guard #72 Jordan Detweiler (6-5, 300), center #66 Jacob Judd (6-3, 300), and right tackle #77 James Torgerson (6-5, 310) are all seniors and 3 year letter winners and have started nearly 3 seasons together.  The other starter, junior #76 Drew Wagner (6-6, 312) has started 26 straight games at right guard.  The Jackrabbit defensive front 7 will NEED to be ready for this matchup.

Defense 
The Leatherneck defense has been solid in 2017.  WIU primarily runs a 3-4 defense that allows their middle linebackers to run free and make plays.  They are allowing 23.57 points per game and the most they have allowed is 38 in a loss to USD.  They yield 121.1 yards per game rushing and 242.14 through the air.  They have sacked the opposing quarterback 19 times and have held opponents to just a 32% conversion rate on 3rd downs.

 The leader of the WIU defense is clearly middle linebacker #44 Brett Taylor.  Taylor enters his 3rd season as the starting linebacker and has had a monster 2017 racking up 104 tackles, 10 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.  The Jacks will have to know where he is at at all times.  It could be a fun matchup watching Taylor and Louscher run into each other repeatedly on Saturday.  Taylor is joined on the inside by #39 Quentin Moon who is the second leading tackler for WIU with 36 stops, 2 sacks, 1 INT, and a forced fumble.  The outside linebackers are #58 Riggs Baxter (22 tackles, 1 INT) and #50 Pete Swenson (23 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 QBH).

The defensive line is lead by the large and active #99 Khalen Saunders (6-2, 310).  Saunders has 36 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles.  If Saunders lines up across from Charlie Harmon, it will be a great matchup to watch.  The other defensive linemen are seniors #95 Mick Nelson (6-3, 281) and #51 Colin Olson (6-4, 250).  Nelson (15 tackles, 1 sack) and Olson (18 tackles, 1 sack) appear to eat up blockers and allow the linebackers to make plays.

The secondary again features a wealth of experience.  The starting safeties #5 Aaron Diggs (18 tackles, 1 INT) and #38 David Griffith (26 tackles, 1 INT) have combined to former a solid duo.  This is Diggs' first year as a starter but Griffith has started the prior two seasons.  #30 Justin Fitzpatrick is very active in the minutes he gets as he has 28 tackles and 4 interceptions.  At cornerback, WIU starts #16 Tyrin Holloway, a grad transfer who started 22 games at Liberty.  With WIU he has registered 18 stops and 3 INTs on the season.  The other corner is #6 Xavier Rowe who has 27 total tackles with 1 INT in his second year starting.

Special Teams          
The special teams for WIU are solid.  Steve McShane handles the punt return duties and is dangerous.  In 6 attempts he has an average of 20.17 yards with a long of 77.  Even if you eliminate the long return he is still averaging over 10 yards per return.  The kick return duties belong to #12 Darron Wheeler who is averaging 24 yards per return with a long of 33 and #25 Clint Ratkovich who is averaging 20 yards per return on 8 attempts with a long of 39.  

The place kicking job belongs to #32 Sam Crosa who is 6 for 6 on the season with a long of 41.  The kick off responsibilities are #33 Nathan Erickson kicked off 47 times with 26 touchbacks and a 61.8 average.

Prediction
I'm offering two predictions this week based on two different scenarios.

1. WIU gets the ball right away and grinds down the clock running the ball consistently and milking the clock for an 80 yard, 6 1/2 minute TD drive with their big back and offensive line.  If this happens WIU wins 28-17.

2. WIU gets the ball first and goes 3 and out OR SDSU gets the ball first and marches down the field and scores.  WIU then has a turnover on the ensuing drive that the Jacks capitalize on going up 14-0.  In this scenario, the Jacks take control and win 37-20.

In all seriousness, the Jackrabbit defense will have to stop the run.  WIU is built to run the ball with a huge an experience offensive line.  Can the Jacks hold up in the run game like they did against Duquesne?  Can the Jackrabbit offense sustain drives and find a rhythm even with long gaps between possessions? Can the Jackrabbit offense retain the momentum they created in the second half against MSU? 

I'm curious to see how the Jackrabbit defense responds and shows up in stopping the WIU running attack.

Go Jacks!
-Matt