2003 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 2003 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 9–4 record overall and a 5–2 record in conference play. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Montana in the first round and lost to Colgate in the second round.[1] The team was ranked No. 6 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.[2]

2003 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 6
Record9–4 (5–2 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanson Field
2003 Gateway Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 5 Northern Iowa +^  6 –1   10 –3  
No. 9 Southern Illinois +^  6 –1   10 –2  
No. 6 Western Illinois ^  5 –2   9 –4  
No. 7 Western Kentucky ^  5 –2   9 –4  
Illinois State  3 –4   6 –6  
Youngstown State  2 –5   5 –7  
Southwest Missouri State  1 –6   4 –7  
Indiana State  0 –7   3 –9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 28Wayne State*No. 3
W 35–312,174[3]
September 4at Eastern Michigan*No. 4
W 34–1211,123[4]
September 13at LSU*No. 1
L 7–3587,164[5]
September 20Tennessee–Martin*No. 2
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 56–011,887[6]
October 4No. 5 Western KentuckyNo. 2
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 33–2818,263[7]
October 11at Youngstown StateNo. 2
W 54–2014,218[8]
October 18No. 7 Southern IllinoisNo. 2
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
L 32–3719,287[9]
October 25No. 9 Northern IowaNo. 7
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
L 30–388,302[10]
November 1at Illinois StateNo. 13
W 24–208,415[11]
November 8at Indiana StateNo. 11
W 34–282,001[12]
November 15Southwest Missouri StateNo. 10
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 63–427,513[13]
November 29at Montana*No. 10
W 43–40 2OT16,222[14]
December 6at Colgate*No. 10
L 27–285,287[15]

References
  1. "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 73. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  2. "Final Division I-AA Poll". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. December 23, 2003. p. B2. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Western Illinois spoils Wayne State's opener". Sioux City Journal. August 29, 2003. p. B3. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Vandecar, Annette (September 5, 2003). "Western Illinois dumps Eastern Michigan, 34-12". Detroit Free Press. p. 4H. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Vernellis, Brian (September 14, 2003). "LSU pummels W. Illinois". The Times. p. 1C. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Western Illinois 56, Tenn.-Martin 0". Quad-City Times. Associated Press. September 21, 2003. p. D2. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Grant, Michael (October 5, 2003). "WKU falls in thriller, 33-28". The Courier-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Youngstown State loses, 54-20". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 12, 2003. p. D8. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Unbeaten Salukis rally past WIU". Quad-City Times. Associated Press. October 19, 2003. p. D2. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Gray, Rob (October 26, 2003). "Panthers' air game delivers victory". Des Moines Register. p. 6C. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Reinhardt, Randy (November 2, 2003). "Too much Michna for Redbirds". The Pantagraph. p. D1. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Western Illinois 34, Indiana State 28". The Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. October 27, 2021. p. B5. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Leathernecks turn up their offense, 63-42". The Courier-Journal. Associated Press. November 16, 2003. p. C10. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Western Illinois outlasts Montana". The Salt Lake Tribune. Associated Press. November 30, 2003. p. C14. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Muder, Craig (December 7, 2003). "Branch's Late TD Lifts Colgate over W. Illinois". Press & Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, N.Y. pp. 1B – via Newspapers.com.


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