1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 9–3 record overall and a 3–2 record in conference play. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Murray State in the first round.[1]

1996 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 10
Record9–3 (3–2 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanson Field
1996 Gateway Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 Northern Iowa $^  5 –0   12 –2  
No. 10 Western Illinois ^  3 –2   9 –3  
No. 21 Southwest Missouri State  3 –2   7 –4  
Indiana State  3 –2   6 –5  
Southern Illinois  1 –4   5 –6  
Illinois State  0 –5   3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 29Northwestern Oklahoma State*
W 44–21[2]
September 7at Northern Illinois*
W 17–021,370[3]
September 14Alcorn State*
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 34–176,498[4]
September 21at No. 14 Hofstra*
W 18–93,719[5]
October 5Indiana StateNo. 22
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
L 7–10[6]
October 12at No. 7 Eastern Illinois*No. 25
W 10–710,133[7]
October 19at Southern IllinoisNo. 17
W 26–1911,300[8]
October 26Cal Poly*No. 15
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 51–10[9]
November 2at Southwest Missouri StateNo. 13
W 23–1715,878[10]
November 9Illinois StateNo. 10
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 28–115,714[11]
November 16at No. 3 Northern IowaNo. 8
L 6–3015,476[12]
November 30at No. 4 Murray State*No. 10
L 6–342,753[13]

References
  1. "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 72. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. "Western Illinois rolls to 44-21 win in opener". Daily Republican-Register. Associated Press. August 30, 1996. p. 5. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Nickel, Lori (September 8, 1996). "Murphy's law haunts Northern loss". Chicago Tribune. p. 3:10. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Blalock too much for Alcorn". Clarion-Ledger. September 15, 1996. p. 9D. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "W. Illinois now 4-0; ISU wins in second OT". Chicago Tribune. September 22, 1996. p. 3:8. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Indiana State opens conference play with a 10-7 victory over W. Illinois". Indianapolis Star. October 6, 1996. p. C4. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Western Illinois hands Eastern Illinois defeat". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. October 13, 1996. p. F5. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Hardwig, Greg (October 20, 1996). "Another bitter pill". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1D. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Mustangs knuckle under, 51-10". Santa Maria Times. Associated Press. October 27, 1996. p. B6. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Hecklinski, Western topple SW Missouri". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. November 3, 1996. p. F8. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Leathernecks set up showdown with UNI". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Associated Press. November 10, 1996. p. D3. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. McCool, Dan (November 17, 1996). "UNI tramples Western Illinois to claim Gateway title outright". Des Moines Register. p. 11D. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Murray State races by Western Illinois". Quad-City Times. Associated Press. December 1, 1996. p. 3S. Retrieved November 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.


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