# 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

The 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Jared Elliott and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in fifth place.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Buck Buchanan Award | Khalen Saunders | DE | SR |

### Preseason MVFC poll

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Leathernecks predicted to finish in seventh place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | North Dakota State | 390 (39) |
| 2 | South Dakota State | 270 |
| 3 | Northern Iowa | 258 |
| 4 | Youngstown State | 248 |
| 5 | Illinois State | 248 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 206 |
| 7 | Western Illinois | 163 |
| 8 | Southern Illinois | 139 |
| 9 | Missouri State | 90 |
| 10 | Indiana State | 41 |

### Preseason All-MVFC Teams

The Leathernecks placed five at six positions players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 8:00 p.m. | at Montana State* | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX | L 23–26 | 18,507 |
| September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | at Illinois* | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | BTN | L 14–34 | 39,252 |
| September 15 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 15 Montana* | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | ESPN+ | W 31–27 | 4,011 |
| September 29 | 3:00 p.m. | Youngstown State* | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | ESPN3 | W 45–38 | 4,352 |
| October 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 15 Illinois State | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN+ | L 16–33 | 8,516 |
| October 13 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 North Dakota State | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | ESPN+ | L 7–34 | 2,709 |
| October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | at Missouri State | Robert W. Plaster StadiumSpringfield, MO | ESPN+ | W 31–14 | 12,109 |
| October 27 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 17 Northern Iowa* | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | ESPN+ | W 37–17 | 2,832 |
| November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | at Southern Illinois | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN3 | W 34–31 | 4,780 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at South Dakota | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN+ | L 12–17 | 8,761 |
| November 17 | 1:00 p.m. | Indiana State* | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | ESPN3 | L 13–15 | 5,822 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
* Source: Schedule

## Game summaries
### At Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
| Bobcats | 3 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 26 |

### At Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 34 |

### Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Grizzlies | 18 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 27 |
| Leathernecks | 14 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 31 |

### Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penguins | 7 | 0 | 10 | 21 | 38 |
| Leathernecks | 6 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 45 |

### At Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| No. 15 Redbirds | 2 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 33 |

### North Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Bison | 3 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| Leathernecks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### At Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Panthers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Leathernecks | 0 | 16 | 7 | 14 | 37 |

### At Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 34 |
| Salukis | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 31 |

### At South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| Coyotes | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |

### Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sycamores | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| Leathernecks | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 3 | 84 | Khalen Saunders | DT | Kansas City Chiefs |